Mount Sinai Launches Adams Valve Institute, Specializing in Complex Valve Surgery and Valvular Heart Disease

Mount Sinai Launches Adams Valve Institute, Specializing in Complex Valve Surgery and Valvular Heart Disease

Will promote innovative surgical techniques, advanced imaging, and breakthrough research to advance patient care and improve outcomes

The Mount Sinai Health System today announced the launch of the Adams Valve Institute, a new global center dedicated to advancing comprehensive care and surgical techniques for patients with heart valve disease.

The Adams Valve Institute builds on more than two decades of pioneering work by David H. Adams, MD, the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Professor and Chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief of the Mount Sinai Health System. Under his leadership, The Mount Sinai Hospital performs the highest volume of mitral and tricuspid valve repairs and advanced aortic root operations in New York State and has consistently achieved the highest quality distinctions from the New York State Department of Health. This Institute will build upon these achievements and unite a multidisciplinary team of experts to promote innovation in advanced imaging, reconstructive surgical techniques, peer-to-peer education, health policy reform, and breakthrough research across the full spectrum of valvular heart disease.

Heart valve disease impacts between 8 and 11 million people in the United States and accounts for nearly 30,000 deaths a year. Heart valves are critical to survival-they open and close to regulate the blood flowing in and out of the heart. When heart valves become diseased, the heart can't effectively pump blood throughout the body, which can lead to heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest. Heart valve disease is underdiagnosed and undertreated, especially in African American, Hispanic, and Asian populations. Additionally, women are more likely than men to not be diagnosed and can experience worse outcomes.

"Our new Institute will expand our efforts across the full spectrum of valvular heart disease," Dr. Adams says. "Collaboration has been the foundation of our success, bringing together cardiologists, imaging specialists, anesthesiologists, critical care teams, and scientists with a shared mission to advance best practices in heart valve disease care."

Ismail El-Hamamsy, MD, PhD, Director of Aortic Surgery for the Mount Sinai Health System, will serve as the inaugural Director of the Adams Valve Institute.

"Dr. Adams is internationally recognized for revolutionizing reconstructive strategies that restore a patient's own valve. The Adams Valve Institute will build on this legacy to set a global standard for techniques, education, research, and equitable access in reconstructive valve surgery for all valves and for patients of all ages, from infancy through advanced adulthood," says Dr. El-Hamamsy, the Mount Sinai Randall B. Griepp, MD Professor in Cardiovascular Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr. El-Hamamsy currently oversees the largest Ross procedure program in the United States and will expand this work at the Institute. The Ross procedure replaces a diseased aortic valve with the patient's own pulmonary valve, avoiding the long-term limitations of artificial valve replacement. It is the only aortic valve replacement surgery that has been proven to consistently restore patients' life expectancy to that of the general population and eliminates the need for patients to take blood thinners. The procedure is also highly beneficial for younger patients.

The Institute will create specialized Centers of Excellence focused on the most complex and underserved areas of valvular heart disease. Mount Sinai's Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center is already a world leader in mitral valve management, outcomes research, and reconstructive standards of care. New centers will apply similar principle-based management approaches and focus on aortic valve disease and the Ross procedure, Marfan syndrome and other connective tissue disorders, arrhythmic mitral valve prolapse, radiation-induced heart disease, adult congenital heart disease, and complex reoperative valve surgery.

"The Centers of Excellence within the Adams Valve Institute will offer hope to patients with rare or highly complex conditions that require specialized expertise not available at many centers," said Dr. Adams. In parallel with clinical innovation, the Institute will support transformative multidisciplinary research through targeted investments in infrastructure and dedicated faculty support.

The Adams Valve Institute will also work to systematically reduce barriers to high-quality surgical care by collaborating with nonprofit organizations to advocate for policy reform at both federal and state levels. Key initiatives include standardizing physician licensing, improving payer policies, expanding transparency in outcomes reporting and peer-recognized centers of excellence, and increasing access for underserved populations, including veterans. Additionally, the Institute will serve as a global educational hub through expanded live surgery courses, international mission programs, and the creation of the world's largest digital library of valve reconstructive technique videos, which will be freely accessible to surgeons worldwide.

"Creating the Adams Valve Institute recognizes Mount Sinai's longstanding leadership in the surgical treatment of heart valve disease as well as the transformative improvements in clinical care spearheaded by Drs. Adams and El-Hamamsy," said Evan L. Flatow, MD, Dean for Clinical Affairs of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Executive Vice President for Clinical Affairs of the Mount Sinai Health System.

"The Adams Valve Institute, operating in close collaboration with the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, will ensure continued state-of-the-art and life-changing treatments for our patients locally, nationally, and globally," adds Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine, and Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System.

Mount Sinai Is a World Leader in Cardiology and Heart Surgery

Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital at The Mount Sinai Hospital ranks No. 2 nationally for cardiology, heart, and vascular surgery, according to U.S. News & World Report®. It also ranks No. 1 in New York and No. 6 globally according to Newsweek's "The World's Best Specialized Hospitals."  

It is part of Mount Sinai Health System, which is New York City's largest academic medical system, encompassing seven hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. We advance medicine and health through unrivaled education and translational research and discovery to deliver care that is the safest, highest-quality, most accessible and equitable, and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians; 10 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 48 multidisciplinary research, educational, and clinical institutes. Hospitals within the Health System are consistently ranked by Newsweek's® "The World's Best Smart Hospitals" and by U.S. News & World Report's® "Best Hospitals" and "Best Children's Hospitals." The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report's® "Best Hospitals" Honor Roll for 2025-2026.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time-discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients' medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 10 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek's^® "The World's Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals" and by U.S. News & World Report's^® "Best Hospitals" and "Best Children's Hospitals." The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report^® "Best Hospitals" Honor Roll for 2025-2026.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.