NewYork-Presbyterian Expands Heart Transplant and Heart Failure Services

NewYork-Presbyterian is expanding its renowned heart transplant program, one of the largest and most experienced heart transplant programs in the nation, and increasing access to its world-class heart failure care.

Since its inception in 1977, NewYork-Presbyterian’s heart transplant program has been based at the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus in Washington Heights. Now, the same exceptional heart transplant care will be available at the NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center campus on the Upper East Side, and heart failure services will be expanding throughout the region, particularly in Brooklyn and Queens.

“We are proud of our long legacy of advancing heart transplant care and pioneering new innovations to extend and improve the lives of patients with heart failure,” said Dr. Steven J. Corwin, president and chief executive officer of NewYork-Presbyterian. “We look forward to expanding access to our services so more patients can receive exceptional cardiac care closer to home.”

NewYork-Presbyterian’s heart transplant team has performed more than 3,000 heart transplants, far exceeding other hospitals, and is recognized as a leader in the field. The program has trained one of the largest cohort of transplant physicians and surgeons in the U.S., and heart transplant specialists across the enterprise continue to pioneer innovative treatments, including therapies for high-risk and multi-organ transplant patients.

“For 45 years, we’ve been advancing heart transplant care so patients can live longer and enjoy a better quality of life,” said Dr. Nir Uriel, director of advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian, a professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and an adjunct professor of medicine in the Greenberg Division of Cardiology at Weill Cornell Medicine. “We are excited to extend this lifesaving care to a broader population.”

“The expansion of the heart transplant program to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center will enable our skilled team to broaden its reach, helping countless patients by offering the most innovative and comprehensive treatment in the areas of heart transplant and cardiac care,” said Dr. Leonard Girardi, cardiothoracic surgeon-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the O. Wayne Isom Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine.

In addition to the heart transplant expansion, NewYork-Presbyterian is also increasing its heart failure services throughout the region so that patients can get more of their care closer to where they live. Building on its world-class team, the hospital is hiring new heart failure physicians in Brooklyn and Queens and is adding advanced practice nurses, physician assistants and support staff throughout the enterprise. The hospital has also invested in its facilities by renovating spaces.

“Our team is committed to delivering exceptional care for heart failure patients, including through LVAD devices (heart pumps) and other innovative treatments, and we look forward to expanding our services throughout the region,” said Dr. Yoshifumi Naka, surgical director of heart failure, cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory support programs at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Professor in Cardiothoracic Surgery (I) at Weill Cornell Medicine and an adjunct professor of surgery at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

“We have more options to treat heart failure than ever before and by growing our services, we can help more people get the care they need where and when they need it,” said Dr. David Majure, medical director of the Heart Transplant Service at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Heart failure is the leading cause of death for adults in New York City and New York, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 6.2 million Americans are currently living with heart failure – when your heart fails to pump blood as it should. Heart failure is responsible for 1 in 8 deaths in the U.S. per year.

“Heart failure is an epidemic, and not all patients receive the level of care that they require,” said Dr. Uriel. “There are a lot of options today that can change people’s lives, and we feel privileged to be able to provide that care.”

Learn more about heart transplant and heart failure services at NewYork-Presbyterian.