The Lehigh Valley Heart Institute was recognized in recent announcements by Healthgrades, a leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals, and by Becker’s Healthcare, a top source of cutting-edge business and legal information for health care industry leaders.

Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest was the only hospital in the region to receive all three of prestigious cardiovascular-related awards in the 2019 Specialty Excellence Awards from Healthgrades — America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery, America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care, and America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention.

The America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery Award recognizes hospitals for superior outcomes in heart bypass surgery and heart valve surgery.

The America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care Award recognizes hospitals for superior outcomes in heart bypass surgery, coronary interventional procedures, heart attack treatment, heart failure treatment and heart valve surgery.

The America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Interventional Award recognizes hospitals for superior outcomes in coronary intervention procedures.

Patients who have these surgeries, treatments or procedures at these nationally recognized hospitals, including Lehigh Valley Heart Institute, have a greater chance for survival.

An America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Specialty Care award is given when fewer than 100 hospitals have the superior outcomes necessary to be recognized as an America’s Best Hospital for the corresponding specialty area. Furthermore, an America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Specialty Care award is given to hospitals that perform at the top 10 percent in the nation in that specialty. This means that according to Healthgrades, Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest is among the top 50 hospitals nationally for cardiac surgery and in the top 10 percent for cardiac care and cardiac interventions in the United States.

In addition to the Healthgrades recognition, Becker’s Healthcare named Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest to the 2018 edition of the “100 hospitals and health systems with great heart programs.”

The hospitals named on this list are national leaders in cardiovascular health care and have invested in their cardiology and cardiovascular surgery programs. Many institutions pioneered groundbreaking procedures and remain on the forefront of heart care today. Others are high-volume centers that have exceeded national benchmarks for quality and survivorship. All have received recognition for delivering top-notch patient care, and many are also involved in clinical research and trials.

To develop this list, the Becker’s Healthcare editorial team examined several reputable rankings and award agencies, including U.S. News & World Report rankings for cardiology and heart surgery, IBM Watson Health’s cardiovascular hospital rankings, CareChex rankings for cardiac care, Blue Distinction Centers for cardiac care, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons star rankings.

Lehigh Valley Heart Institute houses 13 specialized heart programs, including an advanced heart failure program and a heart and vascular program for women. The institute’s heart rhythm team performs 1,800 procedures annually — twice as many as any other provider in the region. The institute’s cardiothoracic surgeons collectively have more than 90 years of experience and have performed an estimated 20,000 surgical procedures.