At #4 in the Nation, Elevating Cardiac Care Continues

A Driving Force in Aortic Valve Replacement

Our transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) program is among the largest in the country. Virtually every advance in TAVR has had its roots at NewYork-Presbyterian. Our Columbia doctors were the principal investigators of the national clinical trials establishing its effectiveness. More recently, the FDA approved TAVR for low-risk patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis, sparing them from open heart surgery. The results of the PARTNER 3 Trial – co-led by Columbia physicians – support the use of TAVR in three out of four patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. Patients benefit from:

• No incisions: Performed percutaneously through a catheter during a one-hour procedure
• A shorter hospital stay: Typically 1 to 2 days, with a quicker return to normal activities
• Excellent one-year postoperative outcomes: 1.0% rate of death or disabling stroke

Our valve specialists treat all types of heart valve disorders using shared decision-making to determine the most appropriate treatment for each patient. They are also major investigators in current clinical trials of mitral valve replacement and transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement.

Comprehensive Care for Adult Congenital Heart Disease

NewYork-Presbyterian has a long history of addressing the complex needs of patients with adult congenital heart disease, having formed one of the first such programs in 1987 – the Schneeweiss Adult Congenital Heart Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia. Here cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, and cardiac imaging specialists continue to develop this burgeoning field to ensure that the growing adult population is treated by highly trained heart specialists who understand the unique physiological, anatomical, and clinical features of congenital heart disease at all ages. These include cardiac defects often first discovered in adulthood, such as atrial septal defects and bicuspid aortic valve disease; complex birth anomalies that may  have already required multiple surgeries in childhood, such as tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of the great arteries, coarctation of the aorta, and single ventricle anatomy or Fontan circulation, as well as a large group of congenital heart patients with pulmonary hypertension and Eisenmenger’s physiology.

Unique Attention to Athletes

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia has a highly developed sports cardiology group composed of three physicians who see elite athletes with cardiac issues and who offer cardiac screening for professional sports teams. Services include:

• Expedited comprehensive evaluations to identify potential cardiac symptoms
• Pre-participation cardiac examinations
• Performance and review of cardiac testing
• Management of existing cardiovascular conditions

A major focus of the sports cardiology program is assistance in the detection and management of cardiac conditions that could predispose an athlete to an exercise-triggered cardiac emergency. Our physicians also perform comprehensive assessments of an athlete’s cardiac status to help minimize, when possible, unnecessary disqualifications from competition and delays in return to play.

Managing Heart Disease in Women

The Women’s Heart Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia focuses on the manifestations of heart disease in women and how factors such as pregnancy and menopause may complicate heart health. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are playing a larger role in pregnancy related deaths. Since 1987, the U.S. maternal mortality rate has more than doubled. Through our women's health program, renowned maternal-fetal medicine specialists collaborate with cardiologists to address critical cardiac issues that can arise during pregnancy, such as heart failure, valve disorders, and hypertension.