Doors swing open to a whole New Era
15/04/2026
As the doors swung open to wheel in the first patient scheduled for our new cardiac catheter laboratory, Professor Peter Kistler looked around and couldn’t help but be impressed.
“It’s big, isn’t it?” Peter said after a successful day one in the lab that opened last week. “It already features state-of-the art equipment but having such a spacious facility gives Cabrini tremendous potential for growth and expansion to integrate new technologies, because there’s a lot happening in the treatment of heart rhythm problems and cardiology interventions.”
The new cath lab has been purpose-built and equipped with the latest technology to provide access to the growing number of patients in our community who need interventional cardiology.
“The equipment we have here at Cabrini, in this new lab, is at the cutting edge of what’s available globally,” Peter said. “You don’t need to be in the United States to get the latest innovations. We often have access to heart rhythm technologies before the US, and certainly here at Cabrini, that’s no exception. This lab offers all sorts of possibilities – the future proofing is important.”
The addition of a new cath lab does indeed help to future proof Cabrini Malvern, with demand for interventional cardiology in the community rapidly increasing. Atrial fibrillation is in the top 10 reasons why people present to emergency departments and catheter ablation has been shown in studies to be at least twice as effective as anti-arrhythmic medications.
With the opening of Cath Lab 3, which has been funded by generous donors Wendy and Carl Dowd, Cabrini now has three cardiac catheter labs operational, and once the Next Era redevelopment theatre build is complete in coming weeks, Cabrini Malvern will have a total of 30 operating theatres.
“These cath labs allow us to treat the entire spectrum of people from the young to older patients, including those with poorly functioning hearts,” Peter, a cardiologist and electrophysiologist, explained.
“There’s been a real explosion in catheter ablation as the preferred treatment of atrial fibrillation in the last few years. And there’s been a bunch of different therapies including pulsed field ablation that have evolved. We also know there’s this drive to treat people using less invasive techniques, so with the addition of this purpose-built lab, Cabrini has the capacity and flexibility to deliver the best potential treatment for patients.”
The impressive Cath Lab 3 sits alongside a beautiful new Discharge Lounge, making a visit to our cath labs more comfortable for patients, and Cabrini staff working in the beautiful new facilities.
“It’s beautifully prepared and presented,” Peter said. “Everyone likes to feel that they’re working in an environment which has the best of what’s available in order to get the best possible health outcomes for their patients. And that’s what we have here. It’s a fantastic facility.
“This redevelopment is going to stand Cabrini in really good stead moving into the future, particularly in the management of cardiac conditions, which remain the leading cause of death in our community.”