U.S. News and World Report’s 2026-2027 rankings for cardiology, heart and vascular surgery look different from last year’s list in more than just the order of names. Here are four of the biggest shifts between this year’s ranking and the 2025-2026 edition.
- The methodology changed from a composite score to outcomes-focused data. This year marks the first time U.S. News built its cardiology rankings on outcomes data drawn from its procedures and conditions ratings, covering eight cohorts including heart attack, heart failure, coronary artery bypass surgery and transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Last year’s ranking was based on a broader mix of patient outcomes, operational structure, expert opinion, patient experience and public transparency, without a published numerical score. This year’s hospitals each carry a score out of 100, with survival accounting for 45% of that score.
- Fewer hospitals made the cut, and the bar to compete got higher. U.S. News evaluated nearly 500 heart hospitals for this year’s rankings, versus more than 800 last year. Hospitals now have to clear a two-stage eligibility process, including minimum procedure volumes and a transfer-pattern check meant to identify major referral centers, which narrowed an initial pool of 665 hospitals down to 488.
- The top five reshuffled underneath NYU Langone, which held the top spot for the second year in a row. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell jumped from No. 5 to No. 2, Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic moved from No. 4 to No. 3 and Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center climbed from No. 6 to No. 4. New York City-based Mount Sinai Hospital, last year’s No. 2, fell to No. 5. Cleveland Clinic held the top spot two years ago, fell to No. 3 last year and dropped again this year, landing at No. 8.
- Turnover outside the top 10 was heavy. Thirteen hospitals returned to or joined the top 50 this year after being absent last year, including Piedmont Heart Institute in Atlanta, Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute in Charlotte, N.C., VCU Medical Center in Richmond, Va., and University of Miami Hospital and Clinics-UHealth Tower. An equal number of hospitals fell off the list entirely, among them Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital, Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital and Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.
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