Balgarianovinite.com Bulgaria’s first stroke centre has been opened at St. Anna University multi-profile hospital for active treatment in Sofia. The facility will treat patients with cerebrovascular diseases, primarily those affected by stroke.
At the opening ceremony on Tuesday, caretaker Health Minister Assoc. Prof. Michail Okoliyski said that similar centres are also planned at the Pirogov emergency hospital and Ivan Rilski hospital in Sofia.
Additional stroke centres will be established at St. George University Hospital in Plovdiv, Dr. Georgi Stranski University Hospital in Pleven, and St. Marina University Hospital in Varna.
More than EUR 100 million in funding for the centres is being provided under Bulgaria’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan. In addition, 17 other hospitals across the country will receive medical equipment and be connected to the six main stroke centres. According to the Ministry of Health, a digital platform will also be created to enable doctors to consult with one another in real time. The connected hospitals will include facilities in Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Dobrich, Kyustendil, Kardzhali, Montana, Pazardzhik, Ruse, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Gabrovo, Targovishte, Haskovo, and Shumen.
Okoliyski said that once the integrated system becomes fully operational, it will significantly improve public health, ensure timelier and coordinated care, uphold the “golden hour” standard, and apply the most advanced methods in stroke treatment.
Deputy Health Minister Petar Gribnev explained that thrombectomies will be carried out at the six main stroke centres, while thrombolysis procedures will be available at the other connected hospitals. He added that the remaining centres in Sofia and across the country are expected to open soon.
According to the hospital’s director, Dr. Slavcho Bliznakov, the stroke centre at St. Anna was initially established ten years ago, but it is now entering a new phase thanks to equipment financed through the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The hospital has received a modern 360-slice CT scanner, an MRI machine, and a biplane angiography system.
Bliznakov also stressed that the hospital has created a simulation centre to train doctors who will later perform stroke treatment procedures at the other stroke centres around the country.
Each year, St. Anna Hospital admits around 1,000 patients with ischemic stroke. Of these, approximately 300 are treated with thrombolysis and around 70 with thrombectomy, although the hospital has the capacity to handle twice as many cases. Bulgaria Opens First Stroke Centre at St. Anna Hospital in Sofia 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-04-07 12:30:11 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law