Division of Cardiovascular Medicine (former division of cardiovascular diseases) was established by the first president, Dr. Ting Fu Wang, and the chief, Dr. Hsiang-Tai Chou with the opening of CMUH in 1980. The cardiac catheterization room was established in 1993, and CMUH became a cardiology training hospital the next year. In 1996, Prof. Jui-Sung Hung invited Dr. Ping-Han Lo and Dr. Kuan-Cheng Chang to join the team implementing complex cardiac catheterization, catheter ablation for cardiac arrhythmia and pacemaker implantation, and our unit was geared to international standards and has been developing vigorously since then.
In order to keep improving and enhance the quality of medical care, the division of cardiovascular diseases was reorganized into Division of Cardiovascular Medicine involving the division of dysrhythmia, interventional cardiology, cardiac imaging, peripheral vascular, critical care cardiology and preventive medicine in 2016. Medical specialists in different areas enhance their expertise and cooperate with others to find the best strategy.
In recent years, our diagnoses, treatments and research in cardiovascular diseases in pediatric and adult patients has become topnotch in Taiwan. In order to more efficiently combine the professional equipment and manpower resources in the diagnoses and treatments for cardiovascular diseases, to enhance the level of basic and clinical research in cardiovascular diseases and to adapt to worldwide trends, we established the cardiovascular center by integrating the division of cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, pediatric cardiology and the related departments. Moreover, we expect to become an important focal point in Asia for cardiovascular medicine.
Cardiovascular diseases rank the second among 10 leading causes of death in Taiwan; therefore, it influences citizens' quality of life and the well-being of the nation. As the first-line medical personnel in cardiovascular care, we uphold the patient-centered principles and keep improving our techniques to provide the best medical treatment for patients.