St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center® Earns 13th Consecutive HeartFlow CT Quality Award

Catholic Health’s St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center® (Roslyn, NY) earned the HeartFlow Computed Tomography (CT) Quality Award for spring 2022, marking the 13th consecutive win for the hospital. The HeartFlow Analysis is a first-of-its-kind non-invasive technology to aid physicians in the diagnoses of coronary artery disease, the most common form of heart disease. Recipients of the HeartFlow CT Quality Award are determined based on metrics assessing the quality and adoption of a medical center’s cardiovascular imaging program, and are in the top 20% of global medical centers providing patients with a better pathway for identifying and understanding their heart health by utilizing coronary CT and the HeartFlow Analysis. Since the program’s inception in 2016, more than 2,000 patients have received a HeartFlow Analysis at St. Francis.
 
“Congratulations to the St. Francis Cardiac CT team for 13 consecutive quarters of excellence,” said Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Imaging, Omar Khalique, MD, FACC, FASE, FSCCT, FSCMR, FSCAI. “We are proud to be the first center in New York State to achieve this milestone, and one of a handful in the country. Thank you to the CT technologists and nurses, led by Cardiac CT & Research Manager Kathleen Rapelje, who pay incredible attention to running this well-oiled machine day in and day out.”
 
The HeartFlow Analysis takes data from a patient’s non-invasive coronary CTA and leverages algorithms using deep learning (a form of Artificial Intelligence) and the input of highly trained analysts to create a personalized, digital 3D model of the patient’s coronary arteries. It then employs powerful computer algorithms to simulate blood flow and assess the impact of blockages on blood flow to the heart. Within hours, the HeartFlow Analysis is delivered to the patient’s physician via a secure web interface, and provides information on the extent of a patient’s arterial blockage and the impact the blockage has on blood flow to the heart. 
 
The HeartFlow Analysis has been used on more than 100,000 patients with suspected heart disease and offers the highest diagnostic accuracy available from a non-invasive test.  Additionally, in clinical trials, using the HeartFlow Analysis helped identify which patients do and do not need invasive treatment. The use of the HeartFlow Analysis also reduced the cost of care by 26% compared to usual care. All of these factors contributed to the inclusion of this technology into the 2021 ACC/AHA Guidelines on the Evaluation and Diagnosis of Chest Pain.
 
“It has always been our priority to provide quality-based care to our patients, coupled with the latest technological advances in medicine,” said St. Francis President Charles L. Lucore, MD, MBA. “Earning this award for 13 consecutive quarters is a testament to the commitment our employees make to our patients every day.” 

Learn more about cardiology services at Catholic Health. Call (866) MY-LI-DOC (866-695-4362) to find a doctor near you.