Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute is the regional leader and among the leaders in Pennsylvania when it comes to a life-saving procedure for heart attack patients and is highly ranked in other heart-related operations.

The recently released Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) Cardiac Procedures Report shows that together, Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest, Lehigh Valley Hospital - Muhlenberg and Lehigh Valley Hospital - Pocono, in 2020 and 2021, used catheters to place stents to open blocked coronary arteries in heart attack patients 1,160 times.

In the procedure, known in medical terms as a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), interventional cardiologists use a catheter to place a stent to open a narrowed or blocked heart artery. The procedure is minimally invasive and avoids more aggressive open-heart bypass surgery.

“Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute consistently ranks among the best in the nation for heart attack survival, a credit to the dedication and expertise of everyone who cares for our patients,” said Ronald Freudenberger, MD, Physician In Chief, Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute.

“Performing at such a high volume, while maintaining great outcomes, is what every great heart and vascular program strives to do,” Freudenberger said.

The Heart and Vascular Institute also was tops in the region for the same procedure for patients without a heart attack and for cardiac bypass surgery.

The PHC4 report included statistics on aortic valve replacements, those done surgically and those accomplished through a minimally invasive method with a catheter, known as a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR).

For the less invasive TAVR, LVH - Cedar Crest was in the Top 25 percent among 44 hospitals reporting the procedure, with 396 TAVR procedures in the study period. In the open-heart Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (SAVR) procedure, LVH - Cedar Crest was fourth among 50 hospitals with 163 SAVR operations.

“These numbers show Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute continues to be one of the premier heart and vascular programs in the state, with a national reputation for excellence,” Freudenberger said, adding, “It also demonstrates the amazing trust of so many people in the many communities we serve here in eastern Pennsylvania.”

Becker’s Hospital Review, a noted publication in the health care industry, recently named Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) as one of 100 hospitals or health systems in the United States with a great heart program. In LVHN’s case, that refers to the work of the Heart and Vascular Institute.