National Heart Centre Singapore

The National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) is the national and regional referral centre for cardiovascular diseases, established as one of Singapore's five national specialty centres under the SingHealth public healthcare cluster. Operating from its location at the Outram Park campus alongside Singapore General Hospital, NHCS is a one-stop cardiac care facility that brings together Singapore's largest concentration of heart specialists under one roof.

NHCS is a 185-bed centre and is the highest-volume cardiac centre in Singapore. Each year, the centre handles over 120,000 outpatient consultations, performs more than 9,000 interventional and surgical procedures, and manages over 10,000 inpatients. The centre treats the full spectrum of cardiovascular conditions, from common conditions such as hypertension and coronary artery disease to rare and complex disorders requiring advanced cardiac surgery or heart transplantation.

In 2005, NHCS became the first heart centre outside the United States and the first in Asia to receive Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation — a milestone that established Singapore's credentials as a world-class cardiac care destination for patients from across the region and globally. NHCS is led by some of Asia's most accomplished cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, and its outcomes for heart attack treatment, balloon angioplasty with stenting, and bypass surgery are benchmarked to meet international standards.

NHCS is part of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, and plays a key role in cardiovascular research, education, and training, making it both a leading clinical service provider and a research powerhouse in the field of heart disease.

NHCS provides comprehensive cardiovascular services across all subspecialties, from preventive cardiology through to advanced surgical and interventional procedures.

Cardiology services encompass Preventive Cardiology, General Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology (coronary angioplasty, stenting, balloon valvuloplasty), Electrophysiology and Cardiac Pacing (ablation, pacemaker implantation, ICD), Heart Failure and Transplantation, Cardiac Imaging (echocardiography, cardiac MRI, CT coronary angiography), Adult Congenital Heart Disease, and Pulmonary Hypertension.

Cardiac Surgery at NHCS covers coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), valve repair and replacement, aortic surgery including complex aortic arch procedures, congenital cardiac surgery, mechanical circulatory support (ventricular assist devices and ECMO), and heart transplantation. The centre has a dedicated Heart Failure Programme offering advanced medical therapies, device therapies, and surgical heart failure management.

Rehabilitation services include a comprehensive Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme for recovery after heart attacks, cardiac surgery, and heart failure. The Chest Pain Centre provides rapid assessment for acute coronary syndromes. NHCS also has a research clinical trials unit conducting Phase I to Phase IV cardiovascular trials.

The National Heart Centre Singapore is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities dedicated entirely to cardiovascular medicine, concentrated within its Mistri Wing location at Third Hospital Avenue, Singapore.

The centre has multiple Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratories (Cath Labs) for coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), and structural heart disease interventions. Electrophysiology (EP) labs are equipped for complex ablation procedures, device implantation, and remote monitoring of implanted cardiac devices.

Operating theatres are configured specifically for cardiac and thoracic surgery including on-pump and off-pump bypass surgery, valve operations, and minimally invasive cardiac procedures using endoscopic and robotic assistance. The Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and Cardiac High Dependency Unit provide intensive monitoring for patients post-procedure or post-infarction. NHCS houses a dedicated Cardiac Imaging Centre with 3T cardiac MRI, 256-slice CT coronary angiography, and multiple state-of-the-art echocardiography systems.

The Heart Failure Centre manages outpatient heart failure patients, coordinating medication optimisation, device therapy follow-up, and palliative care for end-stage patients. A translational research laboratory on-site enables bench-to-bedside cardiac research. NHCS's Cardiac Rehabilitation gymnasium is equipped for supervised exercise programmes.

The National Heart Centre Singapore has a dedicated International Medical Services (IMS) division that coordinates care for international patients seeking advanced cardiovascular treatment in Singapore. NHCS is a major destination for cardiac care tourism, particularly from Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, and the Middle East.

The IMS team facilitates the complete patient journey: remote pre-consultation with NHCS cardiologists or cardiac surgeons before travel, appointment scheduling, medical record review, visa support documentation, interpreter services in English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, and Bahasa Indonesia, and hotel accommodation arrangements near the Outram campus.

International patients benefit from NHCS's unique integration with Singapore General Hospital on the same campus, allowing seamless access to laboratory services, imaging, and other specialist input without leaving the facility. Billing support includes self-pay packages, international insurance direct billing, and corporate account management. Post-discharge follow-up via telemedicine is offered for patients who cannot return to Singapore easily. NHCS also supports second opinion consultations for international patients who have received a cardiovascular diagnosis in their home country.

The National Heart Centre Singapore holds Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation, achieved in 2005 — making it the first heart centre in Asia and outside the USA to receive this distinguished international certification of healthcare quality and patient safety. NHCS has maintained JCI accreditation through successive reaccreditation cycles.

NHCS is regulated by the Ministry of Health Singapore and operates within the SingHealth clinical governance framework, which sets standards for clinical practice, patient safety, infection control, and outcome monitoring across all SingHealth institutions. The centre's cardiologists and cardiac surgeons hold fellowship qualifications from the Academy of Medicine Singapore, the Royal Colleges of the UK, and equivalent American Board certifications.

NHCS is part of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, affiliated with Duke-NUS Medical School, one of Asia's leading graduate-entry medical schools. The centre participates in numerous international cardiovascular clinical trials and research collaborations. Its outcomes data is benchmarked against leading heart centres in North America and Europe, and results for interventional procedures and cardiac surgery are published in international peer-reviewed journals. The centre has received multiple national excellence awards for innovation and patient safety.