Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Pandemic leads to a 22% drop in heart surgery

Photo: BGNES

A decline in operations in three key areas of medicine was observed in Bulgaria in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Heart surgeries decreased by 22% last year compared to the previous year. This is shown by the data of the Health Insurance Fund, analyzed in the Index of Hospitals study, the website clinica.bg reports. A decline in this area has not been registered only in pediatric heart surgery - especially in newborns with malformations.
Orthopedic surgeries decreased by 21.5% in 2020 compared to 2019.
The pandemic has had a smaller impact on neurosurgery, where the decline was 8% last year.
Among the reasons for the reduced number of medical interventions is the ban on planned operations, imposed twice by the Minister of Health due to the pandemic.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Maximum temperatures will drop by 2-3°C during the day

On Thursday , the lowest temperatures will be between 16 and 21°C; in Sofia – about 18°C. During the day it will be sunny over most of the country. In the afternoon hours, there will be temporary increases in cloudiness over the..

published on 8/13/25 7:05 PM

ECB’s Lagarde welcomes design of Bulgaria’s €1 coin

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has welcomed the design of Bulgaria’s €1 coin in a Facebook post, the state news agency BTA reported. “Exciting news for Bulgaria and the euro area! Take a first look at the design of Bulgaria’s €1..

published on 8/13/25 5:46 PM

German jets escort Ryanair flight from Sofia to London after hoax emergency call

German fighter jets escorted a Ryanair Boeing 737 from Sofia to London on 11 August after a false emergency call claimed there was a Palestinian passenger on board planning to “do bad things,” the state news agency BTA reported. The aircraft,..

published on 8/13/25 5:37 PM