Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence

Heart and Vascular Care at Jefferson

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We ask a lot of our hearts: The average human heart beats 100,000 times per day, pumping about 2,000 gallons of blood. No wonder, then, that when something goes wrong with your heart or blood vessels, it can profoundly affect your health and quality of life.

At Jefferson, you will receive nothing less than the best in heart and vascular care. Named a Top Hospital for Heart by Philadelphia magazine, the Jefferson Heart Institute was one of the first heart centers in the nation to implant stents to open blocked arteries. We are also designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care by Independence BlueCross.  

Jefferson is a world-class center for cardiovascular medicine and surgery, with a storied history of innovation. It is here that the first open heart surgery in the U.S. was performed and that the technology enabling bypass surgery was invented. Jefferson physicians also work rigorously to help you change your behavior in order to prevent cardiac disease. We provide medical treatment so that you can better manage chronic diseases such as diabetes that may lead to heart disease.

Our noninvasive cardiovascular diagnostic testing laboratories utilize a wide variety of testing to help detect heart disease. These include transthoracic echocardiography (ultrasound), transesophageal echocardiography, stress tests, stress echocardiography testing, electrocardiography, dobutamine stress studies, peripheral arteriography and stress-thallium studies.

Our physicians and researchers have spurred some of the most significant advances in the field and are continually at work developing the advances of tomorrow. Some examples of what makes Jefferson a leader in heart and vascular care include:

• Our physicians have been using coronary stents for 25 years, which has helped prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes.
• Our physicians were the first in Pennsylvania to implant a Jarvik 2000® Heart Assist System, a life-saving device that helps restore normal blood flow for patients with serious heart failure.
• Jefferson has helped pioneer the use of next-generation drug-eluting stents in angioplasty, and we were the first hospital in Philadelphia to treat patients with them.
• Jefferson researchers' landmark discovery of the pivotal role a protein called GRK2 plays in the heart's function is helping advance the prevention of heart failure.

At Jefferson, you can expect personalized, expert care, whether you have a common heart problem or a rare and complex cardiovascular disorder. Our renowned physicians provide the most advanced treatments for which we receive referrals and emergency transfers from other hospitals in the region. These treatments include ventricular remodeling, biventricular pacing, off-pump coronary bypass grafting, heart transplantation and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to stop life-threatening arrhythmias.

Departments and Services

Named a Top Hospital for Heart by Philadelphia magazine, we provide 55,000 patients a year a combination of personalized care, renowned expertise and advanced treatments. No other hospital in the Delaware Valley offers a more comprehensive range of diagnostic and treatment options.

• Learn More About the Division of Cardiology

Cardiothoracic surgeons at Jefferson are pioneering the use of minimally invasive techniques that enable a growing number of patients with heart and vascular disorders to avoid open surgery. In fact, no other hospital in the Delaware Valley offers more minimally invasive alternatives to surgery than Jefferson.

• Learn More About the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery  

Interventional radiologists at Jefferson were among the first in the country to use vascular stents clinically and have extensive experience in endovascular procedures for treatment of all types of vascular disease.

• Learn More About the Division of Interventional Radiology  

Our reputation for treating the most complex aorta disorders draws referrals and emergency transfers from throughout the Northeast. Ongoing clinical trials place Jefferson among the first hospitals in the U.S. to treat patients with the most advanced procedures and technologies.

• Learn More About the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery  

Our surgeons perform 70 to 100 transplants per year, and we maintain an active role with the post-transplant patient.

• Learn More About the Division of Transplantation  

Our physicians of the nationally recognized Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Center provide individualized care to help you manage your heart disease, reduce hospital stays and enhance your quality of life. We provide innovative surgical procedures and therapies to successfully treat the most critically ill cardiac patients, and we have performed more than 1,100 lifetime heart transplant procedures.

• Learn More About the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Center  

Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States? If you or a woman you care about needs expert diagnosis and treatment, our women's health experts will help you understand the risk factors, how to take steps for a healthier life and, if you are diagnosed with cardiac disease, help you manage and treat your specific disease.

• Learn More About Women's Health Services