University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute is comprised of preventive cardiology, vascular medicine, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, cardiac electrophysiology, cardiovascular imaging, congenital heart cardiology, interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure cardiology, cardiac transplantation and cardiovascular rehabilitation. There is also an extensive research and innovation infrastructure that supports these services and encompasses population health, genomics and artificial intelligence, translational science and clinical trials.

Highlights

• Only site in Northeast Ohio with same-day discharge after Watchman™ procedure for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation.
• Only site in Ohio offering renal denervation study for treatment of resistant hypertension.
• Fourth largest minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) program in the nation.
• Only site in Ohio with Limflow™ for patients with critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) at risk for amputation.
• First in Ohio to offer minimalist transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in awake patients without the need for transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).
• Largest of only 17 centers in the U.S. participating in the North American Registry for Fibromuscular Dysplasia.
• National leader in the use of artificial intelligence and fingerprinting MRI as advanced cardiovascular imaging technologies.
• First location in Ohio among 27 national sites to enroll postpartum women in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded study of peripartum cardiomyopathy and myocardial recovery.

Quality, Access and Research Endeavors

Programs to improve quality and enhance patient satisfaction include the Limb Salvage Advisory Council, Pulmonary Embolism Response Team, E-CPR (only program in Ohio to address outside hospital cardiac arrest), systemwide Cardiogenic Shock Program, Aortic Care Team, and Rapid Response for Podiatrists program. These teams have been recognized nationally and internationally and their results have been published in peer-reviewed journals.

To expand patient access, we have successfully transitioned many of our catheterization labs from a Level I to a Level II, enabling onsite heart attack care and novel advanced procedures like atrial fibrillation ablation to be performed at our community hospitals. We have also started Saturday clinics and campaigned for same-day discharge for appropriate procedures that historically had an overnight stay. For example, 90 percent of our left atrial appendage closure cases are discharged same day, compared to 10 percent nationally, with excellent clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction ratings.

As part of our commitment to improving the cardiovascular care of our community, we offer no-cost coronary artery calcium scoring. Having performed more than 100,000 no-cost calcium scoring tests over the past 10 years, our institute leads the nation’s largest registry of patients that have undergone this guideline-recommended test.

Committed to bringing the latest in cardiovascular care to our patients, our team has garnered over $44.5 million in extramural research funding, managing more than 135 active trials and following over 5,300 patients. The trials represent first-in-human and Phase I to IV studies.