Samin K. Sharma, MD, left, and Annapoorna S. Kini, MD
For the 19th consecutive year, The Mount Sinai Hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory or its interventionalists 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 the NYSDOH’s recently released report on the risk factors associated with PCI at 62 hospitals across New York State from December 1, 2011, through November 30, 2014. The NYSDOH report is designed to help patients make better decisions about their care based upon a statistical review of each hospital’s data. The NYSDOH began publishing PCI safety ratings in 1995. Mount Sinai consistently has the largest number of total cases in New York State.
At Mount Sinai Heart, Samin K. Sharma, MD, and Annapoorna S. Kini, MD, were among only three interventional cardiologists in New York State to be awarded a two-star safety rating in two categories for their significantly lower overall mortality rates over a three-year period, performing a total of 6,280 cases between them, according to the report.
“Our long track record of success in offering the highest level of patient safety and excellence in care now spans 19 years,” says Dr. Sharma, Director of Clinical and Interventional Cardiology at The Mount Sinai Hospital, and Anandi Lal Sharma Professor of Medicine in Cardiology. “At Mount Sinai Heart’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, we put our patients first.”
Adds Dr. Kini, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, and Zena and Michael A. Wiener Professor of Medicine: “The combination of skilled physicians and a team that delivers high-quality patient care, through the use of innovative and evidence-based 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 0.75 percent, significantly lower than the statewide average of 1.11 percent and among the top three rates in New York, while performing the largest number of procedures (13,029). For non-emergency cases over that period, Mount Sinai’s PCI mortality rate was 0.44 percent, compared with the statewide average of 0.71 percent, on the highest volume of procedures.
“I could not be any prouder of Dr. Sharma, Dr. Kini, and our Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory team. They are true leaders in the field of interventional cardiology,” says Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital. “Patient safety and effectiveness continue to drive this team of highly skilled cardiologists to ever greater levels of quality every year.”