Temple Health’s Heart and Vascular Institute reaches specialty milestone

Philadelphia-based Temple University Hospital has achieved twin milestones in the treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Care teams from the Advanced Pulmonary Hypertension, Right Heart Failure and CTEPH program at Temple’s Heart and Vascular Institute have completed their 500th pulmonary thromboendarterectomy and 500th balloon pulmonary angioplasty.

Temple University Hospital is home to the largest CTEPH center in the eastern U.S., with pulmonary thromboendarterectomies only performed at a handful of hospitals across the nation, according to an Aug. 21 news release from the health system.

CTEPH is a potentially fatal form of high blood pressure “in the circulation of the lungs resulting from a blood vessel that has been blocked by a prior pulmonary embolism,” the release said. 

Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy involves placing the patient on a heart-lung machine and cooling their body to 65 degrees to periodically pause circulation. Pulmonary angioplasty remains an option for patients who are not eligible for a pulmonary thromboendarterectomy.

Temple University Hospital’s pulmonary thromboendarterectomy survival rate is 95%, according to the release. 

Anjali Vaidya, MD, director of the Advanced Pulmonary Hypertension, Right Heart Failure and CTEPH program at Temple University Hospital shared more about the dual achievement with Becker’s. 

Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length. 

Question: What do these twin milestones reveal about Temple’s efforts to build a nationally recognized center of excellence?

Dr. Anjali Vaidya: Temple Heart and Vascular has been committed to our goal of providing exceptional care to each individual patient. Our nationally recognized pulmonary hypertension center of excellence is a testament to years of specialized pulmonary hypertension careers with emphasis on advanced clinical care, scholarly innovation and vast educational outreach. 

Q: What were the most critical decisions or investments that enabled Temple to become the largest CTEPH center in the Eastern U.S.?

AV: Our team’s commitment to meticulous clinical care with exceptional outcomes, with interdisciplinary collaborations between cardiology and Dr. Yoshiya Toyoda’s [MD, PhD] cardiovascular surgery team.

Q: What has been most important to sustaining the interdisciplinary model at Temple’s pulmonary hypertension program?

AV: Our team works extremely well together across departments, all with a patient-centered approach. We learn from each other and grow our experiences in partnership across cardiology, cardiac surgery, interventional cardiology, anesthesiology, radiology and more. The collaborative model at Temple allows for the best patient experiences and outcomes. 

Q: Looking ahead, what innovations or research directions will shape the next phase of the program?

AV: Our team is continuously innovating on the scholarly front, inspired by and building on our clinical experiences and incorporating novel therapeutic techniques. The integration of multimodality treatments for an individual patient’s CTEPH management continues to evolve, and being at the forefront of this with colleagues around the world has been exceptionally rewarding and beneficial for our patients.

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