Hackensack University Medical Center Celebrates Heart Month with Cardiovascular Successes

HACKENSACK, N.J. — February is American Heart Month, a time when all people are encouraged to focus on their cardiovascular health. Hackensack University Medical Center’s heart experts are taking this time to celebrate their leadership in cardiovascular care. The hospital is the only center in New Jersey to use a novel method to assess the health of smaller arteries in the heart and pinpoint microvascular disease, which until now has presented a diagnostic challenge. And they are offering patients promising new therapies by participating in high-profile cardiovascular clinical trials.

Unique Cardiovascular Procedures

In February 2023, interventional cardiologists at Hackensack University Medical Center became the first in the state to use the Coroventisǂ CoroFlowǂ Cardiovascular System during coronary angiography to evaluate key measures of heart function and diagnose or rule out cardiac small vessel disease in people with symptoms such as chest pain — especially those with no evidence of significant blockages in the major coronary arteries. Today the hospital is one of the highest volume centers in the northeastern United States to offer this evaluation as part of a comprehensive catheterization procedure.

While cardiologists have long known the impact of coronary artery disease on the heart, they now understand the contributing effects of coronary microvascular disease on heart health as well. Microvascular disease affects the inner lining and walls of very small blood vessels that branch off of the coronary arteries. Often these tiny conduits may not have plaque, but the damage from microvascular disease can cause spasms and reduce the flow of oxygen-rich blood to heart muscle. The CoroFlow system is a wireless device used in conjunction with Abbott’s PressureWire™ X Guidewire. It generates hemodynamic data measuring the function of the epicardial vessels (the large blood vessels) and the microvascular vessels (microscopic small blood vessels). 

Hackensack interventional cardiologist Ankitkumar Patel, MD, is involved with the Microvascular Network, a group of 50 to 60 individuals around the country committed to expanding therapy awareness, promoting clinical research, and advancing guidelines for the management of microvascular disease. Hackensack University Medical Center has also been invited to participate in a multicenter registry on microvascular disease. 

Advancing the Field through Research

EVOID-AS Trial

Hackensack University Medical Center is participating in the EVOID-AS clinical trial, which is assessing an oral medication (evogliptin) to reduce the progression of mild and moderate aortic stenosis with calcification. Participants will receive placebo or one of two doses of evogliptin. While Hackensack offers the latest interventional and surgical techniques for advanced cases of aortic stenosis — such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and minimally invasive surgical aortic valve replacement (miniAVR) — this clinical trial, available at a small number of select sites nationwide, is the first of its kind focused on preventing disease progression. 

Individuals interested in being evaluated for possible enrollment candidacy for the EVOID-AS trial can contact Ankitkumar Patel, MD, Primary Investigator at XXX. 

Impella ECP Pivotal Trial

Patients with complex coronary artery disease and cardiogenic shock have access to the latest Impella circulatory support devices at Hackensack University Medical Center, home to the third largest Impella program in the U.S. and the largest Impella program at a non-heart transplant center. The hospital is now the top enrolling center in the world in the Impella ECP Pivotal Trial, which is evaluating the world’s smallest heart pump technology for use during high-risk elective or urgent percutaneous coronary intervention procedures. The high-volume center was selected due to the experience of its interventional cardiologists, who are evaluating the new pump’s function for high-risk, highly complex interventions. CT-fusion is applied in a hybrid operating room/catheterization lab setting to create a live 3D model to help optimally position the Impella ECP for real-time interventions. Hackensack is the only center with this level of expertise and collaboration between cardiac interventionalists and advanced cardiac imagers. 

Currently, Primary Investigator, Ankitkumar Patel, MD and co-investigators Pranaychandra Vaidya, MD and Haroon Faraz, MD are involved in Impella ECP Continued Access Program and will be progressing to the Impella ECP Early Feasibility Study which will evaluate the next generation of the pump technology. 

Learn more about heart care at Hackensack University Medical Center. To find out more about each of these cardiac procedures, contact 551-996-4451.

ABOUT HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

Hackensack University Medical Center, a 803-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital, was Bergen County’s first hospital founded in 1888. It was also the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet®-recognized hospital for nursing excellence, receiving its seventh consecutive designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The academic flagship of the Hackensack Meridian Health network, Hackensack University Medical Center is Nationally-Ranked by U.S. News & World Report 2022-2023 in four specialties, more than any other hospital in New Jersey. The hospital is home to the state’s only nationally-ranked Urology and Neurology & Neurosurgery programs, as well as the best Cardiology & Heart Surgery program. It also offers patients nationally-ranked Orthopedic care and one of the state’s premier Cancer Centers (John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center). Hackensack University Medical Center also ranked as High-Performing in conditions such as Acute Kidney Failure, Heart Attack (AMI), Heart Failure, Pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Diabetes and Stroke. As well as High Performing in procedures like Aortic Valve Surgery, Heart Bypass Surgery (CABG), Colon Cancer Surgery, Lung Cancer Surgery, Prostate Cancer Surgery, Hip Replacement and Knee Replacement. Named to  Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2023 list, Hackensack University Medical Center is also the recipient of the 2023 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ by Healthgrades as well as an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group. This award-winning care is provided on a campus that is home to facilities such as the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, which houses the Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, ranked #1 in the state and top 20 in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-23 Best Children’s Hospital Report. Additionally, the children’s nephrology program ranks in the top 50 in the United States. Hackensack University Medical Center is also home to the Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center and is listed on the Green Guide’s list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Our comprehensive clinical research portfolio includes studies focused on precision medicine, translational medicine, immunotherapy, cell therapy, and vaccine development. The hospital has embarked on the largest healthcare expansion project ever approved by the state: Construction of the Helena Theurer Pavilion, a 530,000-sq.-ft., nine-story building, which began in 2019. A $714.2 million endeavor, the pavilion is one the largest healthcare capital projects in New Jersey and will house 24 state-of-the-art operating rooms with intraoperative MRI capability, 50 ICU beds, and 175 medical/surgical beds including a 50 room Musculoskeletal Institute. 

###