Structural procedures are carried out, such as the use of TAVI or percutaneous aortic valve implantation with optimal results.

Strengthen medical and administrative staff, develop specific circuits for patients infected or not with Covid-19. As well as launching telephone cardiology consultations to manage the delay in interventions and follow the evolution of symptoms. These are some of the measures that the Hemodynamics Unit of the Clinical and Interventional Cardiology Service of the La Luz Hospital has carried out in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to these measures, the unit has become a safe environment where there have been no cases of contagion between patients and medical staff. On the other hand, the medical team has recovered its normal level of activity after having reduced the number of procedures by 60% during the first wave.

The Hemodynamics Unit performs two types of procedures: coronary intervention and structural intervention. According to cardiologist Jorge Palazuelos , head of the Hemodynamics Unit , "we treat coronary artery disease, such as ischemic heart disease and angina, and we resolve cases of blockages or stenosis in the arteries of the heart." They also perform structural procedures, such as TAVI, or transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Dr. Palazuelos reports that TAVI is the most frequently performed structural cardiac intervention technique at Hospital La Luz, with excellent results. This technique is used in cases of aortic valve stenosis or degeneration. "Valves are like doors that have to open or close. In the case of stenosis, the door doesn't open and it has to be repaired," he explains.

During the first wave of the pandemic, especially in March and April, the Cardiology Department at the hospital had to reduce its activity. According to Dr. Roberto Martín Reyes, head of the Clinical and Interventional Cardiology Department at Hospital La Luz , non-urgent or priority procedures were postponed due to the need to attend to patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2. All patients underwent a PCR and serological test beforehand. The doctor explains: “The procedure was performed if the PCR test was negative, or if the procedure, despite a positive result, was urgent or priority. In the latter case, preparations were made in the operating room and among the staff to protect both the patient and the healthcare personnel from infection.”

As indicated by cardiologist Jorge Palazuelos, throughout the pandemic it has been possible to create specific circuits for patients infected or not with Covid-19. «We have also managed to separate medical and nursing staff free of infection from staff who were treating positive patients. We did this from the beginning and we continue to do it," he says. Thanks to this, there have been no cases of contagion between patients and healthcare professionals. «None of the patients who have undergone our operating room have contracted the virus from being in our circuit.

 Nor has any of our medical staff been infected by a patient who was positive and had not been detected," says Palazuelos. To achieve this we had to be very strict. Non-urgent or preferential interventions in patients with positive PCR tests were postponed for fifteen days. As indicated by the person in charge of the unit, after the two weeks were up, the test was repeated again. "If it was negative, the intervention was carried out, if it was positive, we had to wait another fifteen days," he explains. Meanwhile, patients with this delay received a telephone cardiology consultation to follow the evolution of their symptoms. In turn, they were provided with the direct contact telephone number of the secretariat and an email so that they could contact the medical team as easily and as quickly as possible. According to Dr. Roberto Martín Reyes, more medical and administrative personnel were hired to attend to the high volume of patients and telephone consultations. «It is very important that the management of consultations is agile between the secretaries who take the calls and the doctors who call. Every day we leave spaces in the agenda to answer those telephone queries », he emphasizes.

Currently, the Cardiology Department and the Hemodynamics Unit at Hospital La Luz have returned to their normal activity levels, both for coronary and structural interventions. According to the head of the Cardiology Department, Dr. Roberto Martín Reyes , this is likely due to the thousands of telephone consultations conducted in recent months. "Thanks to this, we have ensured continuity of treatment and gained the trust of our patients, who have felt safe, well-monitored, and well-treated. The response has been very positive," states Dr. Jorge Palazuelos.