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

Another hot day with temperatures in the plains reaching 41°C

On Friday , the lowest temperatures will be between 18 to 25°C. In Sofia it will be 20°C. During the day it will be sunny and hot again. There will be light wind, mainly from the east. The highest temperatures will be between 36 and..

published on 7/24/25 7:05 PM

Three opposition forces insist that the National Assembly votes on higher incomes for young doctors and specialists

“We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria”, “Alliance for Rights and Freedoms” and MECH have submitted a request to the Speaker of the National Assembly Natalia Kiselova to convene an extraordinary plenary session to consider the..

published on 7/24/25 4:26 PM

Bulgarian military contingent returns from NATO mission in Kosovo

The contingent of the NATO Stabilization Force in Kosovo has been welcomed with a solemn ceremony in Blagoevgrad, BTA reports. In his welcome address, Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov congratulated the servicemen on the successful..

published on 7/24/25 3:46 PM