Professor Dr Heyder Omran is one of the most renowned and highly experienced cardiologists: every year, he and his teams treat more than 7,000 inpatients! He is a specialist in internal medicine and cardiology, interventional cardiology (DGK), cardiac computed tomography (DGK) and heart failure (DGK) at the GFO Clinics in Bonn, which rank among the top 10 in Germany for cardiac implantology. In 2003, he was awarded the Paul Winterstein Prize by the German Heart Foundation. As an experienced heart specialist, Prof. Omran always puts people first, even when faced with very high medical and scientific standards – and thus always develops a treatment plan tailored to the individual.
Leading Medicine Guide: For over twenty years, you have been Head of Cardiology at the GFO Clinics Bonn, comprising the St. Marien and St. Josef sites. What continues to fascinate you about your professional role?
Prof. Dr Heyder Omran: It’s a three-part harmony: first and foremost, I really enjoy working with people, with my patients. When I receive positive feedback, I often go home feeling truly inspired. That’s really lovely. And we cardiologists really do have the advantage of being able to genuinely alleviate suffering – compared to some other medical specialities. Secondly: I have now reached an age where I can pass on a great deal of my knowledge and experience to younger generations of doctors, and that gives me great pleasure too. And last but not least, it is the scientific work that challenges me and gives me a lot of enjoyment.
Leading Medicine Guide: Patients come to you with problems affecting the almost most important organ in our body, the heart. Diagnosis and treatment are not just about finding the right approach; the patient themselves must be met at their level and cared for individually. How do you achieve that?
Prof. Dr Heyder Omran: I have the advantage of working at a Christian hospital, and I think we manage quite well here to put people at the center of everything. This naturally includes detailed consultations; I need to get to know each patient well so that I can engage them fully in my medical explanations. It is important to me to work with patients to develop an understanding of what is specifically important and right for them, and what would be of no use to them. We have highly complex technology at our disposal today. That is precisely why it is necessary to strike a balance and identify where the limits lie for each individual. Not everything that is technically possible is actually appropriate in every individual case.
Leading Medicine Guide: The cardiology department at the CFO Clinics in Bonn is a nationally recognized specialist clinic for the implantation of atrial appendage closure systems. What exactly is that?
Prof. Dr Heyder Omran: We implanted the first closure systems as early as 2001 and have extensive experience with them. We also train young doctors in this technique at our hospital. The human heart has four chambers: two atria and two ventricles. Attached to the atria are two blind pouches, the atrial appendages – auriculae atrii – or atrial ears. Put simply, they act as an additional reservoir for extra blood and do not usually cause any problems. Under certain conditions, however, blood clots can form in the atrial appendages, and these in turn can trigger strokes if they travel into the aorta. With the help of blood-thinning medication, it is now possible to dissolve such clots or prevent them entirely. Unfortunately, however, many people cannot tolerate these medications. This led to the idea in medicine of clipping off the atrial appendage, but it is only since the advent of modern interventional cardiac catheterization that we have made significant progress. Today, a closure system is inserted via the groin up to the atrial appendage and used to seal it off. This prevents any further blood clots from forming there. The atrial appendage occluder is an implant made of medical-grade metal mesh that remains permanently in the heart once inserted.
Leading Medicine Guide: At the start, you said that you take great pleasure in passing on your knowledge to the next generation. What is particularly important to you in this regard?
Prof. Dr Heyder Omran: It is important to me to train young doctors to develop the best possible care for patients. To do this, they must prioritize in-depth discussions with patients and cultivate the ambition to engage them fully. I am delighted to see how enthusiastic the young doctors are, and how committed they are to the subject.
Leading Medicine Guide: And scientific work is very important to you. Which studies is the cardiology department at CFO Clinics Bonn currently involved in?
Prof. Dr Heyder Omran: We have several studies underway on atrial appendage closure. We are participating in studies on pulmonary embolism and blood thinners. I consider studies to be incredibly important. For example, we should have started collecting data right at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the basis of a broad data set, I can then make valid, reliable statements. That is why we take part in many studies. To this end, we attend training courses and also organize them in-house – as an academic teaching hospital, we have excellent facilities for this. For me and my team, taking part in professional development courses run by specialist societies and attending national and international conferences is simply part of the job. It used to be said that knowledge lasts for about seven years; today, we see constant progress. The knowledge we acquire may only last two to three years. This means that we must – and, of course, want to – stay up to date. That said, we take a critical approach to innovations in medical technology. Every innovation is tried out and carefully tested here. We demonstrate the high medical quality of our cardiology department through regular certifications.
Professor Omran, thank you for the very interesting insight into your work.
Anyone wishing to contact our specialist directly can do so via his profile page on the Leading Medicine Guide.
