Structural Heart Services

Garnet Health’s structural heart services are designed to prioritize a patient’s well-being every step of the way. Our partnership with Columbia University Irving Medical Center provides expert interventional cardiologists, skilled in advanced valve procedures, a direct pathway to care for patients with heart valve disease.

Offering diagnosis and advanced and innovative procedure options to treat heart valve disease, our minimally invasive procedures most often offer patients a shorter hospital stay and reduced recovery time, post-surgery. Our partnership provides high quality care from a multidisciplinary team of board certified specialists that include interventional cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, interventional echocardiographers, anesthesiologists, and a clinical coordinator who are all supported by an expert care team which maximizes the chances of successful outcomes. 

We also provide a patient navigator to guide you through your experience, education to help explain your condition and treatment options, and help you and your family make the best decision if intervention is necessary.  

Our structural heart services team is led by Susheel Kumar Kodali, MD, director of the Structural Heart and Valve Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, director of the interventional cardiology fellowship program, and an associate professor in medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Dr. Kodali is Board-certified in interventional cardiology, endovascular medicine, and cardiovascular disease, and specializes in the percutaneous treatment of coronary artery and structural heart disease, and cardiac catheterization.

Dr. Kodali was named in the Top Doctors: New York Metro Area (book series): 16th-18th Editions, New York Metro Area’s Top Doctor 2016-2023 by Castle Connolly's Top Doctors™ and New York Magazine’s Top Doctors in 2012-2017, 2020-2023. 

Dr. Kodali attended medical school at The University of California, Los Angeles. He did his residency and a fellowship program in clinical cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco, and a fellowship program in interventional cardiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

In addition to Dr. Kodali, our team boasts the expertise of interventional cardiologist, Mahesh Vasantha Madhavan, MD; cardiothoracic surgeon and Garnet Health Structural Heart Services Surgical Director, Luigi Pirelli, MD; and structural echocardiographer, Mark Lebehn, MD. Together, these experts form the core of our structural heart services team.

Through our partnership with Columbia University Irving Medical Center, our specialized and advanced care teams provide our local community access to advanced structural heart procedures that don't require patients to travel to New York City. This partnership allows local residents to receive the same expert procedures as those performed in New York City, while staying close to home.

Structural Heart and Valve Procedures

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a less-invasive procedure that repairs damaged or stiff aortic valves (aortic stenosis). Very small incisions are made to allow a thin tube called a catheter to pass through the patient’s blood vessels until it arrives at the heart. The catheter is then used to guide a replacement valve to the heart, where the new valve takes over for the damaged old valve. Garnet Health’s structural heart services are led by Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s expert interventional cardiologists, who bring their internationally-recognized skills to our advanced and state-of-the-art facilities so patients no longer need to travel to get the best care cardiac care. 

LAAC (Left Atrial Appendage Closure) or Watchman procedure

The LAAC (Left Atrial Appendage Closure) or Watchman procedure is a minimally invasive procedure aimed at significantly reducing the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common heart rhythm disorder.

The procedure uses a thin, flexible tube called a catheter. The catheter is inserted through a small incision, usually in the groin, and threaded through the blood vessels to the heart. Once the catheter reaches the heart, a small umbrella-like plug called a Watchman device is placed into the left atrial appendage (LAA). This seals off the LAA from the rest of the heart and prevents blood clots escaping into the bloodstream.

Successful LAAC can eliminate the need for long-term blood thinners, and thus minimize the risk of bleeding complications for patients with AFib. The procedure offers a safe and minimally invasive way to prevent strokes for patients with AFib, and most patients can go home within a day of the procedure.

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If you are concerned about your heart health, you can find a Cardiologist by searching through our database of local providers.

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