Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit

In hospitals and clinics around the country, CommonSpirit Health teams are leading the way in cardiac care innovation, providing groundbreaking treatment options for common conditions like heart failure and atrial fibrillation, and improving quality of life for patients now and for generations to come.

“The field of cardiovascular medicine is evolving at a rapid pace with the introduction of new technologies, break-through medications and artificial intelligence,” says Mary Osborne, System VP, Cardiovascular Service Line.

In 2024, CommonSpirit Cardiovascular Service Line (CVSL) provided diagnostic and therapeutic cardiovascular care to more than 700,000 patients in a variety of care settings. The cardiovascular service line is one of the largest service lines in CommonSpirit and includes 67 catheterization, 39 electrophysiology, 38 cardiac surgery, and 30 structural heart programs.

“Excellence is at the ‘heart’ of what we do,” Mary says. “Our providers, nurses and technicians are committed to providing exceptional care and serving our communities.”

Here are just a few of the pioneering stories from CommonSpirit’s cardiovascular care trailblazers.

A First in the World Heart Transplant
Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center (Houston, Texas)

Baylor St. Luke's Heart Transplant Program was the first team to successfully implant the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart.

For more than 40 years, Baylor St. Luke’s Heart Transplant Program has been a leader in the cardiac field. The program continues to pioneer new treatments, becoming the first hospital to successfully implant the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH), as part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration early feasibility study.

The BiVACOR is a titanium-constructed, biventricular rotary blood pump that replaces both ventricles of a failing heart. It is meant as a bridge-to-transplant treatment for patients with severe heart failure who are not a candidate for other bridge-to-transplant options.

“The BiVACOR is a great example of solving a problem we’ve been trying to solve for 60 years,” says Brad Lembcke, MD, President, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center. “This is the next big step. The clinicians, the investigators, the researchers, our nurses and other frontline staff — everyone wants to be a part of innovative procedures like this one. It’s what we do.”

The successful implantation of BiVACOR’s TAH highlights the potential of innovative technologies to address critical challenges in cardiac care, such as long transplantation waitlists. Since the first successful placement in July 2024, four additional implants were made at Duke University Hospital, Banner-University Medical Center Phoenix, and Christ Hospital – Heart and Vascular Center, with St. Luke's completing a fifth implant in late 2024. All five have since completed successful heart transplants.

“It takes unmatched research, innovation and excellence to advance cardiovascular care continuously,” said Dr. Lembcke. “The BiVACOR TAH represents another historic milestone for our team. Together, we are ushering in a new era of hope for patients with end-stage heart failure.”

Setting the Gold Standard for Care of AFib
Dignity Health Mercy General Hospital (Sacramento, California)

Mercy General Hospital was the second hospital in the nation to perform pulsed field ablation, a groundbreaking new treatment for atrial fibrillation.

The number of people diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia) is expected to reach 16 million in the next five years. Fortunately, as the number of people living with AFib has grown, so too has the push for advancements in arrhythmia treatment.

More than a year ago, Dignity Health Mercy General Hospital (Sacramento, California) became the second hospital in the nation to perform pulsed field ablation (PFA) using the first, novel, commercially-made available PFA technology for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Since then, the Mercy General team has performed more than 1,000 PFA procedures.

“PFA has revolutionized how we treat AFib,” says Arash Aryana, MD, Director, Cardiovascular Service Line and Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory, Mercy General Hospital. “It has become the gold standard and is certainly now the first line approach here at Mercy General.”

Instead of using heat or cold energy as in traditional ablation, PFA uses short bursts of high energy to affect the heart tissue that causes AFib. PFA is regarded as a much safer and more efficient ablation strategy.

“Innovation like this can improve not only the efficacy, but also the safety of treatment options available in cardiovascular medicine,” Dr. Aryana says. “It’s a vital part of the care we provide.”

Thinking Out of the Box: Hybrid Treatment for Mitral Valve Disease
Penrose Hospital (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

The cardiothoracic surgery team at Penrose Hospital successfully performed a rare hybrid mitral valve procedure for a heart failure patient who had no other treatment option.

Innovation is often the result of an unmet need; at Penrose Hospital (Colorado Springs, Colorado), that was the case when Betty Kim, MD, cardiac surgeon, needed a treatment option for a 70-year-old woman suffering from a failing mitral valve. She needed a new valve, but severe calcification in the annulus of the existing valve meant she was at very high risk for a conventional surgical valve replacement. She wasn’t a candidate for a transcatheter mitral valve replacement, given her particular anatomy causing left ventricular obstruction.

“I had to think out of the box for her,” Dr. Kim recalls. “She had severe mitral stenosis and was in heart failure. She would not have survived a traditional valve replacement. The only other option for her was hospice care.”

However, in the literature, there have been reported cases of a catheter mitral valve placed using an open procedure. In this procedure, the severe calcification in the annulus of the existing valve acts like scaffolding to support the catheter valve. It was the collaboration of two specialties, cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology that allowed for this procedure to be a success.

The hybrid mitral valve procedure has been reported less than 10 times in journals. But in July 2024, Dr. Kim and her interventional cardiology colleagues successfully performed the procedure at Penrose Hospital, giving the patient a new lease on life.

“When we talk about advances in cardiac care, the team approach and the collaboration is really what allows innovation to move forward,” Dr. Kim says.

Achieving a Milestone in Groundbreaking Care
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health St. Joseph Medical Center (Tacoma, Washington)

VMFH Center for Cardiovascular Health has completed a milestone 1,000 TAVR procedures, a revolutionary valve replacement procedure that offers patients a quicker, easier recovery. Pictured here (L to R): Catherine Rehberger, ARNP, Jamal Anyalebechi, MD, Ron Reiter, MD., and John Luber, MD.

For patients diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) is a revolutionary treatment option. Not only does it offer a valve replacement option for patients who would not have been candidates for a traditional open heart valve replacement surgery, it also provides a less invasive procedure with shorter recovery times, less blood loss, reduced risk and improved quality of life.

In just ten short years, the TAVR program at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health’s (VMFH) Center for Cardiovascular Health has experienced remarkable growth, and is now offered at St. Joseph Medical Center, St. Michael Medical Center and Virginia Mason Medical Center. Late last year, St. Joseph Medical Center marked a significant milestone, completing its 1,000th TAVR procedure.

“This achievement reflects the dedication and collaboration of our multidisciplinary team - cardiologists, surgeons, nurses, techs and countless others — all working together to change lives,” says Ron Reiter, MD, structural cardiologist, who performed the 1,000th procedure. “It’s a privilege to give patients more time with their families.”