Quality & Outcomes of Cardiac Care at Sentara Sentara Cardiovascular Research Institute is proud to operate within a cardiac center that continually receives national accolades for both its commitment to quality and its excellent outcomes in heart care.
Since the inception of Sentara’s cardiac program in 1967, physicians and clinicians have performed more than 36,000 open-heart surgeries, over 106,760 heart catheterization procedures and 233 heart transplants.
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Sentara’s nationally ranked cardiac care.
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Patient Safety at Sentara Patient Safety is a critical element of quality outcomes at Sentara Healthcare. Whether it’s regarding day-to-day operations at any of our six hospitals or connecting one-on-one with a patient at one of our 70+ sites of care, Sentara is committed to keeping our patients safe. Sentara Cardiovascular Research Institute embraces this commitment and makes patient safety involving research the top priority that guides the work we do. Your safety comes first. No exceptions. You can read more about
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Previous Pivotal Trials at Sentara
Our track record involving previous groundbreaking clinical trials is an important way to measure quality and outcomes. Learn more about these important trials:
Heart Failure / Electrophysiology Arena:
Primary Prevention Trials:
Definition: Primary Prevention - identification of high risk population and instituting treatment as a preventative measure
MADIT II - A study that compared total mortality of prophylactic ICDs versus conventional therapy in ischemic heart disease. The MADIT II study was the third major clinical trial with results that validate the efficacy of ICD therapy in patients with prior myocardial infarction (MI). The groundbreaking results of MADIT II expand upon prior evidence to definitively confirm that ICD therapy reduces mortality in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with reduced ventricular function.
SCD-HeFT- Compared the efficacy of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), amiodarone and placebo in treating patients with low ejection fraction and mild to moderate heart failure. The study found that ICD therapy reduced all-cause mortality by 23% as compare to placebo. This mortality benefit was observed in patients who were already optimally managed on drug therapy. Amiodarone had no significant effect on all-cause mortality.
MUSTT –A study to assess the usefulness of EP-guided antiarhythmic therapy with asymptomatic non-sustained VT, LV dysfunction and CAD. The risk of cardiac arrest or death from arrhythmia among the patients who received treatment with defibrillators was significantly lower (27%) than that among the patients discharged without receiving defibrillator treatment. There was a 51% reduction in death from all causes for ICD patients as compared to patients randomized to no antiarrhythmic therapy.
Secondary Prevention Trials:
Definition: Secondary Prevention - identify a group that already has a problem and treat them to prevent further incidents.
AVID- a study to compare total mortality of ICD patients with total mortality in antiarhythmic therapy group. The ICD group experienced a 39% reduction in deaths in the first year, with a 27% and 31% reduction in years two and three.
DAVID - This trial randomized patients and tested the hypothesis that the dual-chamber pacing mode would produce improved hemodynamics and would in turn reduce congestive heart failure, heart failure hospitalizations, heart failure deaths, atrial fibrillation, strokes, ventricular arrhythmias, and total mortality compared to backup ventricular pacing in patients indicated for implantable defibrillator therapy. The direct conclusion were that patients with indications for implantable defibrillators and no indication for pacing should not be paced in the dual chamber pacing mode. The DAVID trial results suggest that the dual chamber paced mode was not associated with improved quality of life or decreased frequency of hospitalization, inappropriate shocks from the defibrillator or atrial fibrillation.
Other:
COMPANION - The COMPANION trial was the largest heart failure device trial to date. The trial showed that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), used in combination with optimal pharmacologic therapy (OPT), can significantly improve both the quality and duration of life for a large group of heart failure patients.
Cardiac Surgery Arena: CABG-patch - The Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Patch Trial evaluated the prophylactic use of ICDs in patients undergoing coronary revascularization surgery. A high risk of death due to arrhythmia was considered to be indicated by a noninvasive marker — an abnormal signal-averaged electrocardiogram — plus an ejection fraction below 36 percent. The CABG Patch Trial showed no benefit to ICD therapy.
Novacor - The Novacor® LVAS is an implanted, wearable system that provides pulsatile circulatory support for patients with life-threatening heart failure. Novacor® LVAS has been implanted in more than 1,500 patients, and is the first mechanical circulatory support device to support a single patient for more than six years. Sentara Norfolk General participated in the pivotal trial that resulted in the approval and subsequent widespread and accepted use.
Embol-x -An intraaortic filtration system. This system is a filter device deployed via the arterial cannula to capture debris that may occur from the aortic cross clamp or manipulation of the heart during surgery. This technology helps to eliminate or reduce neurologic injury that may occur during heart surgery. This device was approved as a result of the pivotal trial we participated in and is currently in use.
On-X - SNGH participated in pivotal trials that resulted in the approval and current use of this mechanical heart valve. The On-X Prosthetic Heart Valve is a pure carbon bileaflet heart valve prosthesis, developed at Medical Carbon Research Institute.
TMR - SNGH participated in the pivotal trials that made this technology available and accepted. Transmyocardial revascularization or TMR is a procedure used to relieve severe angina or chest pain in very ill patients who aren't candidates for bypass surgery or angioplasty. In this procedure, a surgeon makes an incision on the left breast to expose the heart. Then, using a laser, the surgeon drills a series of holes from the outside of the heart into the heart's pumping chamber. From 20 to 40 mm laser channels are placed during the procedure. Bleeding from the laser channels on the outside of the heart stops after a few minutes of pressure from the surgeon's finger.