Cardiovascular surgery between Makkah and Madinah.

The Saudi Heart Center at the King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is located between Makkah (50 km) and Madinah (450 km), receiving patients from all parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the middle eastern countries such as Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Egypt and others. It was opened in June 1982 and has performed up to this date 2481 cardiovascular surgeries covering neonatal, paediatric and adult surgeries for congenital and acquired cardiopathies. Eight hundred and sixty-eight patients underwent repair for simple and complex congenital anomalies with a mortality rate of 8.6%. Some 1613 patients underwent surgery for acquired valvular and coronary heart diseases with a mortality rate of 4.0%. The average mortality rate for 2481 cardiovascular surgeries in both groups (141 deaths) was 5.6%.