Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital at The Mount Sinai Hospital has again earned the American College of Cardiology’s Transcatheter Valve Certification. Mount Sinai is the only cardiac center in New York City and one of six in New York State to receive this recognition. This award is a symbol of expertise, quality and safety of care, and commitment to treating patients who need transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
This award follows a prestigious “high performing” rating in transcatheter aortic valve replacement from U.S. News & World Report. This rating is based on multiple categories including patient survival, patient volume, and stroke prevention.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement, also known as TAVR, is a minimally invasive procedure for patients with severe aortic stenosis, in which the aortic valve doesn’t fully open. This reduces blood flow leaving the heart and causes chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath. TAVR allows the aortic valve to be replaced without open-heart surgery. Interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons work together to deliver the new heart valve through a catheter that runs from a blood vessel in the groin to the aortic valve. The team then deploys the transcatheter valve within the diseased aortic valve, so the new valve can function immediately.
“It is an absolute honor that we have received Transcatheter Valve Center certification from the American College of Cardiology after a very detailed review of our structural heart program. This certification solidifies Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital as one of the premier centers in the nation for percutaneous nonsurgical valve procedures,” says Samin Sharma, MD, Director of Interventional Cardiology for the Mount Sinai Health System.
Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital underwent a rigorous evaluation in which reviewers from the American College of Cardiology conducted an analysis of key areas including:
Quality of care
Clinical outcomes and patient experience
Quality assessment and performance improvement initiatives
Multidisciplinary approach and shared decision making by heart team for patient care
Review of metrics from national registries
Staff credentialing, training, and education
Equipment safety and inspection
Infection control guidelines
“The American College of Cardiology Certification is a testament to the close collaboration and active involvement including interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, imaging specialists, heart failure specialists, and nurse practitioners working closely together to offer the best experience possible to our patients at Mount Sinai,” says Gilbert Tang, MD, MSc, MBA, Surgical Director of the Structural Heart Program at the Mount Sinai Health System.
“Our center, through a combination of technically skilled operators and careful attention to patient details, has achieved the best outcomes. Regular communication with patients’ families and the referring physicians has made us a preferred center for transcatheter valve therapies,” says Annapoorna Kini, MD, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at The Mount Sinai Hospital.
The certification is based on established national clinical measures to support clinical decisions and links process improvement to patient outcomes. Hospitals that achieve Transcatheter Valve Certification learn best practices for implementing evidence-based medicine to support patient-shared decision making and can track key performance metrics to better identify opportunities for improvement.