Gagan Sahni, MD, Director of Mount Sinai’s Cardio-Oncology Program, center, with team members Chime Lhamu, NP, left, and Lashawanda Rosser, patient services coordinator.
The Cardio-Oncology Program at The Mount Sinai Hospital, under the directorship of Gagan Sahni, MD, has been awarded Gold Center of Excellence status. This is the highest designation of certification from the International Cardio-Oncology Society (IC-OS), the largest international platform for physicians and nurse practitioners dedicated to cardiovascular care of cancer patients.
Mount Sinai is the first institution in New York State to be awarded Gold status as a Cardio-Oncology Center of Excellence by IC-OS. Only 22 cardio-oncology programs nationwide and 31 worldwide have been awarded this recognition acknowledging exceptional cardiovascular care of oncology patients. This international honor by IC-OS is awarded at three levels—bronze, silver, and gold. To receive a Gold certification, the institution must fulfill stringent requirements across six scoring categories, including patient volume, research and publications, interdisciplinary care, education, committee involvement, and program building. It is valid for three years and signifies the program has demonstrated outstanding professional contributions to Cardio-Oncology.
“Many cancer treatments—which includes chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy—can adversely affect the heart, and it is imperative that the appropriate patients are referred to a specialist in the field of Cardio-Oncology in a timely way,” explains Dr. Sahni, Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
“My specialty focuses on early prevention, detection, treatment, and management of the potential cardiac effects of cancer treatments, so that the patients are able to safely continue their therapies. These cardiac adverse effects may include a myriad of conditions such as congestive heart failure, hypertension, arrhythmias, blood clots, angina, and pericardial effusion—a buildup of fluid around the heart. All of these conditions should be addressed promptly by a specialist who is familiar with the effects of cancer therapies and coordinates tailor-made cardiology care with the patient’s oncologist.”
The Cardio-Oncology clinic at Mount Sinai was established in 2013 by Dr. Sahni, who is a Fellow of the International Cardio-Oncology Society, one of fewer than 20 physicians in the world awarded this distinction for her contributions to the field. The program provides personalized cardio-oncology consultations to more than 2,500 cancer patients annually from The Tisch Cancer Center and across the Mount Sinai network with inpatient, outpatient, and telemedicine consultations. This includes nearly a decade of close multidisciplinary collaborations with oncologists, radiation oncologists, onco-surgeons, onco-generalists, onco-nephrologists, onco-neurologists, onco-endocrinologists, and nurse practitioners.
“This designation of Gold Center of Excellence recognizes the dedication of the Cardio-Oncology team at The Mount Sinai Hospital in advancing specialized heart care for our cancer patients at a nation-leading level, and we are proud to be able to provide state-of-the-art specialty care to them,” says Dr. Sahni.
Physicians can make Cardio-Oncology appointments for their patients by emailing Dr. Sahni at gagan.sahni@mountsinai.org or calling 212-241-4977.