THE CENTRE WHERE THE HEART BEATS ON...

Today we cannot imagine Ekaterinburg without the centre for cardiac diseases. It seems, it existed all the time, but according to history 30 years is like a heart beat. For many of those working there this is the whole life: student's young years, professional establishment, recognition by colleagues. And for people of Ekaterinburg the centre often is the major hope of life saving.  

In 1975 the Sverdlovsk Oblast executive committee issued a decree to build the centre for cardiac diseases which was introduced in 1976. It was financed by funds taken from the Communist extra work days (the so-called "subbotniks") of Sverdlovsk citizens. The Oblast Communist Party committee's meeting took place directly on a construction site.

Why has the centre for cardiac diseases been built? The cardiovascular diseases' increase and its lethality rate became threatening in the Soviet Union, so the decision to introduce the network of centres for cardiac diseases was made. The Sverdlovsk centre was the very first specialised practical cardiologic establishment in the USSR.

There were no similar establishments at that time and the staff of the centre invented the whole infrastructure of this.

As the centre was the pioneer, almost everything there was for the first time. The first remote telephone electrocardiography transmission, the first type of functional diagnostics, first special cardiologic emergency teams. Those who had founded, determined and worked out the structure of the centre decided to pass the part of the premises for the emergency cardiology service.  

In terms of the process organisation the centre was somewhat experimental. The multilevel conveyer principle of treatment was for the first time in the country invented and introduced here. They also pioneered the out-patient department for infarction patients, and introduced the domiciliary patients' care service. All these measures were somewhat experimental and even revolutionary but all of them proved their value.