Our professionals
Dr. Ignacio García Bolao
Head of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery
Department Cardiology Specialist
Area of Expertise: study and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias
Professional career
Graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Navarra Faculty of Medicine(1989).Cardiology Specialist and carried out his training at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra (1994).
He was awarded his doctorate (1994) in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Navarra, with a distinctive "Cum Laude" qualification.
In 1996, he subspecialised in Cardiac Electrophysiology in the Arrhythmias Unit at the Hospital Clinic, Barcelona.
He was qualified in Cardiac Stimulation and Cardiac Electrophysiology by the Spanish Society of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology.
He has been the head of the Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery Department at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra since June 2009.
He has developed the Electrophysiology and Arrhythmias Unit at the Clinica Universidad de Navarra.
RESEARCH AREAS
- He has participated in 36 R+D+i research projects.
- Member of the Editorial Board of the Revista Española de Cardiología since 2012.
- He has supervised 4 doctoral theses.
AREAS OF INTEREST
More than 6000 invasive cardiac electrophysiology procedures as first operator. Expert in the following techniques:
- Diagnostic cardiac electrophysiological studies.
- Radiofrequency ablation of conventional substrates.
- Ablation of complex arrhythmic substrates: ventricular tachycardias and complex macroreentrant tachycardias.
- Atrial Fibrillation Ablation (> 4000 procedures as first operator, including RF, PVAC, Cryoablation, nMarq and pulsed field ablation).
- Non-fluoroscopic navigation (including NavX Velocity (700), Carto 3 (100), Noga, Rhythmia (>1000 procedures) and MediGuide (> 50 procedures).
- Implantation and follow-up of pacemakers, defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization devices (>500 CRTs).
- Percutaneous electrode removal.
- Percutaneous atrial appendage closure (Proctor, Watchman and Amulet systems) (>250 procedures, 43 in 2021).
- Pioneer in pulsed field ablation of atrial fibrillation, with more than 600 procedures.
- Pioneer in the concomitant technique of atrial fibrillation ablation and percutaneous atrial appendage closure since 2012.
- He has collaborated as supervisor and teacher in electrophysiology procedures in more than 100 hospitals in the five continents.
Activity
As an educator
- Full Professor at the University. Faculty of Medicine. University of Navarra since 2010 (accreditation as Full Professor at the University by the National Agency for the Quality Assessment of Education, 2009).
- Accreditation for three six-year research periods by the National Commission for the Evaluation of Research Activity
As a researcher
- He has written more than 235 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
- More than 275 oral and written communications in national and international congresses (73 in international congresses).
- More than 126 invited papers in scientific conferences and seminars.
Scientific organizations
- Associate member of the Spanish Society of Cardiology.
- Numerary Member of the Spanish Society of Cardiology.
- Member of the Electrophysiology and Arrhythmias Section of the S.E.C.
- Member of the Pacemaker Section of the S.E.C.
- Member of the Section of Heart Failure and other therapeutic alternatives of the S.E.C.
- Member of the Vasconavarra Society of Cardiology.
- Member of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society since 1998.
- Member of the International Society for Holter and Non-Invasive Electrocardiology since 1998.
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Vasconavarra Society of Cardiology (2002-7).
- Secretary of the Basque-Navarre Society of Cardiology from 2002-2007.
- Member of the European Heart Rhythm Association since 2004.
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Arrhythmia Section of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (2006- 12).
- FESC. Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology.