Welcome to the I. Department of Internal Medicine (I. Medizinische Klinik)

1. Medical services offered

Internal medicine with main emphases:

• Heart and cardiovascular diseases (Cardiology)
• Lung and bronchial diseases (Pneumology, M. Schwaiblmair MD, PhD):
• Internal intensive care medicine (A. Bluethgen MD)
• Endocrine and metabolic diseases (Endocrinology, Th. Pusl MD, PhD)
• General internal medicine

The department is part of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. It is integrated in teaching and research activities, in the MONICA/KORA project, participates in multicenter studies and is a member of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Leitender Kardiologischer Krankenhausärzte (ALKK).

The department is part of the interdisciplinary Herzzentrum Augsburg-Schwaben / Augsburg-Swabia Heart Center, which includes the Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery (Head Prof. M. Beyer MD), the Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Medicine (Head Prof. H. Forst MD), the Department of Pediatric Cardiology (Head Prof. G. Buheitel MD) and the I. Department of Internal Medicine (Head Prof. W. von Scheidt MD). The Augsburg-Swabia Heart Center provides top-level medical care for children and adults with acute or chronic cardiovascular diseases.

2. Specific main focuses of medical care

Heart and cardiovascular diseases 

• Diseases of the cardiovascular system, angina pectoris and myocardial infarction
• Diagnostic work up including cardiac catheterization, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography (cardiac ultrasound), Doppler sonography, intracoronary ultrasound (IVUS), pressure wire (FFR), intracoronary Doppler flow measurement and endothelium functional testing of the cardiovascular system
• Cardiac catheter attendance 24-hours on call for the medical care of patients with acute myocardial infarction
• Balloon dilatation and stent implantation in acute coronary syndromes and stable angina, rotational ablation
• iseases of the heart muscle: heart failure, cardiomyopathies, septal hypertrophy of the myocardial muscle (HOCM) including alcohol ablation (TASH), evaluation for heart transplantation
• Heart valve diseases, balloon valvuloplasty and transfemoral or transapical valve implantation in severe aortic stenosis (TAVR), MitraClip in severe mitral regurgitation, percutaneous closure of atrial septal defect and patent foramen ovale
• Cardiac arrhythmias and device therapy: invasive electrophysiologic testing, ablation therapy of supraventricular or ventricular arrhythmias, pacemaker treatment, therapy with implantable defibrillators (ICD) in cases of life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias, resynchronization therapy (CRT) in cases of symptomatic heart failure and left bundle branch block
• Evaluation and treatment of syncope (transient loss of consciousness) by means of tilt table testing, implantable loop recorder among others
• Renal denervation in resistant hypertension

Division of Internal Intensive Care Medicine

• Evaluation and treatment of acute life-threatening cardiac, pulmonary or endocrine diseases or sepsis
• Modern 18 bed intensive care unit plus 6 bed intermediate care unit providing highest standard of care including noninvasive and invasive ventilation, hemodynamic monitoring, mechanical circulatory support, mild therapeutic hypothermia, ultrafiltration and hemodialysis .

Division of Pneumology

• Evaluation and treatment of acute or chronic respiratory diseases, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchial asthma, COPD and emphysema, interstitial lung diseases including fibrosis, mucoviscidosis.
• Evaluation and treatment of the whole spectrum of pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary embolism, as well as sleep apnea syndromes
• Noninvasive ventilation
• The division offers state of the art diagnostic and therapeutic facilities including diagnostic bronchoscopy, endobronchial ultrasound and navigation systems, bronchial and pulmonary interventions (e.g. laser, argon plasma beamer, stents, endoscopic lung volume reduction), as well as a modern sleep laboratory.

Division of Endocrinology

• Specialized diagnostic evaluation and therapeutic management of patients with diseases of the pituitary, the parathyroid and the adrenal glands, and the gonads.
• Special expertise is available for disorders of the lipid metabolism, including lipid apheresis.

General internal medicine

• In addition to the aforesaid emphases, all general-internal diseases are diagnosed and treated including medical care of multimorbid elder patients

3. Additional services offered

Special consulting hours respectively outpatients' treatment provided for:

• Patients with heart failure
• Patients with implanted defibrillator (ICD) and resynchronization therapy (CRT)
• Special echocardiographic examinations (e.g. transesophageal echocardiography, TEE)
• Pneumologic problem patients
• Endocrinologic and lipid disorders outpatients' treatment (not including thyroid diseases and diabetes)