Interventional Cardiology Center of Excellence

Tampa General Hospital’s (TGH) Interventional Cardiology Center of Excellence (ICC) is committed to providing the highest-quality care to patients with coronary artery disease and structural heart disease. A team of world-class physicians and advanced practice providers deliver state-of-the-art care for patients by utilizing a collaborative, multidisciplinary, patient-first approach. As the region’s leading academic health system, the collaboration with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine has placed Tampa General Hospital at the forefront of innovation in cardiac care. This comprehensive approach allows patients to receive cutting-edge care, especially for the most complex heart and vascular conditions.

CORONARY PROGRAMS
TGH is a quaternary referral center for patients needing complex coronary care. Interventional cardiologists are skilled in rotational, orbital, laser atherectomy and intravascular lithotripsy. Patients needing complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with cardiogenic shock and/or ischemic cardiomyopathy routinely receive mechanical circulatory support device-assisted PCI with Impella and ECMO.

Tampa General Hospital’s ICC routinely offers intravascular imaging with optical coherence tomography and/or comprehensive intravascular physiology assessment to almost every patient prior to PCI. Both tools are now considered standard of care for PCI.

A mature chronic total occlusion (CTO) program features operators skilled at performing antegrade and retrograde CTO PCI. All complex coronary revascularization decisions are made under the umbrella of a multidisciplinary heart team that includes cardiac surgeons skilled in hybrid revascularization techniques, including robotic left internal mammary artery (LIMA) , and interventional cardiologists.

TGH also offers assessment of coronary microvascular dysfunction with technology to measure coronary flow reserve, index of microcirculatory resistance and assessment of vasospastic angina with acetylcholine or methylergonovine testing in the catheterization lab.

Tampa General Hospital was the first site on the West Coast of Florida to launch a dedicated Coronary Microvascular Disease Program, led by Dr. Samip Vasaiwala. His team includes board-certified cardiologists, interventional cardiologists and other medical professionals who have been trained to accurately diagnose and treat coronary microvascular disease as recommended by guidelines from leading national and international cardiovascular societies.

INTERVENTIONAL HEART FAILURE PROGRAM
TGH’s Interventional Heart Failure Program is a first-of-its-kind program and provides an array of interventional treatments for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. This multidisciplinary center includes a dedicated nurse navigator, an advanced heart failure advanced practice provider and structural interventionalists. It is a hub for the coordinated and seamless treatment of heart failure patients using device-based interventional therapies.

Advanced invasive diagnostic procedures such as pressure volume loop analysis and innovative interventions for heart failure are implemented within this program. Therapies include baroreflex activation therapy targeting the activated sympathetic system and investigational devices such as mechanical left ventricular cavity reduction and atrial decompression for heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction.

MINIMALLY INVASIVE VALVE PROGRAM (MIVP)
Delivering transcatheter therapies or a minimally invasive surgical approach allows patients to recover more quickly and safely. TGH specialists take a comprehensive approach to all cardiac valves and have the most experience in the U.S. with the newest tricuspid valve therapy. Patients are considered for well-established therapies like TAVR and MitraClip as well as for investigational devices, through enrollment in clinical trials or compassionate use of new technologies not yet approved for commercial use by the FDA.

Because this field is quickly evolving, providing access to new technology within an academic health system gives patients more options that are unavailable elsewhere. All patients are seen in a multidisciplinary valve clinic in conjunction with an interventional cardiologist and cardiothoracic surgeon. Most transcatheter valve therapies involve minimal sedation without general anesthesia, resulting in hospital discharge within 24 hours.

NEUROCARDIAC PROGRAM
As a model of collaboration that underpins care efforts at TGH, the NeuroCardiac Program was developed within the Interventional Center of Excellence in 2019, partnering with Vascular Neurology, Electrophysiology and Cardiac Surgery. Given its rapid expansion to serve multiple needs of stroke patients, clinical intake was shifted this year to General Cardiology to further support growth efforts, while remaining under the leadership of Dr. Bibhu D. Mohanty. The ICC continues to support the procedural needs of stroke patients with solutions such as patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure, left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion and additional structural heart interventions as they pertain to stroke occurrence.

ADVANCED EDUCATION
Paving the way in advanced training and education, the ICC is home to a unique Advanced Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology. This fellowship is a truly novel educational year during which training sits at the absolute cutting edge of interventional cardiology: structural heart, high risk PCI and cardiogenic shock support. This fellowship program underscores going above and beyond in support of the educational mission and validates their clinical prowess in being able to support education of these clinical arenas.

View the Heart & Vascular Institute Annual Highlights Booklet