WMCHealth Heart and Vascular Institute Expands Its Reach Across the Hudson Valley

Here’s where to find world-class cardiac care, close to home.

By Lisa Cesarano

Vast in both capabilities and reach, the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) Heart and Vascular Institute continues to deliver on its promise of providing remarkable cardiovascular care to patients across the Hudson Valley.

Combining exceptional medical expertise with state-of-the art technology, the Heart and Vascular Institute offers patients across the Hudson Valley and beyond access to the region’s best physicians and researchers in cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, cardiothoracic surgery and pediatric cardiovascular services.

“Through our interdisciplinary care approach, the WMCHealth Heart and Vascular Institute meets the needs of the Hudson Valley by designing and offering the best treatments precisely where our patients need it: close to home,” says Julio A. Panza, MD, Chief of Cardiology at WMCHealth. The Institute excels in providing outstanding treatment for the most challenging heart and vascular concerns. These include the Pulmonary Hypertension Program, which treats a rare and difficult-to-diagnose disease that attacks small arteries in the lungs, causing elevated pressure that stresses the heart’s right side.

The Institute’s new Cardio/Oncology Program addresses the needs of a growing number of patients who – as a result of increasing cancer survival rates – suffer from both heart disease and cancer.

In 2018, the Institute made exciting advances in a wide range of areas.

Valvular Heart Disease

Since its inception, the WMCHealth Heart and Vascular Institute performed more than 500 Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedures, which replace the diseased aortic valve without open-heart surgery. The Institute pioneered this life-saving procedure in the Hudson Valley and success rates are superior to national averages.

Heart Failure Treatment

The cutting-edge Heart Failure Program at Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of WMCHealth, is the only one of its kind in Rockland and Orange counties. It provides Rockland County residents with rapid evaluation, as well as access to life-saving therapies such as mechanical circulatory support and transplant. 

New Practice Locations

The Institute established a new practice at HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary’s Avenue Campus, a member of WMCHealth, welcoming new cardiologists to the Institute’s team. The practice offers residents access to a broad range of advanced cardiovascular services and many other disciplines.

In addition, a new multispecialty office in Mamaroneck has opened, which brings exceptional noninvasive cardiology services to southern Westchester County.

Substantial Technology Investments

The Network is undergoing a $21 million renovation of WMCHealth’s six cardiac catheterization laboratories at the network’s flagship campus in Valhalla. The first phase of this renovation has been recently completed with the re-opening of a state-of-the-art cath lab. Two more labs are expected to open in Valhalla’s new Ambulatory Care Pavilion, currently under construction on the Valhalla campus. In addition, a new interventional and electrophysiology laboratory at HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston is pending approval from the New York State Department of Health.

Educational Programming

Beyond regular cardiovascular programs, the Institute in October held its third Westchester Cardiovascular Symposium for cardiac physicians, nurses and other providers from the region and beyond, focusing on Heart Failure, Ischemic Heart Disease, Cardiac Electrophysiology, Valvular Heart Disease and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

To learn more about the WMCHealth Heart and Vascular Institute, visit wmchealth.org/heart.