Mount Sinai Heart Is Now the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital

Mount Sinai Heart has been renamed the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital. The name change, announced in October 2023, honors the man who built Mount Sinai’s cardiovascular program into one of the world’s leading heart centers while advancing cardiovascular medicine around the globe.

The Fuster Heart Hospital is an umbrella of cardiovascular medicine services, research, and education that spans the Mount Sinai Health System. Mount Sinai Heart at The Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked No. 4 worldwide for cardiology and No. 5 worldwide for cardiac surgery for 2024, according to Newsweek’s “The World’s Best Specialized Hospitals,” and No. 1 in New York and No. 4 nationally for cardiology, heart, and vascular surgery, according to U.S. News & World Report® for 2023-2024.

Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, founder of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, has long been a global leader in cardiovascular medicine and public health. He has served as President of the American Heart Association, President of the World Heart Federation, and President of the Training Program of the American College of Cardiology, among many other leadership roles. In 2022, the ACC established the Valentin Fuster Award for Innovation in Science in his honor.

“Dr. Fuster’s dedication to interdisciplinary translational research has defined Mount Sinai’s world-class reputation in cardiovascular care,” says Dennis S. Charney, MD, the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “His groundbreaking contributions to the field have transformed the nature of care for patients well beyond the walls of Mount Sinai.”

Dr. Fuster became Director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai in 1994, then founding Director of Mount Sinai Heart in 2006. Over the decades, he built the program into one of the world’s top-ranked centers for cardiovascular medicine, cardiac surgery, and advanced research. In January 2023, Dr. Fuster transitioned to the newly created position of President of Mount Sinai Heart, recruiting Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, MBA, to take the helm as Director. Dr. Fuster will remain President of the Fuster Heart Hospital and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital.

Dr. Fuster’s influence on cardiology and public health is hard to overstate. He is deeply committed to his patients and prioritizes the patient experience at Mount Sinai. His research has also been transformational.

While many excellent clinicians focus on fighting disease, Dr. Fuster’s research and outreach efforts give equal weight to promoting health. He has spent the last two decades studying the biological, socioeconomic, and environmental factors that affect heart disease risk, looking for big-picture ways to promote healthy habits across the lifespan. In 1996, he received the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, Spain’s highest international honor, for his research into the origin of cardiovascular events, which contributed to improved treatment for heart attack patients. In 2011, he was awarded the Grand Prix Scientifique of the Institute of France for his pioneering research into atherothrombotic disease. In 2020, he was honored in Thailand as a Prince Mahidol Award Laureate for his lifelong contributions to medicine. 

Through outreach programs in New York City and around the world, he has helped children and communities adopt lifestyle changes that will help reduce cardiovascular diseases for the next generation.

Dr. Fuster’s influence extends to the hundreds of fellows and students he has mentored. His dedication to education is so notable that his former fellows established the nonprofit Valentin Fuster Society to continue learning from Dr. Fuster and each other as they extend his positive influence across the world.

“Dr. Fuster grew Mount Sinai Heart, now the Fuster Heart Hospital, into one of the best cardiovascular centers in the world, helping to set the bar in clinical care, research, and education,” Dr. Bhatt says. “This new name is a tribute to all he has accomplished over these last 30 years and ensures that his vision and commitment to excellence will continue to guide us into the future.”