Dr. Robert Minutello Named Director of Cardiac Catheterization Lab at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens

Robert M. Minutello, M.D., an interventional cardiologist with a long history at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, has been named director of the cardiac catheterization lab and director of the structural heart disease program at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, where he will also lead the new Heart Valve Center.

The Heart Valve Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens is the only center in Queens to offer transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). TAVR is an advanced, minimally invasive procedure for patients with a severe narrowing of the aortic valve opening, aortic stenosis. TAVR allows doctors to implant a device into a heart valve without open surgery.

“Over the last decade, TAVR has transformed the care for patients with aortic stenosis, a common condition for older people,” said Dr. Minutello. “We are excited to be making this effective and lifesaving procedure more convenient and accessible for patients who live in Queens, home to more than 2 million people.”

Dr. Minutello, an associate professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Cardiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, has also served as the director of the interventional cardiology fellowship training program at Weill Cornell Medicine for the past 12 years, where he trains the next generation of cardiologists.

“Dr. Minutello is a skilled physician, committed mentor, and innovative researcher whose leadership will help bring advanced technologies in cardiac care to Queens residents,” said Dr. David Slotwiner, chief of the division of cardiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens.

Dr. Minutello has extensive experience in TAVR and helped launch the TAVR program at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in 2013. He also specializes in angioplasty and stenting, heart procedures that restore or improve blood flow to the arteries, as well as the interventional management of valvular heart disease, characterized by damage in the heart valves.

“Innovations in cardiology have broadened the horizons of how we can treat patients with valvular and structural heart disease with minimally invasive techniques,” said Dr. Minutello. “The team at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens will be at the forefront of advancing these technologies to provide better treatments for our patients.”

A Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, Dr. Minutello’s research interests include transcatheter valvular and coronary intervention outcomes. He has worked jointly with the New York State Department of Health in outcomes data analysis using the statewide angioplasty registry. He also had served on Weill Cornell Medicine’s Institutional Review Board, as well as the Acute Coronary Syndrome committee.

Dr. Minutello completed his internship, fellowship and residency at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine.