14 cardiology firsts in 2024

Here are fourteen cardiology firsts from 2024:

1. Cardiologists at Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine completed their 100th transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement procedure using Edwards Lifesciences’ EVOQUE system.
2. Cardiologists at Morgantown, W.Va.-based WVU Heart & Vascular Institute were the first in the state and region to treat atrial fibrillation with catheter ablation enhanced by Volta Medical’s AF-Xplorer technology.
3. A cardiologist from Greenville, N.C.-based East Carolina University Health performed the first patient implant of the world’s first FDA-cleared, drug-eluting “bio envelope.”
4. HCA Florida Mercy Hospital became among the first sites in Miami-Dade County to diagnose coronary artery disease through non-invasive, AI-powered fractional flow reserve computed tomography.
5. Cardiologists at UHealth-University of Miami Health System became the first academic medical center in Florida to treat a patient with Boston Scientific’s AGENT drug-coated balloon to prevent re-narrowing of coronary arteries.
6. Indiana-based Goshen Heart & Vascular Center was the first in Northern Indiana to use Boston Scientific’s drug-coated balloon for treatment of coronary artery in-stent restenosis.
7. New Jersey-based Englewood Hospital surgeon was one of the first in the state to use the Abbott TriClip-brand transcatheter edge-to-edge repair device to treat tricuspid regurgitation.
8. Surgeons at Des Moines, Iowa-based MercyOne performed the state’s first thoracoabdominal branch endoprosthesis procedure to treat a complex aortic aneurysm.
9. Surgeons at Connecticut-based Yale New Haven Hospital performed the state’s first thoracoabdominal branch endoprosthesis procedure to treat a complex aortic aneurysm.
10. Texas-based Heart Hospital of Austin at St. David’s Round Rock was the first hospital in the state to use a novel thrombectomy catheter system for the treatment of pulmonary embolism. The procedure was performed by interventional cardiologist Joshua McKay, MD.
11. New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital performed the first “domino” heart transplant on babies.
12. Boston-based Tufts Medical Center broke the New England regional adult heart transplant record with 61 transplants in 2023.
13. Morgantown, W.Va.-based Mon Health performed the first renal denervation, a procedure that drops high blood pressure, in the state.
14. Nearly a year after a newborn received the world’s first partial heart transplant, the transplanted valves and arteries are functioning well and growing along with the child’s heart — a key measure of success in the procedure paving the way for future advancements.