It’s been a big summer for heart care innovations around New Jersey, as several medical centers announced new cardiac treatments, technology and executive moves. 

Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center 

The heart care team at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune performed the first procedure in the Garden State using the AGENT Drug-Coated Balloon. The tool is the first such coronary device in the U.S., Hackensack Meridian Health announced July 24. 

Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March, the Boston Scientific device is designed to treat coronary in-stent restenosis. ISR “occurs when a previously treated coronary artery narrows,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. 

Used as an alternative to traditional therapies such as balloon angioplasty, additional layers of stenting or radiation, the AGENT balloon is inserted and transfers a dose of the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel to the artery wall to help prevent ISR recurrence. 

Dr. Matthew Saybolt, medical director for JSUMC’s Structural Heart Disease Program, said the team was pleased to perform New Jersey’s first AGENT DCB procedure. According to him, it avoids “leaving behind another layer of permanent metal implants.”

A representative for Hackensack Meridian later shared with NJBIZ that the network’s Hackensack University Medical Center also began treating patients with coronary ISR with AGENT DCB in July. The Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute at Morristown Medical Center – which was recently named among Newsweek’s Best Cardiac Hospitals for 2024 – now offers the new technology as well, an Atlantic Health System representative shared with NJBIZ on Aug. 2.

Earlier this year, JSUMC announced a $45 million, 30,000-square-foot expansion of its cardiovascular suite. The addition will include 10 interventional, electrophysiologic and structural heart disease procedure rooms. The project is expected to be complete late this year.

Cooper and Inspira Cardiac Care 

Cooper University Health Care announced July 29 that a team of cardiologists at Cooper and Inspira Cardiac Care recently became the first in the region to implant a new therapy for tricuspid regurgitation – a disease that occurs when a heart valve doesn’t close properly. 

Change of heart (research)

Cooper University Health Care also announced July 31 that cardiovascular researchers discovered “a revolutionary new technology that has the potential to fundamentally change how clinicians study heart and vascular function.” 

The discovery was made by Lawrence Mulligan, director of research in the Department of Anesthesiology at Cooper and associate professor at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, in collaboration with Jeffrey Hill, advanced cardiac sonographer and assistant professor of cardiac ultrasound at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences University in Worcester, Mass.  

Click here to read more about their patent-pending Myocardial Work Quantification. The noninvasive technology merges cardiac ultrasound images and blood pressure and can help to diagnosis a wide range of diseases. 

In February, California-based Edwards Lifesciences Corp. announced that its EVOQUE tricuspid valve replacement system was the first transcatheter therapy to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation. 

According to the Cooper team, the tricuspid valve controls blood flow from the heart’s right atrium to the right ventricle. When the valve doesn’t close tightly, blood can leak into the atrium, making the heart work harder.  

“For patients suffering with tricuspid valve disease, their quality of life is compromised, and their overall survival is reduced,” said Dr. Sajjad Sabir, director of Structural Heart Program at Cooper, and a member of Cooper and Inspira Cardiac Care. “This valve disease is the most undertreated due to high surgical risk. Therefore, there is [a] clear need for non-surgical treatment options for these patients and the EVOQUE system is the first of its kind.” 

Sabir added that Cooper University Hospital in Camden was one of only a few in the country – and the only facility in the Philadelphia region – to offer the EVOQUE treatment. 

Jersey City Medical Center 

The RWJBarnabas Health facility announced Aug. 1 that Dr. Michael Benz, medical director of the Structural Heart Program at JCMC, will join the RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group in September. 

Benz will also continue is his leadership role with JCMC. As a member of the medical group, he will also help advance the health network’s adoption of new technologies, craft treatment guidelines, and participate in educational opportunities across RWJBarnabas Health’s Heart and Vascular northern division. 

“Dr. Benz’s expertise and commitment to innovation will be instrumental in growing our program and providing the best care possible to our community,” said Michael Prilutsky, president and CEO of JCMC and interim president of the medical group. 

Benz added, “Having served the Hudson County community for close to two decades, I have seen firsthand the need for advanced cardiac care. Leading Jersey City Medical Center’s Structural Heart Program is a privilege, and I’m eager to contribute my skills and collaborate with this talented team to make minimally invasive heart procedures even more accessible and effective for Hudson County’s residents.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 10:57 a.m. ET Aug. 2 to note that Hackensack Meridian’s Hackensack University Medical Center also began treating patients with coronary ISR with AGENT DCB in July, according to a network representative. The story was later updated to include Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute at Morristown Medical Center now offers the procedure as well.

See also:

• Newsweek recently unveiled a trifecta of specialty-hospital rankings, including its inaugural Best Cardiac Hospitals list. Click here to see which New Jersey facilities were named.
• Holograms are now helping the medical team at The Valley Hospital more efficiently perform cardiac procedures. Click here for more.