AKH Vienna and MedUni Vienna perform a hybrid procedure for ventricular tachycardia for the first time in Austria

University Hospital Vienna (AKH Wien) and the Medical University of Vienna (MedUni Wien) announced on 9 April 2026 that in March they had performed, for the first time in Austria, a minimally invasive hybrid procedure for a potentially life-threatening heart rhythm disorder. It was carried out by the Division of Cardiology of the Department of Medicine II, together with the Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Aortic Surgery.

The condition

Ventricular tachycardia is a rhythm disorder in which the heart beats too fast, driven from the ventricles. Left untreated, it can lead to circulatory failure or sudden cardiac death, the announcement notes.

How the hybrid method works

• Thoracoscopy: a camera is inserted through small incisions between the ribs, giving direct access to the outer surface of the heart, which can then be treated.
• Catheter ablation: at the same time, inside the heart, a catheter is used to destroy, in a targeted way, the diseased tissue that triggers the arrhythmia.

According to the team, the combination makes it possible to treat layers of the heart that conventional catheter ablation cannot adequately reach, without opening the chest as in conventional surgery.

“This hybrid procedure is a milestone in treatment, particularly for patients in whom conventional catheter ablations have not been sufficiently effective,” said Stefan Stojković of the Division of Cardiology, who performed the procedure together with Emilio Osorio of the Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Aortic Surgery, in close scientific collaboration with Bart Maesen of Maastricht University.

The heads of the two departments, Daniel Zimpfer and Christian Hengstenberg, stressed the importance of collaboration between cardiology and cardiac surgery.

Context

The announcement does not say how many patients have been treated, nor does it report longer-term results. The method is aimed mainly at patients in whom conventional catheter ablation has not worked well enough, and suitability is decided case by case. Earlier in 2026, AKH Wien and MedUni Wien were ranked 20th worldwide in Newsweek's World's Best Hospitals 2026.