Valve Centers

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Valve Centers: Leaders in Innovative Approaches and Interdisciplinary Care

Combining the expertise of cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, and cardiac imaging specialists, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has established leading centers in cardiac valve procedures at each of its main campuses.

In Fall 2011, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, in partnership with the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy, launched the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Heart Valve Center, a multidisciplinary program for valve patients, providing surgical, interventional, and hybrid options for a variety of valvular conditions. The heart valve team at Columbia has years of clinical and academic leadership in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and serve as the principal investigators of the national PARTNER trials that established the effectiveness of this minimally invasive procedure. "On average, we perform six to eight procedures per week on some of the most complex and difficult-to-treat patients," says Mathew R. Williams, MD, Co-Director, Columbia Heart Valve Center. "In addition to treating aortic stenosis patients, we have a number of mitral valve disease patients enrolled in clinical trials."

According to Susheel K. Kodali, MD, Co-Director, Columbia Heart Valve Center, the Center has also established a formal training and education program in valvular disease. "The Center approaches valvular heart disease in its totality, including outreach to referring doctors, patient screening, patient evaluations, and all forms of patient therapy."

Specialists at the William Acquavella Heart Valve Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell develop and evaluate novel, less-invasive techniques for repairing and replacing damaged mitral, aortic, and pulmonary valves. The Center's team has played a leading role in clinical trials assessing the latest percutaneous valve replacement approaches, giving it greater experience than most centers in these emerging new techniques.

"The Acquavella Heart Valve Center is dedicated to finding new therapy modalities in the treatment of valvular heart disease," notes Karl H. Krieger, MD, Vice Chairman, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. "From a cardiovascular point of view, most of the patients that we see have the most common form of valvular heart disease, which is aortic stenosis, a disease that affects up to 1.5 million people in the United States. We have achieved superior outcomes using these innovative approaches, which make valve replacement possible for many patients who cannot tolerate conventional heart surgery."

Indeed, the Center is cognizant that many of its older patients come from throughout the tri-state area accompanied by a family member. "We pride ourselves in minimizing the stress on our older patients and try to keep their evaluation to one visit if possible," adds Dr. Krieger.