General practice > Research

KARDIO – Left heart catheterization for chest pain and CHD

There are large regional differences in the frequency of left heart catheterization examinations for chest pain and coronary heart disease. Do people in different regions of Germany have different levels of heart disease, or does this reflect differences in care and treatment routines? This is the central question of a multicenter collaborative project called the KARDIO study.

First, the frequency of left heart catheter examinations in different regions is analyzed on the basis of routine data from several health insurance companies. Subsequently, patients and physicians in high- and low-provider regions will be interviewed to find possible influencing factors.

Project Goals

Physicians in four selected regions will then develop treatment pathways for patients with symptoms indicative of coronary heart disease (e.g. chest pain) in order to improve the care of these patients. The participating general practitioners and outpatient and inpatient cardiologists will themselves shape regional care and cooperation.

The Institute of General Medicine at the University of Göttingen will be responsible for conducting the study in the Werra-Meißner district. General practitioners, cardiologists and hospitals from the Werra-Meißner district who would like to participate in the project are very welcome and are welcome to contact us for further study implementation.

Cooperation partners and funding

The study is a three-year collaborative project, funded by the Innovation Fund of the Federal Joint Committee. The consortium is led by the Department of General, Rehabilitative and Preventive Medicine at the Philipps University of Marburg (Prof. Dr. Norbert Donner-Banzhoff).