Cardiology Center

The Cadre Health Department of Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, to adapt to the development trends of humanized and minimally invasive medicine, has been led by Professor Hu Xudong since its establishment, pioneering cardiovascular disease interventional diagnosis and treatment technology in China, making it the first cadre health department nationwide to independently perform cardiovascular interventional procedures. Under the support and promotion of successive directors Hong Zhaoguang, Zhang Weijun, Zhou Yujie, and Zhao Yingxin, the Cadre Health Department has developed into a cardiovascular interventional diagnosis and treatment team with Vice President Zhou Yujie as the academic leader. It can independently complete coronary stent implantation, intravascular ultrasound, and coronary pressure monitoring. Particularly, transradial interventional diagnosis and treatment for elderly high-risk, complex, and difficult cardiovascular patients has become a hallmark of the department's modern coronary interventional therapy, avoiding fatal postoperative complications such as pulmonary embolism, retroperitoneal hematoma, and massive hemorrhage, and shortening hospital stays. The department was also the first in Anzhen Hospital to perform outpatient transradial coronary angiography, saving national and individual medical expenses.
Meanwhile, actively carrying out combined hybrid cardiac surgery and cardiac surgery procedures, providing optimal surgical treatment for elderly patients with coronary heart disease and those with coronary heart disease combined with arrhythmias. As the "International Center for Minimally Invasive Interventional Approach Injury and Protection," the department was the first internationally to apply high-resolution vascular biomicroscopy to study early vascular injury. The series of studies on transradial interventional therapy actively explored ways to reduce bleeding complications and mortality in cardiovascular patients undergoing interventional treatment. The department first discovered and proposed the U-shaped curve relationship between acute myocardial infarction and blood glucose in elderly coronary heart disease patients, and the series of studies on blood glucose management in coronary heart disease patients provided evidence-based medical evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease patients with diabetes. It was the first in China to carry out a series of studies on contrast-induced nephropathy, providing a theoretical basis for solving clinical technical challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of fatal heart diseases in patients with chronic kidney disease, dialysis, and transplant kidneys.
When Anzhen Hospital was established in 1984, it formed the first national cadre health department based on cardiovascular specialties. After 30 years of inheritance and development, under the leadership of the five directors—Lu Xixian, Hong Zhaoguang, Zhang Weijun, Zhou Yujie, and Zhao Yingxin—the department integrated various geriatric subclinical departments and applied for and was approved by the National Health Commission as a National Key Clinical Specialty in Geriatrics relying on cardiovascular medicine, and as an American Heart Association Professional Demonstration Center, entering a new national and international development platform.
The department implements a development strategy integrating clinical practice, teaching, scientific research, prevention, rehabilitation, health care, and public welfare, combining the prevention and research of cardiovascular diseases. It was the first to integrate high-tech such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and genetic testing with medicine, relying on the Beijing Key Laboratory of Precision Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease, vigorously promoting precision medicine in cardiovascular disease drugs and interventions. Based on this, the concept of "intervention without implantation" was proposed to achieve intravascular integrated repair and reduce stent implantation.
Under the overall direction of developing high-tech, the department has always adhered to the policy of "focusing on geriatric cardiology, with coordinated cooperation among subspecialties and two-way referral medical care." That is, with the main focus on diagnosis and treatment of common cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and rheumatic heart disease, it collaborates with renowned international and domestic experts to establish a multidisciplinary cross-platform covering elderly difficult and severe diseases including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, kidney diseases, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.
The department integrates subspecialty resources, optimizes clinical pathways and disease management, establishes a network information-supported geriatric disease management and follow-up center, and an elderly remote cardiac monitoring and early warning system, improving the diagnosis and treatment level of complex high-risk diseases in the elderly.
The department was the first in China to carry out transradial interventional diagnosis and treatment of complex lesions in elderly high-risk coronary heart disease patients, and the first to combine coronary fluid dynamics with artificial intelligence, jointly developing a deep learning platform through medical-engineering integration, pushing coronary stenosis evaluation from anatomical to functional assessment, and transforming fractional flow reserve detection from invasive to non-invasive. It also early carried out treatments such as cardiac resynchronization therapy combined with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (CRT-D) for end-stage heart failure, leadless capsule pacemaker therapy, radiofrequency ablation and cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation, left atrial appendage occlusion, minimally invasive and hybrid valve therapy, and distal radial artery puncture.
For critically ill cardiovascular patients, the department pioneered the use of left ventricular assist devices to rescue patients with left main coronary artery disease, acute myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, and sudden death. Based on this, gradually forming the PIE-2R rescue concept (integrating temporary pacemaker, intra-aortic balloon pump, Impella, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ventilator, and revascularization as mechanical circulatory support devices), combined with optimized treatment strategies and exquisite surgical skills, effectively improving the survival rate of critical cardiovascular patients.
The Cadre Health Department currently has 52 beds and over 60 medical staff. Among the physician team, professionals with associate senior or higher technical titles (qualifications) account for 70%, and those with master's or doctoral degrees exceed 85%. It is a medical team with excellent work style, solid theoretical foundation, and superb technical skills. Department members broaden their academic horizons and improve comprehensive abilities through progressive training such as inter-departmental continuing education, domestic academic exchanges, and international cooperation exchanges. While enhancing professional technical quality, emphasis is placed on improving the professional ethics of department members, promoting dual-wheel drive and comprehensive development of clinical service ability and academic research ability.
Department members have received numerous honors such as Beijing Scholar, State Council Special Allowance, Ministry of Health Outstanding Contribution Expert, National New Century Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Talents Project candidate, Leading Talent, Science and Technology New Star, and Young Talents Plan. The team successfully applied for the first batch of "Beijing Strategic Science and Technology Talents" and "Beijing High-level Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Team." With the joint efforts of all medical staff, the department currently has an annual outpatient volume of over 70,000 visits, over 3,000 hospitalizations, over 2,500 coronary angiography examinations, and over 1,400 interventional treatments.
Relying on the "Beijing Scholar Workstation" and "Beijing Key Laboratory of Precision Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease," the department undertakes over 40 national and provincial/ministerial projects including the National Key Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, major projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, the National Natural Science Foundation, and the "Mission Talent" program of Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals, with total funding exceeding 40 million yuan.
It has obtained over 20 national patents, published dozens of academic monographs, and over 100 SCI papers with a cumulative impact factor exceeding 500. As the first completing unit, it has won one First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the Ministry of Education, one Second Prize for Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Progress, and two Chinese Medical Science and Technology Awards, accumulating over ten provincial and ministerial level science and technology awards. It has led the formulation of the Ministry of Health industry standard "Diagnostic Criteria for Coronary Heart Disease," drafted nearly 10 industry guidelines and expert consensus. The chief-edited "Geriatric Cardiology" won the "National Excellent Book Award," and the chief-edited series of monographs such as "Transradial Coronary Intervention for Coronary Heart Disease," "Transradial Approach for Percutaneous Interventions," and "Clinical Application and Practice of Coronary Intravascular Ultrasound" have become classic textbooks for cardiovascular interventional physicians. Its scientific research level is leading in the hospital, and it has been rated as an Advanced Scientific Research Collective of Beijing Anzhen Hospital.
For many years, the Cadre Health Department has undertaken part of the teaching, internship guidance, and clinical medical English teaching tasks for the internal medicine specialty of the medical and preventive medicine programs of Capital Medical University, as well as the English teaching tasks for the cardiology system of international students at the Capital Medical University International College. It has improved the postgraduate training and research system, cultivating over 100 master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral students. As a national interventional qualification training base, it trains over 10 cardiovascular specialty interventional physicians annually.
As an international training center for transradial interventional diagnosis and treatment, it has attracted overseas colleagues from countries such as the United Kingdom and Indonesia to come to the department for further study and training, and has held high-level international academic conferences on cardiovascular disease for 10 consecutive years. In 2004, it established the "Heart Home" public welfare organization where experts serve patients, which has twice won the "Best Brand" of the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau Party Organization Serving the People, and was awarded the "Youth Civilization" title by the Ministry of Health and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and the honorary title of "Lei Feng Team Around Us" in Beijing.