40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL PACEMAKER CENTRE

Belgrade, 13 September 2007 – His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander II, patron of the National Pacemaker Centre of the Institute for Cardio-Vascular Diseases of the Clinical Centre of Serbia, opened today the Conference at the Hyatt hotel in Belgrade, dedicated to the marking of the 40th anniversary of the Centre. The Conference will last two days and will include an educational seminar.

This Pacemaker Centre is the oldest of its kind in this part of Europe and has gained a worldwide reputation. It is also the leader in the region.

The waiting lists for pacemaker implantations in Serbia used to be long. In 2000, about 1,100 persons awaited this important operation. This is very serious because of the vary nature of the disease, patients usually have no time. Half of those diagnosed die within the first year, unless they are implanted a pacemaker. Until 2003, about half of those who were on waiting lists, had passed away. Since then, the situation has improved a lot along with the general improvement in the country, and now there are no waiting lists. There are enough pace makers and pacemaker-defibrillators, and operations take place within 7 to 10 days after the medical check-up. This was not possible without the extraordinary efforts of Serbian doctors. Apart from practically completely reducing waiting lists, new Centres have been opened. In 2004, there were 6 pacemaker services in Serbia, and by the end of 2008, it is expected that their number will be between 16 and 18, which will be the highest number of pacemaker centres in the region. The FDA US Agency has praised the work of this Centre. Apart from all this, a new method of pacemaker therapy has been used for some time (CRT pacemakers), which involve complex operations which can sometimes last for 4 or 5 hours. The Centre has trained doctors from other parts of Serbia, and now there are 4 CRT pacemaker centres in our country.

The Conference and Seminar will include themes such as modern pacemaker therapy and the issues facing cardiologists today, both locally and globally. 11 experts from the field, all known worldwide, will exchange ideas, knowledge and experiences with their Serbian counterparts. It is expected that 250 cardiologists from Serbia and the region will attend this important event.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Alexander II opened the Conference and addressed the present and, among other things, emphasized: „My wife Princess Katherine and I are honoured to be with you today. I was very pleased when I heard that our pacemaker Centre is among the leading ones in Europe, when it comes to the number of pacemakers and the quality of the result. I am glad that the most significant institution of our health system has a Centre such as this one, where patients are treated with modern methods. As you know, my wife Princess Katherine and her Foundation are doing so much to improve the condition of our health care system. I am glad that you will be able to learn a lot from the seminar you will be taking tomorrow. There is no progress without adequate education“.

The Crown Prince in the end wished everyone a lot of success.