Prof. Grabenwöger’s assessment provides important medical guidance in what is currently an emotionally charged public debate.
A recent case has shaken the Austrian healthcare system: a 55-year-old woman from the Rohrbach district in Upper Austria was admitted to the emergency room of a regional hospital with severe chest pain. There, a tear in the aorta (aortic dissection, type A) was diagnosed.
Despite her life-threatening diagnosis, she could not be transferred to a specialised cardiac surgery clinic in time because there was no immediate capacity available.
In an interview with Prof. Dr. Grabenwöger, Head of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Floridsdorf Hospital, the medical background and structural challenges were examined.
Aortic dissection: a rare but highly critical emergency
Prof. Grabenwöger emphasises that aortic dissection occurs only around 270 times per year in Austria – a rare phenomenon. Nevertheless, it is one of the most life-threatening forms of cardiovascular surgery.
In an emergency, doctors must immediately distinguish between a heart attack and an aortic dissection – which is often impossible without rapid imaging (e.g. CT). The timing between diagnosis and surgery is crucial.
Prof. Grabenwöger emphasises: The main problem is not the lack of intensive care beds – what matters is how quickly surgery can be performed. Time is the bottleneck.
Here is an excerpt from the interview on ‘Guten Morgen Österreich’ (Good Morning Austria). You can find the complete interview at this link: ORF ON
Prim. Prof. Dr. Grabenwöger is head of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Floridsdorf Hospital, a specialist in cardiac and aortic surgery, and practises as a private doctor at Co-Ordination.
