Becker's Hospital Review has named the following organizations to the 2014-15 edition of its list, "100 hospitals and health systems with great heart programs."
The hospitals on this list lead the nation in cardiovascular and thoracic healthcare. Many have pioneered groundbreaking procedures, and all have received recognition for top-of-the-line patient care.
To develop this list, the Becker's Hospital Review editorial team examined several reputable ranking and award agencies. Hospitals included on this list have received several marks of distinction, including rankings from U.S. News & World Report for cardiology and heart surgery, Truven Health Analytics 50 top hospitals for heart care, CareChex top 100 hospitals for cardiac care, Blue Distinction Center status for cardiac care, three-star ranking from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and Magnet designation for nursing excellence.
Note: Hospitals cannot pay for inclusion on the list. This list is not a ranking. Organizations are presented in alphabetical order.
Abbott Northwestern Hospital, part of Allina Health (Minneapolis). The Minneapolis Heart Institute was formed in 1981 and merged with Abbott Northwestern in 1995. [READ MORE]
Advocate Christ Medical Center (Oak Lawn, Ill.). The Heart and Vascular Institute at Advocate Christ Medical Center performs more than 1,300 open heart surgeries — more than any hospital in Illinois — and 5,000 cardiac interventions every year. [READ MORE]
Akron (Ohio) General Medical Center. In March, the hospital became one of the first in Ohio to implant the smallest implantable cardiac monitoring device. [READ MORE]
Alexian Brothers Medical Center (Elk Grove Village, Ill.). The hospital offers a specific women's heart health program, offering specialized heart-related diagnostic and treatment strategies for women. [READ MORE]
Allen Hospital (Waterloo, Iowa). Allen Hospital's Allen Heart & Vascular Center is the only accredited chest pain center in the Cedar Valley region. [READ MORE]
AnMed Health (Anderson, S.C.). The hospital received several distinctions from the American College of Cardiology Foundation in 2013 and offers hundreds of clinical trials. [READ MORE]
Arkansas Heart Hospital (Little Rock). When it was established in 1997, Arkansas Heart Hospital was the first heart hospital in Arkansas and the second in the country. [READ MORE]
Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center (Milwaukee). Aurora St. Luke'sfeatures the 7th largest robotic heart center in the world. [READ MORE]
Banner Heart Hospital (Mesa, Ariz.). Banner Heart Hospital opened its doors in November 2000. Since then, more than 450 physicians and 200 volunteers staff the 111-bed hospital, one of the largest freestanding heart hospitals in the country. [READ MORE]
Baptist Medical Center (Jacksonville, Fla.). The Baptist Heart Hospital at Baptist Medical Center is the only freestanding facility for cardiovascular care in Northeast Florida. It also hosts the region's only outpatient congestive heart failure clinic. [READ MORE]
Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University (St. Louis). Specialists here were the first in Missouri to implant a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator in a patient last year. [READ MORE]
Beaumont Hospital (Royal Oak, Mich.). Physicians at Beaumont Hospital perform nearly 115,000 heart procedures and tests annually. The hospital also boasts a number of "firsts." [READ MORE]
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston). The hospital plays a role in heart health history: in 1952, Paul Zoll, MD, a cardiologist at Beth Israel, developed the first pacemaker used in a human. [READ MORE]
Bethesda North Hospital (Cincinnati). Bethesda North Hospital is one of the first in the country, and one of four in Ohio, to offer transcatheter aortic valve replacements. [READ MORE]
Billings (Mont.) Clinic. This spring, Billings Clinic opened its John R. Burg MD Cardiac Center and a new cardiovascular unit with three-times as much space as its former heart facility. [READ MORE]
Bon Secours St. Mary's Hospital (Richmond, Va.). The Bon Secours Heart & Vascular Institute was the first in the world to offer all-digital cardiovascular imaging, and the Heart Institute at Reynolds Crossing is the first comprehensive outpatient heart institute in the mid-Atlantic. [READ MORE]
Boone Hospital Center (Columbia, Mo.). Boone Hospital Center has received several marks of distinction for its heart care, and the hospital continues to expand and modernize services for this specialty. [READ MORE]
Boston Children's Hospital. This hospital's team of 72 cardiologists, eight cardiac surgeons, 13 cardiac anesthesiologists and 42 cardiac fellows perform nearly 1,400 heart surgeries, 700 electrophysiology procedures and more than 1,400 catheterizations every year. [READ MORE]
Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston). In 1923, BWH surgeons performed the world's first successful valve surgery, and since 1984, the hospital has performed more than 500 heart transplants, making it one of the busiest transplantation and circulatory assist programs in New England. [READ MORE]
Carilion Clinic (Roanoke, Va.). Carilion Clinic Heart and Vascular Clinic is western Virginia's leading provider for all types of heart and vascular care services, and the hospital ranks among the top three in Virginia for the number of heart patients treated. [READ MORE]
Catholic Medical Center (Manchester, N.H.). The New England Heart Institute at Catholic Medical Center serves nearly 100 communities through collaborations with community hospitals across the state. [READ MORE]
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles). Physicians at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have performed more percutaneous mitral repairs and aortic valve replacements than any other hospital in the country. [READ MORE]
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The Sibley Heart Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has one of the largest dedicated cardiac ICUs in the country, and in 2013, the hospital performed 880 heart surgeries, treating more pediatric inpatient cardiac cases than any other hospital in Georgia. [READ MORE]
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Not only was CHOP the first hospital in the country entirely dedicated to pediatric medicine in 1855, researchers at the hospital were the first to develop the balloon catheter for treating certain heart defects. [READ MORE]
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin (Milwaukee). The Herma Heart Center at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is the largest pediatric cardiac center in the state and the largest pediatric heart transplant program in the country (by volume). [READ MORE]
The Christ Hospital (Cincinnati). The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center has received recognition from several organizations for excellence in heart care, and the hospital also excels in cardiac research. [READ MORE]
Cincinnati Children's. Cincinnati Children's cardiovascular genetics program is one of a few of its kind, and its adolescent and adult congenital heart disease program was one of the first in the country to manage patients' heart conditions from childhood to adulthood. [READ MORE]
Cleveland Clinic. The Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute at the Cleveland Clinic has been ranked the No. 1 heart program in the country by U.S. News & World Report for the past 20 years. [READ MORE]
Duke University Hospital (Durham, N.C.). Duke University Hospital's heart program has been recognized as one of the largest in the country by HHS. [READ MORE]
Emory University Hospital (Atlanta). Patients receive total vascular care from the Emory Heart and Vascular Center, and the hospital pioneered the angioplasty procedure. [READ MORE]
Florida Hospital Orlando. The Florida Hospital Cardiovascular Institute sees more than 70,000 cardiac patients annually. [READ MORE]
Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee). Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin's Heart and Vascular Center includes the expertise of more than 50 specialists who work as a multidisplinary team with nurses, therapists and other clinicians to deliver care. [READ MORE]
Genesis Medical Center-Davenport (Iowa). Opened in 2001, the Genesis Heart Institute includes a cardiac interventional program that has grown significantly and offers percutaneous coronary interventions. [READ MORE]
Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center.HackensackUMC is home to The Heart & Vascular Hospital, which includes more than 142 cardiologists.[READ MORE]
The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano (Texas). For the third time, The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano earned three star ratings from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, ranking in the top 1.7 percent of all heart surgery programs nationwide. [READ MORE]
Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian (Philadelphia).To reach a wider patient base, Penn Presbyterian includes a network of suburban practices staffed by Penn Presbyterian cardiologists. [READ MORE]
Houston Methodist Hospital.The 154-bed Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center includes more than 75 physicians and receives more than $15 million in research support each year. [READ MORE]
Integris Baptist Medical Center (Oklahoma City).The Integris Heart Hospital is comprised of more than 168 beds and a network of nearly 40 cardiology outreach clinics. [READ MORE]
JFK Medical Center (Atlantis, Fla.).The Heart and Vascular Institute at JFK Medical Center has had several medical "firsts" in the cardiology arena.[READ MORE]
Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore). The Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute includes numerous centers and programs and is actively involved in cardiovascular research, organizing a retreat for heart care researchers to meet, share ideas and listen to cardiovascular experts. [READ MORE]
Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. Physicians with the interventional cardiology program at the regional cardiac catheterization laboratory at the Los Angeles Medical Center perform close to 2,000 interventions a year, including 647 cardiac ablations and 862 implantable cardioverter defibrillators. [READ MORE]
Keck Medical Center of USC (Los Angeles). The Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute at Keck Medical Center of USC is staffed by more than 20 cardiologists and specializes in cardiovascular care, cardiothoracic surgery, electrophysciology and heart failure care, and offers a wide range of heart services. [READ MORE]
Lehigh Valley Hospital (Allentown, Pa.). Lehigh Valley'sHeart and Vascular Center, located at sites in Allentown and Bethlehem, Pa., includes cardiothoracic surgeons who collectively have more than 90 years of experience. [READ MORE]
Lenox Hill Hospital (New York). Physicians at the Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute of New York performed the first angiocardiogram in the United States in 1938 and the first coronary angioplasty in the U.S. in 1978. [READ MORE]
Loyola University Medical Center (Maywood, Ill.). Loyola is the first hospital in Illinois to staff a heart attack rapid response team of interventional cardiologists, nurses and technicians who are on staff 24/7. [READ MORE]
Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston). Since opening one of its first cardiac units in 1916, Massachusetts General has made several contributions to the cardiology field, such as the first-of-its-kind heart monitor to detect and treat arrhythmias and pioneering the development of pacemakers. [READ MORE]
Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.). This year, Mayo Clinic's heart program is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Since 1914, the heart program has grown to include more than 300 heart specialists. [READ MORE]
Medical Center, Navicent Health (Macon, Ga.). The Georgia Heart Center at the medical center offers comprehensive cardiac services, including the AngioScreen, which uses non-invasive ultrasound technology to scan the arteries in the neck, giving providers a clearer picture of a patient's vascular health. [READ MORE]
Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, S.C.). The Medical University of South Carolina's Heart and Vascular Center is the only full-service center of its kind in the state. [READ MORE]
MedStar Washington (D.C.) Hospital Center. The MedStar Heart Institute, headquartered at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, has received a three-star rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the highest rating the society gives. [READ MORE]
Memorial Hermann Hospital System (Houston). With three locations in the greater Houston area, The Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute's physicians and surgeons perform more than 50,000 heart procedures annually. [READ MORE]
Mercy Hospital (Coon Rapids, Minn.). Mercy Hospital's Heart & Vascular Center provides comprehensive cardiac care and is highly regarded. The center recently opened a multipurpose operating room, which combines the capabilities of a cardiovascular catheterization laboratory with a traditional surgical suite. [READ MORE]
Mission Hospital (Asheville, N.C.). Mission Hospital's Owen Heart Center, named in honor of community leaders Catherine and Charles D. Owen, provides comprehensive cardiac care. [READ MORE]
Morristown (N.J.) Medical Center. More open-heart surgeries are performed atthe Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute at Morristown Medical Center each year than any other cardiovascular surgery program in New Jersey. [READ MORE]
Mount Sinai Hospital (New York City). Mount Sinai's cardiac catheterization laboratory is the nation's largest. [READ MORE]
NewYork-Presbyterian University Hospital (New York City). Established in 1977, NewYork-Presbyterian University Hospital has performed more heart transplants than any other hospital in the country. [READ MORE]
Northeast Georgia Medical Center (Gainesville). Northeast Georgia Medical Center offers comprehensive cardiac care, with physicians at the hospital's Ronnie Green Heart Center caring for approximately 500 cardiac surgical patients each year. [READ MORE]
Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago). Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute was ranked the No. 13 heart program in the nation out of 708 programs by U.S. News & World Report for 2014-15. [READ MORE]
NYU Langone Medical Center (New York City). The John Wyckoff Adult Cardiology Clinic, which opened its doors nearly a century ago, formed the basis for the Division of Cardiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. [READ MORE]
OhioHealth Grant Medical Center (Columbus, Ohio).OhioHealth Grant Medical Center's William C. Kraner Heart Center offers a wide array of services, and the hospital is currently hosting more than 115 heart and vascular clinical trials. [READ MORE]
Ogden (Utah) Regional Medical Center. The Heart Center at Ogden Regional Medical Center is the only cardiac care facility in Utah with providers who perform cardiothoracic robotic-assisted surgery. [READ MORE]
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (Columbus). For the past 22 years, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has been named one of U.S. News & World Report'stop hospitals in the nation, and the hospital's reputation has helped attract some of the best physicians and heart surgeons. [READ MORE]
Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital (Saint Louis Park, Minn.). Park Nicollet Heart and Vascular Center uses a team-based approach to provide comprehensive cardiac care services. [READ MORE]
Providence Hospital and Medical Center (Southfield, Mich.) Providence Hospital and Medical Center is a member of St. John Providence Health System, one of the largest providers of inpatient care in southeast Michigan. [READ MORE]
Rochester (N.Y.) General Hospital. The Sands-Constellation Heart Institute at Rochester General Hospital provides comprehensive cardiac care services. Patients who come to the institute have access to Rochester General Hospital's team of skilled cardiac experts and the latest research and technology from Cleveland Clinic. [READ MORE]
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles). UCLA Medical Center is a national leader in organ transplants: Its heart transplant program is the only one in California and is only one of seven heart transplant centers nationwide to be ranked at the silver level by the Health Resources and Services and Administration. [READ MORE]
Rush University Medical Center (Chicago). The heart and vascular programs at Rush University Medical Center offer all surgical and nonsurgical cardiovascular services, including prevention, treatment and research for heart-related conditions. [READ MORE]
Saint Thomas West Hospital (Nashville, Tenn.). Surgeons have been providing cardiac care at Saint Thomas West Hospital more than 40 years, and the hospital was the first in Middle Tennessee to earn the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission for cardiac ventricular assist device destination therapy. [READ MORE]
Scott & White Memorial Hospital (Temple, Texas). Previously named the Temple Sanitarium, Scott & White Memorial Hospital opened in 1922 and has since gone earn to collect several accolades for heart care. [READ MORE]
Scripps Health (San Diego). Scripps Health is the largest provider of cardiology and heart surgery services in San Diego. [READ MORE]
Sentara Norfolk (Va.) General Hospital. Sentara Heart is one of the largest cardiology programs in Virginia, and the Sentara Heart Valve and Structural Disease Center serves as the valve referral provider for approximately 2.4 million people. [READ MORE]
St. Francis Hospital (Roslyn, N.Y.). Founded in 1922 by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, St. Francis Hospital is New York's only specialty-designated cardiac center. [READ MORE]
St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center (Phoenix). St. Joseph's boasts The Scott and Laura Eller Congenital Heart Center, one of the few centers in North America to provide comprehensive care for adults living with congenital heart disease. [READ MORE]
St. Luke's Boise (Idaho) Medical Center. St. Luke's Heart, the hospital's heart and vascular care program, has been providing cardiac care for more than 40 years. [READ MORE]
St. Luke's Hospital (Kansas City, Mo.). Focused on prevention, diagnosis and treatment in cardiovascular care, Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute is the only facility in its region to provide the full range of cardiovascular services. [READ MORE]
St. Luke's University Hospital (Bethlehem, Pa.). An accredited chest pain center, St. Luke's University Hospital care teams evaluate more than 5,000 patients with chest pain every year. [READ MORE]
St. Mary's Hospital (Madison, Wis.). Located within St. Mary's Hospital, Dean & St. Mary's Cardiac Center hosts more than 400 heart procedures annually. [READ MORE]
St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana (Indianapolis). With programs such as a 24/7 Heart Emergency Unit and the Women's Cardiac Risk Clinic, St. Vincent Heart Center has received the Mission: Lifeline Gold Quality Achievement Award by the American Heart Association. [READ MORE]
Stanford (Calif.) Hospitals and Clinics. The Stanford Cardiovascular Institute was formed in 2004 and serves as the focal point for cardiovascular research at Stanford University. [READ MORE]
Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento (Calif.). The first successful open-heart surgery in the Greater Sacramento area was performed at Sutter Medical Center's Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute, which opened in 1957. [READ MORE]
Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital. Physicians at Tampa General Hospital performed 47 heart transplants in 2012, ranking it among the busiest transplant programs in the country. [READ MORE]
Texas Children's Hospital (Houston). More than 17,000 patients visit Texas Children's Hospital each year for heart care. [READ MORE]
Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital (Houston). One of the nation's largest cardiovascular centers, physicians at Texas Heart Institute have performed more than 118,800 open heart operations, 258,000 cardiac catheterizations and 1,270 heart transplants. [READ MORE]
Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (Philadelphia). Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is home to the Jefferson Heart Institute, which includes more than 30 cardiologists. [READ MORE]
UC San Diego Medical Center. The Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center opened in 2011 and is part of the University of California, San Diego academic health system. [READ MORE]
UF Health Shands Hospital (Gainesville, Fla.). Whether it is treatment through medicine or surgical intervention, the UF Health Heart and Vascular Care team includes cardiologists, thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons and vascular surgeons working together to provide the most advanced options to heart and vascular patients. [READ MORE]
UNC Health Care (Chapel Hill, N.C.). The UNC Center for Heart and Vascular Care offers cardiac diagnostics, invasive cardiology, cardiac surgery, vascular specialties, interventional radiology, electrophysiology, heart failure and transplant and aortic disease management. [READ MORE]
University Hospitals Case Medical Center (Cleveland). In January, physicians at UH Case Medical Center were among the first to perform a major heart surgery while the patient was under "twilight" sedation, awake and communicating with the surgeons during the procedure. [READ MORE]
University of Arizona Medical Center (Tucson). University of Arizona Medical Center is the only comprehensive heart and vascular program in the Southwest for children and adults. [READ MORE]
University of California, Davis Medical Center (Sacramento). University of California Davis, Medical Center is a 619-bed teaching hospital that includes a heart care team of more than 50 specialists. [READ MORE]
University of Chicago Medicine. University of Chicago Medicine, a 550-bed academic medical center on the school's campus, is home to one of the largest heart transplant and ventricular assist device programs in the region. [READ MORE]
University of Colorado Hospital (Aurora). UCHealth is part of the largest and most recognized referral center for cardiovascular care in Colorado's immediate six-state area. [READ MORE]
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (Iowa City). UI Heart and Vascular Center was the first commercial program in Iowa to host a transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedure in 2011, and it was also the first center in the upper Midwest to send a patient home supported with a total artificial heart that year. [READ MORE]
University of Kansas Hospital (Kansas City). Joining the hospital in 2001, Mid America Cardiology Associates and MidAmerica Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons have helped the University of Kansas Hospital's heart program become a national leader in cardiology. [READ MORE]
University of Michigan Hospitals (Ann Arbor). University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center has received several accolades for cardiology and heart surgery. [READ MORE]
University of Washington Medical Center (Seattle). University of Washington Medical Center, home to the UW Medicine Regional Heart Center, specializes in cardiac care including advanced procedures and surgeries, medical assist devices and transplantation. [READ MORE]
UPMC (Pittsburgh). With a team of more than 170 physicians, nurses and therapists, UPMC's Heart and Vascular Institute offers general and subspecialty outpatient cardiology services. [READ MORE]
UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. UT Southwestern Medical Center's cardiology division treats approximately 600 patients each month. [READ MORE]
Virginia Hospital Center (Arlington). Virginia Hospital Center opened in 1964 and offered one of the area's first cardiac rehabilitation programs. [READ MORE]
Yale-New Haven (Conn.) Hospital. Yale-New Haven Hospital is a 1,541-bed teaching hospital that was founded in 1826, leaving it with a rich history of contributions to cardiology. [READ MORE]