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Mount Sinai Hospital Earns Highest Ratings in New York State Report on Coronary Angioplasty
Mount Sinai and Two of its Doctors Shown to Have Significantly Lower Mortality Rate than Statewide Average
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May 6, 2010 -- New York --
For patients with heart disease, it is crucial to have a doctor
and hospital with
a strong record of success in performing complex procedures. Among
53 hospitals across the state, Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan – along
with two of its doctors – has been singled out by the New York
State Department of Health as having the most successful record
in performing angioplasty, one of the most common interventions
to clear blocked coronary arteries.
In a report released on April 22, "Percutaneous Coronary Interventions
(PCI) in New York State 2005-2007," the Department of Health provides
statistics on deaths within 30 days following PCI, more commonly
known as angioplasty. In the three-year period, 53 non-federal
hospitals across the state were performing the procedure, and only
one of them – Mount Sinai – received a "double-star" rating for
a risk-adjusted mortality rate significantly lower than the statewide
rate in both emergency cases and overall cases.
Dr. Samin
K. Sharma |
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In addition,
Dr. Samin K. Sharma, Director of Mount Sinai's Cardiac Catheterization
Laboratory, and Dr. Annapoorna Kini, its Associate Director,
were two of only five doctors who were awarded individual
double-star ratings for significantly lower risk-adjusted
mortality rates than the statewide average.
Mount Sinai Hospital performed by far the most angioplasties
of any hospital – more than 13,000 – in the three-year period
studied in the Department of Health report, and only one other
doctor statewide came close to performing the number of procedures
completed by Drs. Sharma and Kini, who performed 3,722 and
2,780 angioplasties, respectively. That volume reflects the
hospital's expertise and experience in the procedure, and because
of its ability to successfully handle complex cases, about
a third of its patients are referred from outside Mount Sinai's
patient base. |
"Mount Sinai has the busiest Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory in the state and treats the most complex cases, which makes the low mortality rating even more impressive," said Dr. Sharma. "We
are committed to providing the best patient care, and are proud
to have achieved such a stellar rating in patient safety."
Added Dr. Kini, "Despite the high volume of
cardiac patients we treat, our team consistently provides top-notch
patient care. This report's results reflect our dedication to quality
and safety, and we look forward to maintaining our outstanding ratings
in future reports."
The Mount Sinai cath lab's low mortality rate can be attributed to the seamless technical skills of its doctors and the attention they pay to minute details before, during, and after each procedure. A comprehensive procedure manual of more than 150 pages details specific protocols for every aspect of a procedure for everyone involved, from the nursing staff to the attending physicians. It outlines not only standard procedures but also protocols for dealing with complications that might occur, such as a patient kidney malfunction or allergic reaction. What's more, each month, the entire staff meets to discuss and analyze any new issues that may have arisen, and the manual is updated to address them.
The Mount Sinai team also stays at the leading edge of new technology that improves its procedures. In angioplasty, a catheter with a tiny balloon is threaded from an artery in the leg or arm to the site of a blocked vessel in the heart, where the balloon is inflated to clear the artery. When the blockage is calcified, it makes the artery difficult to open. In those cases, the Mount Sinai cath lab has become adept at using the Rotablator, a high-speed spinning device that breaks up and clears the calcification so the balloon can open the artery. The Rotablator, or rotational atherectomy, is used in 9-10% of angioplasties at Mount Sinai, versus just 1-2% of cases nationwide.
"That method makes a complex case simple," Dr. Sharma noted. "And
because of our expertise in handling difficult angioplasty procedures,
we have developed an excellent reputation, so that other doctors and
hospitals send their complex cases to us. We like those cases, too,
because we know we can do a good job and make a difference for those
patients."
The Department of Health has been assessing
angioplasty results of hospitals across the state for more than 15
years, with the first PCI report released in 1996. The reports analyze
statistics including observed mortality rates and expected mortality
rates for each hospital and each doctor, and compute a risk-adjusted
mortality rate that accounts for providers treating more or fewer high-risk
patients. A "confidence interval" is also calculated to adjust outcomes
based on the volume of procedures performed. Mount Sinai Hospital and
Dr. Sharma have received double-star ratings for significantly lower
than average mortality several times in the previous nine reports.
Since the latest study, Mount Sinai Hospital has performed close to
15,000 angioplasties and continues to maintain excellent mortality
rates.
Dr. Samin Sharma is Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Director of the Cath Lab and Intervention, and Co-Director of the Cardiovascular Institute, Mount Sinai Heart. He performs more than 1,500 complex coronary interventions annually (the highest in the country), and according to New York State Department of Health reports, he has the highest angioplasty success rate (mortality less than 0.3 percent) for an interventional cardiologist in the state since 1994.
Dr. Sharma serves on the Cardiac Advisory Board
of New York State for coronary interventions, and received the Governor's
Award of Excellence in 2006 for his outstanding contributions to medicine.
He has received "Best Doctors" status from U.S. News and World Report and has been included in "Top Physicians" lists
by Consumer Research Council of America and Castle Connelly magazines.
Dr. Annapoorna Kini is Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Mount Sinai Medical Center and Associate Director of the Cath Lab. She performs more than 1000 coronary interventions annually (the highest number by a female interventionalist in the U.S.) with an extremely low complication rate of less than 0.3 percent, and is well known for successfully performing complex coronary interventions in patients with advanced heart disease with excellent long-term results. Dr. Kini serves as Director of Mount Sinai's Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program, and also as the site Principal Investigator for numerous multi-center trials, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored COPES trial.
The Mount Sinai Medical Center is a 1,171-bed,
tertiary- and quaternary-care teaching facility acclaimed internationally
for excellence in clinical care. Founded in 1852, The Mount Sinai Medical
Center encompasses The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School
of Medicine. In 2009, Mount Sinai Hospital treated nearly 60,000 inpatients
and handled close to 530,000 outpatient visits. The hospital ranks
19th in U.S. News & World Report's 2009-2010 "America's Best Hospitals" issue.
More information on Mount Sinai Hospital is available at www.mountsinai.org.
The complete New York State Department of Health PCI report is available at http://www.health.state.ny.us/statistics/diseases/cardiovascular/docs/pci_2005-2007.pdf.
Source: Mount Sinai Hospital
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