Interventional Cardiology Center

Helping heart patients by using advanced treatments

At the Interventional Cardiology Center at Tufts Medical Center in downtown Boston, MA, you will find the most advanced techniques for diagnosing and treating coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease and complex structural cardiac defects.

Surgery is not always the best option when you are facing a serious heart condition. In addition to our surgical expertise, our doctors have been leaders in innovative non-surgical, less invasive approaches to the management of heart disease in Boston since the 1990s, with an outstanding track record of superior patient outcomes.

Leaders in the treatment and research of heart disease

Our Center has a long tradition of being at the forefront in both treatment and research. We were successfully treating patients with arteriosclerosis with drug-coated stents prior to their commercial availability. More than a decade ago, we helped to pioneer alcohol septal ablation to treat an abnormal thickening of the heart known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This therapy has similar outcomes when compared to surgery when applied to appropriate patient populations.

  • TAVR – Our specialists are replacing aortic valves with a non-surgical approach known as trans-catheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for patients who may otherwise not be candidates for life saving surgery. Balloon mitral valvuloplasty is performed in appropriate patients for mitral stenosis, which can remove or delay the need for open heart surgery.
  • VAD – We are a leader in the use of ventricular assist devices (VADs), which are used to treat failing hearts. We are currently researching new designs and applications for these life-saving devices, including their placement with less invasive catheter-based approaches.
  • PFO Closures – Our Center is a leader in international clinical trials that test new ways to repair holes in the heart without surgery in stroke patients, known as patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure. Dr. Carey Kimmelstiel completed the highest volume of PFO closures in the seminal RESPECT trial and performs this procedure in selected patients who have suffered strokes in an effort to reduce the risk of future events.
  • TMVR with MitraClip – For certain patients with mitral regurgitation (a leaky heart valve) who are not candidates for heart surgery, we are also experts in performing a less-invasive non-surgical treatment option called transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) with MitraClip therapy. Unlike surgery, this catheter-based procedure utilizes a vein in the leg to attach a small clip to the mitral valve, allowing it to close more completely and restore normal blood flow. The images below show the MitraClip's placement in the heart and its size.

Image of a heart with a mitroclip

Our clinical research involves a wide array of single and multi-center clinical trials, providing novel therapies for our patients long before they may become available elsewhere.