15 Hospitals and Health Systems With Great Cardiovascular Programs

Here are 15 hospitals and health systems with great cardiovascular programs

Allegheny General Hospital (Pittsburgh). Allegheny General Hospital is a 724-bed academic medical center located on Pittsburgh’s historic North Side. The hospital, which is home to the Gerald McGinnis Cardiovascular Institute, is recognized both nationally and internationally for its outstanding heart program. Physicians at Allegheny conducted the nation's first echocardiogram, were the first in the state to perform a heart-valve replacement, opened the first freestanding outpatient cardiac catheterization laboratory in the state and conducted Pittsburgh's first FDA-approved ventricular-assist device implant.

The hospital aims to offer outstanding care to its patients through the research and educational programs offered by the Institute and offers services to treat a variety of heart problems, including coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension and aortic disease. The hospital also operates a dedicated Women's Heart Center, which an provides women an overall assessment of their cardiovascular health and offers patients gender-specific action plans for preventing and treating heart disease. Clinicians and scientists at the hospital's Institute are currently working to develop muscle-powered ventricular-assist devices, a project supported by the National Institutes of Health. The hospital also actively participates in a number of clinical trials. www.wpahs.org/agh

Billings Clinic (Billings, Mont.). Billings Clinic is a non-profit 272-bed community hospital, which features a nationally-recognized cardiac care facility. The cardiovascular program was the first in the state to perform open-heart surgery and has been named a "Top 100 Hospital" for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuter's Healthcare for the past five years. The cardiovascular program uses state-of-the-art technology to diagnose and treat a variety of heart conditions. The program offers patients with heart failure a condition-specific program to integrate services received by a variety of healthcare specialists within the clinic. The hospital also offers telecardiology, a heart-specific telemedicine program that improves access to cardiovascular care to patients outside of the Billings area. www.billingsclinic.com

Good Samaritan Hospital (Cincinnati). Good Samaritan Hospital is a 470-bed facility, which has served the Cincinnati community for more than 150 years. The hospital is home to the recognized Good Samaritan Heart & Vascular Center, which provides comprehensive diagnosis and medical, surgical and interventional treatment of numerous heart conditions. Good Samaritan Hospital performs more than 350 open-heart surgeries annually, along with more than 2,700 cardiac catheterizations and nearly 900 angioplasties.

Good Samaritan has an outstanding electrophysiology program, which focuses on the treatment of heart arrhythmias. The hospital is a regional leader in the treatment of these electrical disturbances and was the first hospital in Cincinnati to implant a pacemaker and the first hospital in the area to perform a catheter ablation. The hospital is also a regional leader in robotic-assisted surgery and was the first in Cincinnati to use robotics in open heart surgery. www.trihealth.com/GSH

Gundersen Lutheran Health System (La Crosse, Wis.). Gundersen Lutheran Health System is a healthcare network that includes a 325-bed teaching hospital and one of the largest multi-specialty group medical practices in that United States. The Heart Institute at Gundersen Lutheran has been home to one of largest and most comprehensive cardiac programs in a three-state region and has been recognized as a "Top 100 Hospital" for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuter's Healthcare for five years. The hospital has also received five-star distinction from HealthGrades for the treatment of heart attack and heart failure for four years.

The Heart Institute at Gundersen Lutheran performs more than 4,000 invasive procedures and 400 open heart surgeries annually. The hospital has a specialized team dedicated to pediatric cardiology and is a forerunner in the treatment of heart problems in children. Gundersen Lutheran also has a dedicated cardiology research department, which was established in 1997. The research team is currently pursuing a number of ongoing studies including those examining carotid ultrasound manifestations, external counterpulsation and the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation programs. www.gundluth.org

King's Daughters Medical Center (Ashland, Ky.). King's Daughters Medical Center is a non-profit, 385-bed regional medical center serving patients from southern Ohio, eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia. The hospital was recently recognized for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuter's Healthcare, being named a "Top 100 Hospital" for the specialty. The hospital's Heart & Vascular Center features a specialized cardiology clinic, the first of its kind in the region and a women's heart health program, which aims to lower the hospital's female patients' risk for developing heart attack and stroke. The hospital's cardiothoracic surgery program performs surgeries for aneurysm repair, atrial fibrillation, carotid artery blockages, heart valve repair and replacement in addition to other heart conditions. Surgeons at King's Daughters performed more than 850 open-heart surgeries last year and were first in the region to perform beating heart surgery.

The hospital also has a dedicated cardiovascular nursing unit, staffed with nurses who have completed a cardiac fellowship training program and have achieved certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support. King's Daughters hosts an annual Cardiovascular Update Conference, where healthcare providers receive information about the latest advances in the treatment of cardiovascular conditions. www.kdmc.com

Loyola University Health Center (Maywood, Ill.). Loyola University Health Center's Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine brings heart and vascular specialists together in one location to collaborate on patient care and treatment options. The center offers initial screenings, non-invasive diagnostic echocardiograms, vascular ultrasound, diagnostic angiography, catheter ablations, pacemaker implantation and vascular and cardiovascular and thoracic surgery. Loyola University Health Center is recognized as a top 30 teaching hospital by Thomson Reuters for cardiovascular care and has been included in Thosom Reuters's  "Top 100 Hospitals" list for cardiovascular care for four years. Additionally, Loyola is one of 38 hospitals in the nation and one of two in Illinois to show above-average outcomes for heart failure patients, according to a survey of more than 4,000 hospitals conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2007.

Loyola was the first hospital in the state, and one of few hospitals in the nation, to staff a Heart Attack Rapid Response Team — a team of board-certified cardiologists and other medical staff who provide 24-hour care, seven days a week, to heart-attack patients, offering potentially life-saving emergency angioplasty treatment immediately upon arrival. Loyola was also the first hospital in the state to perform a heart transplant and was among the first hospitals in the United States to use 3-D ultrasound to guide ablation and to perform minimally invasive cardiac surgery. www.loyolamedicine.org

Maine Medical Center (Portland, Maine). Maine Medical Center is a 606-bed non-profit hospital serving northern New England. The hospital features the Maine Heart Center, one of the most recognized heart programs in the state, receiving five-star ratings for overall cardiac services, cardiology services, coronary interventional procedures, treatment of heart attack and treatment of heart failure by HealthGrades. Maine Medical Center was the first facility in the state to perform bypass surgery and transmyocardial revascularization and was the first to introduce robotic surgery for cardiovascular procedures. The organization's services range from pediatric cardiology to electrophysiology and surgery. The medical center is also a sponsor of the "One Save" program, which provides defibrillation units to public areas in the region in the hopes of saving lives by expanding access to the defibrillation. www.mmc.org

Ochsner Medical Center (New Orleans). Ochsner Medical Center is a 473-bed acute care non-profit, academic healthcare system. The hospital's John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute is a comprehensive cardiac and vascular care center that offers a continuum of care unique for the region. The Institute features specialized programs in a number of areas including heart failure and transplant, electrophysiology and vascular medicine. Ochsner was one of the first 10 programs in the United States to perform more than 500 transplants and has performed more than 500 carotid stents in the past 10 years, one of only a few hospitals in the world to do so. The hospital is also currently working on a number of research initiatives and clinical trials. www.ochsner.org

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett (Everett, Wash.). Providence Regional Medical Center is a 468-bed medical center consisting of five campuses. The hospital's Heart and Vascular Institute has received a number of national awards including a top 10 percent ranking for overall cardiac services by HealthGrades. Providence's Cardiac Surgery Single Stay Unit allows cardiac surgery patients to recover in one comprehensive care room for their entire stay and is the first unit of its kind in the state. The Institute features a number of cardiac centers including the Center for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention, the Center for Diagnostic Cardiology, the Center for Interventional Cardiology, Center for Arrhythmia Management and the Center for Surgical Services. www.providence.org/everett

Riverside Regional Medical Center (Newport News, R.I.). Riverside Regional Mecical Center, part of Riverside Health Systems, is a 570-bed hospital with a strong cardiac program. The hospital has been named as a "Top 100 Hospital" for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuter's Healthcare. The hospital's Heart and Vascular Center provides more than 27,000 incidents of care annually, specializing in cutting-edge diagnostic, emergency and elective heart and cardiovascular care, including open heart surgery. The center also offers the only interventional catheterization lab on the Virginia Peninsula that meets the American Heart Association's guidelines for emergency treatment of heart attacks. www.riversideonline.com

St. Joseph Medical Center (Towson, Md.). St. Joseph Medical Center is a 354-bed acute care regional medical center. The hospital's Heart Institute is well-recognized for outstanding heart care, being named one of the "Top 100 Hospitals" for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuters Healthcare for eight years. The Institute includes the largest  open heart surgery program in the state and an all-digital cardiac catheterization program. The Institute also offers an electrophysiology lab, a cardiac intensive care unit and a cardiac fitness program. St. Joseph is active in cardiac clinical trials and also sponsors "Heart Aware," an innovative heart disease detection program that provides free online heart health evaluations and reduced-price CT scans for participants. www.sjmcmd.org

St. Mark's Hospital (Salt Lake City). St. Mark's Hospital is a 317-bed hospital with an outstanding heart program, which helped earned it the recent distinction of a "Top 100 Hospital" for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuter's Healthcare. The hospital's surgeons perform approximately 8,000 cardiac catheterization procedures and 400 open heart surgeries annually. St. Mark's offers dedicated programs for non-invasive cardiac testing, cardiac catheterization, open heart surgery, cardiac rehabilitation and chest pain management. The hospital also opened a state-of-the-art electrophysiology laboratory in June 2008 to better serve patients with heart arrhythmias. www.stmarkshospital.com

St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital (Indianapolis). St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, part of St. Vincent Health, and its cardiovascular Center of Excellence, St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana, has been ranked by Thomson Reuters Healthcare as a "Top 100 Hospital" for cardiovascular care and is ranked among the top five percent of hospitals nationally for stroke care by HealthGrades. St. Vincent offers programs in minimally invasive heart surgery, interventional cardiology, cardiac catheterization, heart surgery and imaging and testing.

St. Vincent recently announced a new atrial fibrillation Center of Excellence program to address the needs of patients with heart rhythm disorders. The Heart Center also hosts a number of community events to raise awareness about heart disease and prevention and promotes a $99 heart scan for community members as a way help identify early warning signs of heart disease. www.stvincent.org

Vanderbilt Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.). Vanderbilt Medical Center is a comprehensive healthcare facility with more than 600 beds, serving patients throughout the Mid-South. Vanderbilt's Heart Institute, often referred to as "Vanderbilt Heart," offers dedicated programs in a number of areas including adult congenital heart conditions, electrophysiology, atrial fibrillation, cardiac surgery, heart transplant, interventional cardiology, women's heart disease and cardiac rehabilitation. Vanderbilt's program in heart and heart surgery was recognized by U.S. News & World Report, ranking 21st in the nation for the specialty.

Vanderbilt's Heart Institute is a leader in cardiovascular research, recently receiving a $16 million award for research examining thrombosis and the metabolic syndrome and is currently performing research on stem cell therapy, atrial fibrillation and vascular surgery. The Institute also actively works to educate patients about heart health through literature and community programs, such as its annual "Heart Walk" for the American Heart Society. www.vanderbilthealth.com

Venice Regional Medical Center (Venice, Fla.). Venice Regional Medical Center is a 312-bed regional hospital and health system that provides a comprehensive array of healthcare services to the greater Venice area. The hospital has been ranked by Thomson Reuters Healthcare as a "Top 100 Hospital" for cardiovascular care for three consecutive years. Venice Regional's heart program offers medical and interventional cardiology and open heart surgery with comprehensive rehabilitation services for post acute care. The hospital also sponsors a Cardiac Club, which hosts monthly meetings at the hospital and provides information and support to the community. www.veniceregional.net

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