Research - Heart Valve Disease and Treatment - New York - Montefiore Medical Center

Montefiore's Comprehensive Heart Valve Repair Program is advancing the treatment of complex valve disease through groundbreaking clinical and translational research. Here, specialists supported by major government agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, apply decades of research experience to national multicenter trials and industry-funded studies. As a member of the prestigious Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN) the Heart Valve Repair Program plays a leading role in national proof-of-concept and translational research trials.

Valve Research Backed by the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network

In 2008, Montefiore became one of the original seven centers from across the nation selected for participation in the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN). A collaboration that is led by the NIH's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), CTSN fosters a culture of scientific clinical evaluation in the field of cardiac surgery with the goal of developing and evaluating new interventions in surgical practice to improve the care of adult patients with cardiovascular disease. Montefiore was the first center to enroll patients in CTSN clinical trials and one of the nation's leaders in overall patient enrollment. Montefiore's Heart Valve Repair Program is actively enrolling patients in two CTSN-sponsored clinical trials that focus on mitral valve disease and compare:

• Outcomes following mitral valve repair in patients with "moderate" ischemic mitral regurgitation and coronary artery disease, and
• Outcomes following mitral valve repair versus mitral valve replacement in patients with "severe" ischemic mitral regurgitation and coronary artery disease.

A Commitment to Improving Outcomes in Valve Disease Patients

Montefiore's Heart Valve Repair Program collaborates with Albert Einstein College of Medicine on both industry-sponsored protocols and trials that are initiated within the Program. All patients in the Heart Valve Repair Program are evaluated for inclusion in clinical trials that explore promising new medical therapies or devices. The Heart Valve Repair Program's commitment to advancing medical technologies gives patients access to innovative treatments that are not yet offered by other heart programs.

The Heart Valve Repair Program is currently involved in several clinical studies testing the use of new devices, techniques or medications for the treatment of valve disease, including:

• Aortic Valve Operative Outcomes in Marfan Patients
• Bioprosthetic Aortic Valve Sizing and Hemodynamic Study
• Surgical management strategies for heart valve infections

Innovative Basic and Translational Valve Disease Research

Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Wilf Family Cardiovascular Research Institute is a school-wide center created to unite and integrate cardiovascular research at Einstein and Montefiore. It is here that much of the cardiovascular-related basic, translational and population-based research takes place. Montefiore clinicians work with Wilf Family Cardiovascular Research Institute scientists to translate findings into day-to-day patient care activities with the goal of identifying novel approaches that will save and improve the lives of patients.