For the past consecutive years, cardiovascular disease has been ranked as one of the top ten causes of mortality and morbidity in the Philippines. Time have pushed patients and their families in  times of despair. the need for a comprehensive cardiovascular care within the reach of the Filipino people, the Capitol Medical Center has embarked on an aggressive approach to heart and vascular disease. Dedicated to the delivery of total quality health care, the Capitol Medical Center has set up its own Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery Complex (TCVSC), conveniently located in the newly-constructed third floor surgical wing. Complemented by the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, the TCVSC is supplemented by four cardiac recovery / intensive care units, all of which are enhanced by state-of-the-art cardiac monitors. With the opening of the Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery Complex, the Capitol Medical Center joins a short list of tertiary hospitals in Metro Manila that offers Cardiac and Vascular surgical procedures. Sympathetic to the economic predicament of the Filipino, the Capitol Medical Center offers these procedures at a reasonable and competitive price. These procedures include, namely are but not limited to:

1. Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting or CABG
2. Heart Valve Repair and Replacement Procedures
3. Resection of Cardiac Tumors
4. Temporary and Permanent Transvenous Pacemaker Insertion
5. Epicardial Pacemaker Insertion
6. Surgical Treatment of Pericardial Diseases
7. Cardiothoracic and Vascular Trauma
8. Aortic Aneurysm Repair
9. Peripheral Artery Bypass Revascularization Procedures
10. Catheter-Directed Removal of Arterial Clots
11. Portal Vein Decompression Procedures
12. Inferior Vena Cava Filter Insertion
13. Central Vein Access procedures
14. Intraoperative Angiography

With the completion of the Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery Complex, this endeavor marks another  milestone in the forty-three years of existence of the Capitol Medical Center. Kudos to our hospital director Dr. Thelma Navarrete-Clemente, whose vision brings our beloved CMC to a new height once more

Heart-Lung Machine

In the operating room , the heart-lung machine is used primarily to do respiration for the patient while the heart is stopped. Surgeons are able to   perform coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), open-heart surgery for valve repair or repair of cardiac anomalies, and cardiac-related diseases.  The heart-lung machine benefit of a  motionless heart in an almost bloodless surgical field. Cardioplegia solution is delivered to the heart, resulting in cardiac arrest    (heart stoppage). The heart-lung machine is invaluable during this time since the patient is unable to maintain blood flow to the lungs or the body.     

    In critical care units and cardiac catheterization laboratories, the heart-lung machine is used to support and maintain blood flow and respiration. The diseased heart or lung(s) is  replaced by this technology, providing time for the organ(s) to heal. The heart-lung machine can be used with venoarterial  extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which is used primarily in the treatment of lung disease. Cardiopulmonary support is useful during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and stent procedures performed with cardiac catheterization. Both treatments can be instituted in the critical care unit when severe heart or lung disease is no longer treatable by less-invasive conventional treatments such as pharmaceuticals, intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), and mechanical ventilation with a respirator. Use of this treatment in the emergency room is not limited to patients suffering heart or lung failure. In severe cases of hypothermia, a patient's body temperature can be corrected by extracorporeal circulation with the heart-lung machine. Blood is warmed as it passes over the heat  exchanger. The warmed blood returns to the body, gradually increasing the patient's body temperature to normal.       

(website.heartlungmachine.com)