In an effort to provide increasingly specialized care to the population, Hospital CUF Açores has launched a new Heart and Vascular Center, bringing together the specialties of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cardiology, Vascular Surgery, and Angiology. The center was created to deliver integrated and highly specialized care for patients with cardiovascular diseases, which remain one of the leading causes of death in Portugal.

Equipped with advanced medical techniques and therapies and staffed by a team of highly specialized professionals, the new center is built around a multidisciplinary clinical model. This approach allows specialists from different fields to evaluate each patient collectively, assessing their clinical condition and determining the most appropriate therapeutic strategy. The interdisciplinary model prioritizes minimally invasive surgical techniques, widely recognized for offering safer procedures and faster recoveries.

With the creation of the Heart and Vascular Center, Hospital CUF Açores now offers the full range of structural cardiovascular procedures currently performed nationwide, enabling patients in the Autonomous Region of the Azores to receive treatment closer to home. The initiative aims to improve convenience for patients while ensuring greater continuity of care.

The hospital’s Cardiothoracic Surgery and Vascular Surgery teams operate in a hybrid operating room equipped with advanced imaging technology, making it possible to perform complex surgeries through smaller incisions. Today, more than 90 percent of the hospital’s cardiac surgeries use minimally invasive approaches, applied to conditions such as valve disease, coronary artery disease, ascending aortic pathology, cardiac tumors, congenital atrial septal defects, and arrhythmias.

The Angiology and Vascular Surgery department is responsible for diagnosing and treating diseases affecting arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels—from the vessels of the neck to those of the upper and lower limbs, including aortic conditions. The department offers noninvasive diagnostic tools as well as a wide range of therapeutic options, from endovascular interventions to conventional surgery.

As part of this broader effort to strengthen clinical expertise and encourage the exchange of medical knowledge, Hospital CUF Açores will host the first Azores Medical Conference – Heart and Vascular Center this Saturday, March 14. The scientific gathering will bring together professionals from several specialties to promote multidisciplinary discussion and scientific updates in areas such as clinical and structural cardiology, arrhythmology, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, and intensive care medicine—contributing to the continued advancement of medical practice in the region.

In Diário dos Açores- Paulo Viveiros, director

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.