Samin K. Sharma, MD, Director of Clinical and Interventional Cardiology, The Mount Sinai Hospital; and Annapoorna Kini, MD, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at The Mount Sinai Hospital

For the 17th consecutive year, The Mount Sinai Hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory or its interventionists have received the highest two-star safety rating from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), also known as angioplasty. PCI—one of the most common procedures for patients with coronary artery disease—opens blocked arteries and restores normal blood flow to the heart.

Mount Sinai’s exceptional ratings appeared in NYSDOH’s recently released report on the risk factors associated with PCI at 60 hospitals across New York State from December 1, 2009, through November 30, 2012. The NYSDOH report is designed to help patients make better decisions about their care based upon a statistical review of each hospital’s data.

Notably, The Mount Sinai Hospital accomplished a state record in 2012, as the only hospital ever to receive two-star safety ratings in two categories in a single year for significantly lower mortality rates in all cases and non-emergency cases (see chart). The NYSDOH began publishing PCI safety ratings in 1995. Mount Sinai consistently has the largest number of total cases in New York State.

Two physicians at Mount Sinai Heart, Samin K. Sharma, MD, and Annapoorna Kini, MD, were among only three interventional cardiologists in New York State to be awarded a two-star safety rating for their significantly lower overall mortality rates over a three-year period, performing a total of 6,926 cases between them, according to the report.

2012 NYS Department of Health PCI Report

“We have a 17-year-long track record of offering the highest level of patient safety in New York State, and this record highlights the very best of cardiac care that is accomplished here at Mount Sinai,” says Dr. Sharma, Director of Clinical and Interventional Cardiology at The Mount Sinai Hospital.

Adds Dr. Kini, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory: “The combination of skilled physicians and a team that delivers high-quality patient care, through the universal use of innovative and evidence-based standardized medical protocol, has contributed to our extraordinary success.”

During the three-year period, The Mount Sinai Hospital’s risk-adjusted PCI mortality rate for all of its cases—emergency and non-emergency—was .59 percent, significantly lower than the statewide average of .93 percent and among the top three rates in New York, while performing the largest number of procedures (14,168). For non-emergency cases over that period, Mount Sinai’s PCI mortality rate was .38 percent, compared with the statewide average of .59 percent, on the highest volume of procedures.

“I could not be prouder of Dr. Sharma, Dr. Kini, and our Cardiac Catheterization team,” says Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital, and Director of Mount Sinai Heart, the Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, and the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Cardiovascular Health. “Excellence and patient safety consistently drive our skilled cardiologists to be among the best in their field.”