When patients need structural heart care for a valve condition, they need a team they can trust to deliver effective and minimally invasive care. Hackensack University Medical Center is confident it can do just that.
With the addition of three structural heart experts and a track record of innovation, quality and experience — Dr. Craig Basman, Dr. Ryan Kaple and Dr. Sung-Han Yoon — Hackensack Meridian Health officials feel the structural heart team at Hackensack University Medical Center can deliver outcomes that exceed national standards while providing an outstanding patient experience.
Mark Sparta, the president of Hackensack University Medical Center and president of the North Region of Hackensack Meridian Health, said the impact cannot be overstated.
“While the progress in the fight against cardiovascular disease has been encouraging, with many years of declining death rates, the pandemic has had a negative impact on overall heart health across adults in all age groups, races, ethnicities and genders,” he said.
“Our goal in assembling this new structural heart team is to build upon ongoing research efforts and foster new collaborations to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment with the most cutting-edge technology in diagnostics and care.”
HUMC, ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the state’s top hospital in 2023-2024, also is home to one of the best cardiology, heart and vascular surgery program.
Kaple, the director of the HUMC Structural and Congenital Heart Program, came to HUMC in 2022. He was thrilled when HUMC was able to add structural heart interventional cardiologists Basman and Yoon, who joined the team last September.
Together, he said, HUMC has a dream team of experts who specialize in catheter-based approaches to correct heart valve disorders — including MitraClip to treat a leaking mitral valve and transcatheter aortic valve replacement to treat narrowing of the aortic valve.
The team also uses transcatheter approaches to treat complex conditions present at birth, including patent foramen ovale, atrial septal defects and ventricular septal defects.
“With the addition of our new interventional cardiology experts who trained at leading hospitals around the country, our collective experience is unmatched in the region and will directly benefit our patients in need of complex care while expanding access to novel devices and approaches through clinical trials,” Kaple said.
“Our entire team is committed to offering the latest options, improving the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of our procedures, and expanding indications to include new patient populations.”
As a testament to their strong commitment to research, the team is participating in groundbreaking trials, including the SUMMIT trial for catheter-based mitral valve replacement and CORCINCH-HF for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. The team is also researching new approaches to minimally invasive and tricuspid valve disorders — the TricValve trial.
This commitment to research meant a lot to Basman, who is known for his innovative clinical work to improve catheter-based treatments for valvular and congenital heart defects.
“What drew me to Hackensack University Medical Center is the fact that the center has the resources to provide patient-centered, top-notch clinical care and advance the field through research,” he said.
Yoon, director of clinical research within the Structural and Congenital Heart Program with extensive experience in TAVR procedures, said he is looking forward to validating novel transcatheter mitral valve replacement technology, as well as new, less-invasive approaches to TAVR and left atrial appendage closure.
“At Hackensack (University Medical Center), we have the total package required to create the best patient experience,” Yoon said. “We use advanced technology and provide complete care with a focus on what is best for the patient.”
With a commitment to collaboration among specialists in cardiology and vascular care, the team holds a multidisciplinary meeting three times per week to discuss complex cases. The meeting includes interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, electrophysiologists, cardiologists and other experts and is moderated by a neutral physician.
“I’ve never seen a heart team meeting done more than once a week,” Yoon said. “These meetings give us the time we need to focus on the patient. I am very proud that I’m part of a team that can deliver such complex care.”
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Reach Hackensack University Medical Center at: hackensackmeridianhealth.org or call 844-464-9355.
