“The new University Heart and Vascular Centre strengthens Hamburg’s position as one of Germany’s leading medical hubs. At its Heart Centre, UKE combines highly specialised clinical care with outstanding research and teaching. The University Heart and Vascular Centre sets benchmarks for interdisciplinary collaboration in order to provide the best possible treatment for people with heart disease. I congratulate UKE on the opening of the Heart Centre and wish its staff, as well as its future patients, every success for the future,” said Dr Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
“The new University Heart and Vascular Centre at UKE is a double gain for the city as a whole and for the wider metropolitan region. From now on, patients of all ages with heart disease will receive the best possible care here, while research at the highest international level will be advanced at the same time. What makes this centre unique is not only the close interdisciplinary collaboration embodied in the ‘Hamburg Model’, but also the strong integration of research and clinical care. This ensures that important findings on cardiovascular diseases – still the leading cause of death in Germany – reach the place where they save lives as quickly as possible: the patients,” said Senator Maryam Blumenthal, Hamburg’s Minister for Science, Research and Equalities.
“Today, the University Heart and Vascular Centre continues its success story in patient-centred academic medicine at the highest level. With this modern and pioneering new building, we are creating optimal conditions for interdisciplinary, multiprofessional collaboration and translational research, with the aim of providing even better care for both younger and older patients. I would like to thank everyone whose dedicated support made this project possible,” said Prof. Dr Christian Gerloff, Medical Director and Chief Executive Officer of UKE.
“As a tertiary referral centre, our new University Heart and Vascular Centre represents our commitment to combining compassionate patient care and nursing, scientific excellence and the highest level of innovation. Through the close integration of research, teaching and clinical expertise, we are creating the foundations for personalised cardiovascular medicine at the highest level – ranging from minimally invasive interventional and surgical procedures to complex heart and lung transplantations, supported by multiprofessional and interdisciplinary collaboration,” said Prof. Dr Stefan Blankenberg, Medical Director of the University Heart and Vascular Centre Hamburg at UKE.
Integrated Care for Patients
Cardiovascular diseases remain among the leading causes of death in Germany. At the same time, demographic change and the growing number of older patients are driving a continuous increase in demand for highly specialised medical care.
The University Heart and Vascular Centre Hamburg follows a distinctive approach: patients are treated according to organ systems and disease pathways rather than along traditional departmental boundaries. Interdisciplinary teams from different specialties jointly determine the most appropriate treatment strategy, from diagnosis and interventional procedures to complex surgery and transplantation.
Particular emphasis is placed on minimally invasive and catheter-based procedures, including treatments for cardiac arrhythmias, heart valve disease and complex vascular disorders. Services also include robotic-assisted surgery, paediatric cardiac surgery, as well as heart, lung and combined heart–lung transplantation. The close physical and clinical integration of services creates short pathways and highly coordinated care for patients of all ages. At the same time, the new building provides the flexibility required to respond to future developments in medicine, research and healthcare delivery.
State-of-the-Art Building with Outstanding Medical Facilities
The new facility sets new standards in terms of infrastructure and equipment. Spanning six floors and approximately 72,000 square metres of usable floor space, it accommodates emergency, outpatient and inpatient care for children and adults with heart, vascular and lung diseases, complemented by modern dialysis services.
A total of 379 beds are available, including 60 intensive care beds and 16 beds within the Cardio Vascular Care Unit (CVCU). Facilities include six general wards, two comfort wards, a paediatric cardiology ward, three adult intensive care units and one paediatric intensive care unit. Patients with heart failure are treated in the highly specialised Heart Failure Unit, including those before and after transplantation or supported by mechanical circulatory support systems.
For the first time, pulmonology and thoracic surgery will jointly care for patients on a dedicated ward before and after lung procedures and for those with chronic lung diseases.
The centre also includes nine operating theatres, among them three hybrid operating theatres and one equipped with robotic surgical technology, as well as ten interventional suites, including two hybrid suites for catheter-based procedures. Additional infrastructure comprises 23 dialysis stations, a large functional diagnostics department with around 30 specialised outpatient clinics and a high-capacity sterile services department.
A key component is the Cardiovascular Imaging Center, jointly operated by the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Nuclear Medicine and the Department of Cardiology. Next-generation high-resolution CT and MRI technologies, together with advanced cardiac ultrasound, enable more precise diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases at very early stages.
An Open Atmosphere with a Distinctly Hamburg Character
The building has been designed consistently around patients’ needs. Dedicated lounges with kitchenettes, a training room and accommodation options for relatives within patient rooms are available, particularly for children and adults who must spend many weeks in hospital due to severe heart disease.
Additional retreat spaces, including a Room of Silence and patient lounges featuring a special lighting concept supported by the charitable association “Herz im Zentrum”, further enhance the environment. The paediatric cardiology ward includes playrooms and youth rooms tailored to different age groups.
Throughout the building, approximately 1,000 photographs depicting Hamburg themes such as architecture, the River Elbe and Alster Lake, parks, culture and sport have been installed with support from the Dorit & Alexander Otto Foundation. The atmosphere is further complemented by the “Health Kitchen” café on the ground floor.
First Phase of UKE’s 2050 Master Plan Completed
The total project cost amounted to €292 million and was financed through Hamburg’s landlord–tenant funding model. The building was designed by Nickl & Partner Architects (Munich) and delivered by KFE Klinik Facility-Management Eppendorf, UKE’s construction and technical services subsidiary.
It is the third major project completed under UKE’s 2050 Master Plan, following the opening of the Martini-Klinik in 2024 and Campus Forschung II together with the Hamburg Center for Translational Immunology in 2025.
Relocation to the New Building
The move into the new facility will begin on 1 June while clinical operations continue uninterrupted. Administrative departments, research units, outpatient clinics and diagnostic services will be relocated first, followed by the inpatient wards, which will be fully transferred to the new O60 building by 25 June.
Around 1,000 employees will move into the new facility.
Source: Press Release UKE
