Dr. Andrej Novak

Dr. Andrej Novak is a senior interventional cardiologist at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia's primary academic hospital and cardiovascular referral center. Slovenia, as a small but highly developed EU member state, maintains healthcare quality on par with Western European standards, and UMC Ljubljana is the country's only university hospital offering the full range of cardiovascular services.

With 19 years of clinical experience, Dr. Novak has established himself as one of Slovenia's leading interventional cardiologists. He completed an advanced fellowship at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, where he trained in complex coronary interventions and physiological coronary assessment techniques.

He leads the catheterization laboratory at UMC Ljubljana and has introduced FFR-guided PCI and intravascular imaging as routine practice. He is a member of the European Society of Cardiology and actively participates in international quality benchmarking for interventional cardiology.

Dr. Novak is known for his systematic, evidence-based approach to clinical decision-making and his thoroughness in patient communication. He trains cardiology fellows and is a lecturer at the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine.

Dr. Novak graduated from the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine in 2002. He completed his cardiology residency at UMC Ljubljana and undertook an interventional cardiology fellowship at the Academic Medical Center (AMC), Amsterdam, Netherlands (2007–2008). His PhD from the University of Ljubljana in 2011 focused on fractional flow reserve-guided coronary intervention outcomes. He is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC) and is certified by the Slovenian Medical Chamber in internal medicine and cardiology.

Dr. Novak specializes in complex percutaneous coronary interventions including bifurcation stenting, chronic total occlusion (CTO) PCI, and left main coronary artery intervention. He uses FFR and iFR for physiological coronary assessment and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and OCT for imaging-guided procedures. He also manages heart failure patients including optimization of medical therapy and coordination of device therapy evaluation, and performs comprehensive echocardiography including stress echo and advanced imaging protocols.

Dr. Novak has published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in journals including the European Heart Journal and Zdravniski Vestnik. His research focuses on FFR-guided PCI outcomes, complex coronary intervention results, and heart failure management. He collaborates with cardiologists in the Netherlands and Austria and has presented at ESC congresses.

Dr. Novak speaks Slovenian, German, and English and regularly sees international patients. Slovenia's geographic position bordering Austria and Italy makes it a convenient destination for patients from these countries seeking high-quality cardiovascular care. UMC Ljubljana provides English and German-language medical summaries. Video consultations are available for pre-procedure review and follow-up.

Dr. Novak received the Slovenian Society of Cardiology Award for Excellence in Interventional Cardiology in 2017. He was recognized by the ESC for his contribution to quality benchmarking for interventional cardiology in small EU member states. UMC Ljubljana awarded him its Annual Clinical Excellence Award in 2021.