About the Heart & Vascular Institute
While there are many ways to define excellence, for The Heart & Vascular Institute at The Christ Hospital, it is all about our patients and making their health care accessible, personal, and affordable. From our first open-heart surgery in 1969, to current advancements in minimally invasive repair techniques, robotic cardiology innovations, and our dedicated women's heart health center, our highly trained and experienced heart and vascular physicians and surgeons treat all diseases and disorders of the heart and continue to lead the nation in cardiology innovation and surgical expertise.
Since 1995, when our first Heart Health Center was launched, we have dedicated ourselves to providing the best and most compassionate heart care to the Greater Cincinnati and Tristate area. Our long tradition of bringing innovation to this community, to our country, and to the world enables us to offer groundbreaking treatment options available nowhere else in the U.S.
Your cardiovascular appointments and procedures will take place at The Christ Hospital's Heart & Vascular Institute located at 2139 Auburn Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219.
Cincinnati's Heart Hospital
The Christ Hospital is well-known as Cincinnati's Heart HospitalSM and is consistently recognized as one of the top 50 heart hospitals in the nation. The Christ Hospital's Heart & Vascular Institute provides the region's finest cardiology care. From our groundbreaking cardiology treatment options and surgical innovations, available nowhere else in the country—treatments our physicians helped pioneer—to the dozens of subspecialized programs we have developed, including a dedicated women's heart health center, we are the preferred choice to care for the varied and complex conditions of the heart.
The Heart & Vascular Institute offers a true team approach to cardiology care. Patients may consult with one, two, three, or more physicians from different cardiology specialties and subspecialties as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Our physicians make treatment decisions together, often working side-by-side in the operating room or cardiac catheterization lab. While not every patient needs this type of complex, highly coordinated care, you can rest assured that our skilled team is here for those who do need this expertise.
Innovation and Compassionate Care
The Heart & Vascular Institute at The Christ Hospital provides advanced cardiovascular care in a welcoming, healing environment. From wellness and prevention services, to the latest heart and vascular surgical procedures, our dedicated women's heart center, and our revolutionary clinical research, everything we do is focused on helping people with heart and vascular disease experience the best quality of life possible.
Every doctor, nurse, and care staff member at the Heart & Vascular Institute is dedicated to delivering innovative, exceptional care to you and your family. Our physicians have helped pioneer numerous leading-edge drugs and medical devices. In fact, the Heart & Vascular Institute has provided patients with access to every new cardiovascular intervention technology over the past 25 years. More than 40 cardiologists and surgeons care for patients at the Heart & Vascular Institute and, together with our skilled and compassionate nurses and other clinical staff, provide a program that is truly unparalleled in this region. It's all part of our commitment to upholding The Christ Hospital's long-standing reputation as Greater Cincinnati's Heart HospitalTM.
In addition to providing the most advanced clinical care, every element of the center is designed to promote recovery, with natural features that include a rock garden, a water terrace, rooftop gardens, and views of downtown Cincinnati. Among the many services available at the center are:
- Comprehensive cardiovascular testing, including advanced cardiac imaging
- State-of-the-art cardiac catheterization labs and electrophysiology labs
- Technologically advanced operating rooms, where surgeons perform heart and vascular surgeries using the most innovative and minimally invasive techniques available
- The Cardiovascular Step-Down Unit, where patients recover in comfortable, spacious, private rooms while receiving attentive care from our team
Specialized Care for Critically Ill Patients
At the Heart & Vascular Institute, we provide care for severely ill heart and vascular patients in the center's state-of-the-art Richard T. Farmer Family Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU). Patients in the CVICU are often recovering from a serious event, such as a heart attack or aortic aneurysm. Some are in a state of "cardiogenic shock," which can lead to multiple organ failure. The CVICU offers advanced technology and a level of care that is typically available only at academic medical centers. The 16-bed facility is fully staffed around the clock with a team of different specialists who consult with one another to make care decisions and provide additional therapies, as needed. Physicians in the CVICU work with the center's "shock team" to provide complex therapies including:
- Advanced mechanical ventilation to help patients breathe when unable to do so on their own
- Heart pumps and other implantable devices to support blood flow
- Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a form of life support that can provide a bridge to more advanced therapies such as left ventricular assist devices (LVADs)
Exceptional Research & Education
The Carl H. and Edyth Lindner Center for Research and Education at The Christ Hospital has a world-class reputation for international leadership in clinical cardiovascular research and attracts medical industry leaders, which brings new treatments to The Heart & Vascular Institute for patients in Greater Cincinnati—long before those therapies are available elsewhere. This research includes our participation in more than 1,200 clinical trials, including multiple first-in-man and first-in-the-U.S. procedures, which contribute to the Heart & Vascular Institute's best practice standards for cardiology patient care.
Our most recent pioneering treatment options include:
2019 & 2020 FIRST in the world:
- Sievers Mitral repair ring (Robotic)
- Xylorcor in Refractory Angina
- J-Valve-subclavian access (TAVR)
2019 & 2020 FIRST in the US:
- Thoracoscopic MAZE utilizing the epi sense ablation catheter
- JenaValve
2019 & 2020 FIRST in Cincinnati:
- Frozen elephant trunk arch aneurysm repair
- Acurate Valve Trial
- Foldax Trial Heart Valve
2019 & 2020 FIRST at The Christ Hospital:
- Ross Procedure – no other adult hospital offers this
