Englewood Hospital Tops Cardiac Report Card with 100% Survival Rate in Heart Bypass Surgery

Consistently top-rated cardiac surgery program offers best chance for bypass survival

ENGLEWOOD, N.J., June 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Englewood Hospital and Medical Center has a perfect record for cardiac bypass graft (CABG) surgery with no deaths reported in the state's latest report card released this week.  The findings of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services "Cardiac Surgery in New Jersey" report, which takes a look at the risk adjusted mortality rate for coronary artery bypass graft surgery in 2009, the most recent data available, shows that Englewood Hospital achieved a 100% survival rate. Englewood Hospital is one of only three hospitals in New Jersey with no CABG surgery deaths during the reported period.

"Although we are quite proud of this year's data, we also like to acknowledge that Englewood Hospital has consistently scored quite high on the annual report card," said Dr. James Klein, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. "In fact, over what is now an approximately 12 year period of results, the survival rate for isolated bypass procedures at the institution is over 99%.  Even more astonishing is the fact that these procedures and these results are performed with one of the lowest blood transfusion rates in the nation."

Dr. Klein is one of few cardiac surgeons recognized for performing more than 100 surgeries without losing any patients.

The report card includes data from 18 New Jersey hospitals and profiles information detailing mortality rates, average length of stay, and complications rates for patients who underwent bypass surgery.  The report highlights that cardiac surgery death rates declined 9.2 percent when comparing 2008 to 2009 data, but among all complications, infection rates increased from 5.84 percent in 2008 to 6.49 percent in 2009.

"This report is very encouraging and demonstrates that the state continues to improve in mortality rates for cardiac surgeries," said Douglas Duchak, President and CEO of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. "We are proud of our team at Englewood Hospital for consistently achieving top survival rates for our patients and we are especially proud to have the team's accomplishments recognized by this report card year after year.  We have an extraordinary team of surgeons, perfusionists, nurses, technologists, and critical care staff, and this allows us to accept and successfully perform procedures on the most complex cases, even with very high risk patients. It's this expertise coupled with our team's commitment to quality care and safety that helps Englewood Hospital save patient lives." 

Treatment for coronary artery disease

According to the DHSS Cardiac Report, Treatment for coronary artery disease will vary for different patients. The choice of treatment depends on the nature and severity of the disease and other factors unique to each patient. For some patients, lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, eating a low-fat diet, and getting more exercise may be enough. Some patients require special medications. Others may need medical procedures such as angioplasty or coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Angioplasty reduces obstructions of fatty deposits in coronary arteries and has become an increasingly common treatment method. Bypass surgery uses an artery or vein taken from another part of the body to divert blood around the clogged part of a patient's artery or arteries.

About Englewood Hospital's Heart and Vascular Institute of New Jersey

Since opening its doors in 2000, Englewood Hospital's Heart and Vascular Institute of New Jersey has successfully offered a range of non-surgical and minimally-invasive surgical options to cardiac surgery candidates. More than 80% of all cardiac surgeries performed at Englewood Hospital are performed without blood transfusions, using bloodless surgery techniques. Englewood Hospital is a leader in improving patient outcomes through the practice of bloodless medicine and surgery, which has been shown to reduce the risk of infection and improve survival after cardiac surgery.

The Heart and Vascular Institute remains one of the institutions performing among the highest proportion of complex cardiac surgery procedures in the state, including multi-valve repair, aneurysm/aortic dissection repair, transmyocardial revascularization, chronic A-fib correction, and endovascular thoracic aneurysm graft (TAG) repair.

Recognitions of EHMC's Consistently Top-Rated Cardiac Surgery Program

Recently, Englewood Hospital was ranked among the top 10% in the nation for Cardiac Surgery by HealthGrades®, receiving Five-Stars for coronary bypass surgery and the Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award (2012).  Additionally, the Medical Center has been recognized for service excellence under the J.D. Power and Associates Distinguished Hospital Program (SM) indicating patient responses for satisfaction which exceed the national benchmark for "An Outstanding Cardiovascular Experience."

For more information, visit the Cardiac Surgery section of EnglewoodHospital.com For a referral to a cardiologist affiliated with Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, call 866.980.EHMC.

SOURCE Englewood Hospital and Medical Center