Mount Sinai Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center Earns Accreditation as a Comprehensive Care Center

In recognition of its expertise in treating adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD), the Mount Sinai Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center has been accredited by the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA) as a Comprehensive Care Center. The Center, launched in January 2020 and directed by Ali N. Zaidi, MD, serves the medical and surgical needs of a growing population of adults born with congenital heart disease. It becomes one of just three ACHA adult CHD-accredited programs in New York State and 44 in the United States.

ACHA is a nationwide organization focused on connecting patients, family members, and health care providers to form a community of support and a network of experts with knowledge of congenital heart disease. Nearly 2 million adults in the United States are living with one of many different types of congenital heart defects, ranging from simple to complex. ACHA accreditation develops extensive criteria to standardize, and thus improve, the quality and safety of care for this cohort of adult patients.

“This achievement for Mount Sinai Heart has been a goal of mine for many years. I congratulate and thank Dr. Zaidi and his colleagues for making this a reality and for his outstanding dedication to improving quality of care for patients with congenital heart disease,“ says Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital.

“Advances in medicine and surgical techniques have greatly improved the odds of survival for newborns who are born with congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect. This translates to a growing adult population requiring expert care that is comprehensive and well-coordinated across multiple specialties,” says Dr. Zaidi, Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is the only physician in New York State trained and board certified in adult congenital heart disease, adult cardiology, pediatric cardiology, internal medicine, and pediatrics, and is one of a small group of physicians in the United States with five board certifications.

“This accreditation represents a critical milestone in our center as we continue to refine our standards of clinical care and provide a seamless transition for young adults who move from pediatric cardiology to adult congenital heart disease and who often require a complement of well-coordinated specialty services,” says Dr. Zaidi, who in June 2021 was recognized as a medical honoree of the American Heart Association.

“Obtaining accreditation from ACHA is a wonderful testament to the outstanding quality of care that is offered in our adult congenital heart program at Mount Sinai. We are lucky to have two outstanding and experienced adult congenital specialists in Dr. Zaidi and Barry Love, MD, and I am excited that the foremost organization for adult congenital care has put their stamp of approval on our program,” says Robert H. Pass, MD, Chief of Pediatric Cardiology and Director of Pediatric Electrophysiology, Mount Sinai Health System.

In addition to providing comprehensive care for adults with all forms of congenital heart disease, the Mount Sinai ACHD Center includes a dedicated Fontan Clinic, which focuses on adults with single-ventricle Fontan physiology; this includes comprehensive evaluation, screening, and clinical care in a multidisciplinary care model. Mount Sinai’s Fontan Program is one of the only programs in New York State in which ACHD specialists, hepatologists, nutritionists, cardiac imagers, and mental health and social workers work together in a single setting. It is one of a small group of centers in the country offering a dedicated long-term survivorship program for adults with single-ventricle Fontan physiology.