The Newsroom

News and stories featuring our team of global pioneers in cardiac and vascular care, and research.

Latest News

WVU Heart and Vascular Institute partners with Story Health to improve access to specialty care

The partnership combines the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute’s leadership in clinical quality and excellence with Story Health’s specialty care platform solution to extend access and improve health outcomes for an important population.

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WVU Hospitals nationally recognized for its commitment to providing high-quality cardiovascular and stroke care

WVU Hospitals has received five American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines achievement awards for demonstrating a commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease and stroke, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times, and fewer readmissions to the hospital.

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Uniontown mom is able to enjoy outdoors again after unique robotic valve surgery

Heather Thompson, 45 of Uniontown, PA, first started having heart palpitations when she was pregnant 15 years ago. Her doctors discovered that she had a mitral valve prolapse. Heather and her doctors in Uniontown watched her condition closely over the years, and when her symptoms started to come on more strongly, she talked to her cardiologist, who ordered more tests and referred her to WVU Heart and Vascular Institute.

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Dr. Alper Toker named chief of Thoracic Surgery

Alper Toker, M.D., has been named professor and chief of Thoracic Surgery at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute and the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in the WVU School of Medicine.

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WVU Heart and Vascular Institute research provides clarity on choice of heart bypass surgery or stenting for coronary disease

WVU Heart and Vascular Institute clinical researchers presented results of a national study highlighting the benefits of coronary artery bypass graft surgery over the use of stenting in specific patients with coronary artery disease and blockages in multiple arteries.

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WVU Heart and Vascular Institute participating in heart failure device study

The WVU Heart and Vascular Institute Advanced Heart Failure team was the first in West Virginia to implant the Cordella® Pulmonary Artery Pressure Sensor System as part of the PROACTIVE-HF Pivotal Trial sponsored by Endotronix. The study aims to reduce hospitalization in heart failure patients over two years.

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WVU Heart and Vascular Institute 2021 Report

On behalf of the 200 medical professionals and over 1,000 dedicated staff who form the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, we are proud to share some of the many tremendous accomplishments this devoted team has provided our state, region, and nation in 2021

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WVU Heart and Vascular Institute surgeons perform the first completely robotic-assisted aortic valve replacement, mitral valve repair, and surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation

“We are doing some of the first robotic procedures here at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute,” Vinay Badhwar, M.D., executive chair of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, said. “Our teams are global pioneers in the area of robotic operations of the heart, lungs, and esophagus that enable improved outcomes and faster recovery.”

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Machine that oxygenates blood may help critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to WVU study.

A new cohort study out of West Virginia University suggests one piece of life-support equipment—an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine—can be especially useful for treating some of these COVID-19 patients.

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WVU Heart and Vascular Institute Division of Thoracic Surgery receives highest rating from surgeons organization.

The WVU Heart and Vascular Institute Division of Thoracic Surgery has earned a distinguished three-star (highest) rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its esophageal cancer patient care and robotic esophagectomy outcomes. The three-star rating, which denotes the highest category of quality, places the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute among the elite in the United States and Canada for general thoracic surgery.

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WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital named top hospital in state by U.S. News & World Report

WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital has retained its title of number one hospital in West Virginia and ranked 41st in the nation in Obstetric and Gynecological Care according to the 2023-24 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospital rankings. Nine WVU Medicine hospitals, including Ruby Memorial Hospital, were recognized as High Performing in one or more categories.

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WVU Heart and Vascular Institute receives six Healthgrades’ national recognitions

The WVU Heart and Vascular Institute at WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital has received six national recognitions from Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting doctors and patients. 

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WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital earns Blue Distinction Center Designation for Cardiac Care

WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital has received a Blue Distinction® Center for Cardiac Care designation by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia, as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

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WVU Heart and Vascular Institute team leads national study on optimal treatment for mitral valve disease

A team of researchers led by Vinay Badhwar, M.D., professor and executive chair of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, and including J. Hunter Mehaffey, M.D., assistant professor in the WVU Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, and other cardiology and cardiac surgery leaders from across the United States, has provided important clarity on the safety and outcomes of an important surgical treatment of mitral valve regurgitation, or leakage, caused by mitral valve prolapse.

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Dr. Dhaval Chauhan to join WVU Medicine Children’s Heart Center

Dhaval Chauhan, M.D., pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, will join the team at WVU Medicine Children’s Heart Center and the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute on Jan. 30. He will also serve as an assistant professor in the WVU School of Medicine Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.

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WVU Medicine Transplant Alliance performs state’s first dual-organ transplant

Nark Kumaravelan has gained a new perspective on the holiday season and a much greater appreciation for selfless acts of kindness and giving this year. The 48-year-old Fairmont resident received the gift of life last Thursday, Nov. 19, when the WVU Medicine Transplant Alliance, the state’s only multi-organ transplant program, performed West Virginia’s first dual-organ transplant at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital. Kumaravelan received both a new heart and kidney from an unnamed donor.

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WVU Heart and Vascular Institute successfully removes COVID-19 patient from ECMO

The WVU Heart and Vascular Institute successfully removed its first COVID-19 patient from ECMO on Tuesday, June 16, after 514 hours of support.

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WVU Heart and Vascular Institute surgeons perform region’s first fully robotic aortic valve replacement.

Surgeons at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute recently performed a fully robotic aortic valve replacement operation done through a small opening in a patient’s side — the first time such a procedure has been done in the Northeastern region of the country.

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WVU Medicine performs state’s first heart transplant

Robert Parsons, a 61-year-old male from Chesapeake, Ohio, got a new lease on life when surgeons at the West Virginia University Heart and Vascular Institute and the WVU Medicine Transplant Alliance performed West Virginia’s first heart transplant.

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HVI in the news

STS 2023: Risk assessment tool “sets a high bar” when considering alternatives to surgery in mitral valve repair

Cardiovascular News I  Jan. 24, 2023

CABG bests PCI for multivessel CAD, large new study confirms

Cardiovascular Business I  Jan. 20, 2023

 An updated look at surgically repairing the mitral valve due to mitral regurgitation

Cardiovascular Business I  Jan. 19, 2023

COVID-19 REAL-TIME RESPONSE: Drs. Heather and J.W. Awori Hayanga of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute

Stories from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Community” presents a video profile of Drs. Heather and J.W. Awori Hayanga, a cardiac anesthesiologist and a thoracic surgeon at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute. Watch now

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health   I  Jun 15, 2020

WVU Heart and Vascular Institute continues push to expand cardiac services in WV

WVU Medicine has raised the bar for cardiac care in West Virginia, offering advanced heart failure interventions that residents would have previously been required to leave the state to receive. Read Story

The State Journal   I  Feb 24, 2020

Videos

Patient Story: Peter is “living his life” thanks to the cardiac surgical care he received.

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Your generosity provides momentum in turning challenges into incredible opportunities to transform the future of health in West Virginia and beyond. This fund allows the Heart and Vascular team to address the greatest and most immediate needs of our Institute benefiting our programs, research, patients, and physicians. Learn more about how the fund is helping patients→