Columbia Cardiology Launches New Mitral and Tricuspid Center

June 11, 2024 — Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s CUIMC Division of Cardiology has launched the Mitral and Tricuspid Center, an advanced clinical research center dedicated to leveraging the expertise of specialists from different cardiovascular disciplines to improve the diagnosis and treatment of all types of tricuspid and mitral valve conditions.

Tricuspid and mitral valves are debilitating conditions that can lead to arrhythmias, hypertension, and heart failure. Until recently, therapeutic options for people with tricuspid and mitral valve disorders have been limited to symptom relief or high-risk surgery.

Interventional cardiologists at Columbia conducted many of the trials leading to the development and approval of several new therapies for these 'forgotten' valves. The center will explore the potential of these devices and treatments as the standard of care in managing tricuspid and mitral valve disorders. Its mission, according to a statement released by Columbia on the newly-launched Center, is to explore the latest devices and treatments and turn these innovations into the new standard for management of these chronic conditions.

The Center will bring together specialists from across Columbia, combining unmatched procedural skill, world-class imaging, and clinical care from leading experts in heart failure management, cardiothoracic surgery, robotic surgery, and interventional cardiology.

“Here at Columbia, we really are leading the understanding of these diseases and expanding therapy options for these underserved patients,” said Susheel Kodali, MD, Director of the Columbia Structural Heart and Valve Center and member of the Mitral & Tricuspid Center’s leadership team. He added: “This center builds on the work we’ve been leading here at Columbia for the past few years. After playing a major role in the TRISCEND clinical trials, Columbia is among the first sites to offer the newly approved EVOQUE Tricuspid Valve Replacement System. Our team has been instrumental in developing and testing this advanced device, offering an important and effective new option for treating tricuspid Valve disease.”

Joining Kodali will be Isaac George, MD, Co-Director of the Structural Heart and Valve Center; Rebecca Hahn, MD, Director of Interventional Echocardiography at the Structural Heart and Valve Center, Arnar Geirsson, MD, Director of the Cardiovascular Institute and Surgical Heart Valve Program; and Carolina Pinheiro Rezende, MS, PA-C, Director of the Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Program.

According to Kodali, the Center’s wealth of expertise and experience will help drive these advances. “This patient population is often the sickest of the sick, and until recently, their options for treatment were extremely limited,’ said Kodali, adding, “Now that treatments for these diseases are evolving at a rapid pace, an integrated, multidisciplinary approach will be key to getting the most of these new developments for our patients.”

The Center will also focus on clinical trials for transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) devices for tricuspid regurgitation, new devices for transcatheter mitral valve replacement, and advancing the field of robotic valve surgery.

“At Columbia, our multidisciplinary heart valve teams have crafted differentiated management strategies for patients with severe symptomatic mitral and tricuspid valve disease,” said Martin Leon, MD, Chief Innovation Officer and Director of the CUIMC Cardiovascular Data Science Center for the Division of Cardiology. Leon added, “This new mitral-tricuspid valve center will mobilize a decade of specialized experiences among our contributing physicians to provide optimal clinical outcomes for our sickest patients.”

More information: www.columbiacardiology.com