Recently, the heart transplant team at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, the flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), performed its 300th heart transplant. The Westchester Cardiac Transplant Program, the only such program in the Hudson Valley, is comprised of a comprehensive team of specialists, including heart failure and transplant cardiologists and cardiac surgeons specializing in mechanical cardiac assist devices and heart transplantation.
“We are proud of the results of the transplant team at WMCHealth,” said David Spielvogel, M.D., chief of cardiothoracic surgery. “Our care capabilities and outcomes rival any heart transplant program in the nation and, in fact, we rank among the top 15% in the world, in terms of volume”¦.”
Patients cared for by Westchester Medical Center”™s heart transplant program are often those whose acuity level, age or need for a multiorgan transplant has precluded them from receiving a heart transplant elsewhere. Including these complex patients, Westchester Medical Center”™s patient survival rates both at one year and five years after transplant are above the national average, according to the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation data from 2019 and median wait times for a heart transplant are shorter than many other area hospitals.
“The impact and outcomes of our transplant program are a collaborative achievement by so many in our organization,” said Alan Gass, medical director of Cardiac Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support. “We have enduring relationships with our patients and their families because of the bond that is formed as part of the transplant journey. ”¦”
Members of the community who may need a consultation or second opinion regarding heart transplant for themselves or a loved one can call 914-493-7632 at any time or email AdvancedHeartFailure@WMCHealth.org.
