The leading cause of death in the U.S. — every year for the past 100 years — is heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. And with an aging population and increasing numbers of people with risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity, there is cause for alarm. Yet the experts at Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute say there is also a reason for optimism.

The future of cardiovascular care is about to jump light-years ahead.

“We are now in an era of innovation. It’s a world where AI is helping us create new technologies, where robotics are making it possible for more people to undergo life-saving procedures and where we are developing wearable devices that help us predict health complications before symptoms occur,” said minimally invasive heart surgeon Tom Nguyen, M.D., FACS, FACC.

Today, Dr. Nguyen, the chief medical executive, director of minimally invasive valve surgery and the Barry T. Katzen Medical Director Endowed Chair at the Institute, is preparing the Institute for the future by leading an extensive expansion that will transform care. Dr. Nguyen, who was chief of cardiothoracic surgery and Charles Schwab Distinguished Professor at the University of California San Francisco, joined the Institute about a year ago.

“The pace of our evolution is extremely rapid, and the future is bright,” he said. “We have this aspirational dream of changing healthcare for our city, our state, our country and the world.”

It may seem like a lofty goal, but the Institute is well primed for a bold move. Built on a strong foundation of innovation, it was one of the first programs in the country to treat the entire cardiovascular system as a whole when it opened in 1987, and it quickly became known for pioneering less invasive cardiovascular procedures.

Advancing cardiac surgery

Today the focus is on building a top-tier cardiac surgery program, and having world-renowned cardiac surgeons is crucial to the effort. New to the Institute surgical team are Makoto Hashimoto, M.D., Ph. D., and Mehrdad Ghoreishi, M.D., who bring a wealth of experience and innovative techniques.

Prior to joining Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, Dr. Hashimoto was director of the Center of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery and Robotic Cardiac Surgery at the Sapporo Cardiovascular Clinic in Japan, one of the largest-volume heart programs in the nation. Dr. Hashimoto specializes in robotic cardiac surgery and minimally invasive cardiac surgery, including coronary artery revascularization.

Dr. Ghoreishi, co-director of aortic surgery and medical director of cardiac surgery research at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, revolutionized surgical treatments of the aorta while he was co-director of the Center for Aortic Disease at the University of Maryland Medical System, where he first developed normothermic total arch replacement (TAR). His technique allows the procedure to move forward without the long-standing and riskier practice of lowering the patient’s body temperature to temporarily stop the flow of blood. At the Institute, Dr. Ghoreishi is leading the launch of the Center for Aortic Care, where a multidisciplinary team treats all 11 segments of the aorta, providing a level of care that few centers in the country can offer.

“These physicians are pushing the envelope in the field,” Dr. Nguyen said.

Research and AI

Research is also an important element in the advancement of treatments for cardiovascular disease. The Institute has 50 open clinical trials in areas that include structural heart problems, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, vascular disease and stroke.

Helping further elevate the pace of transformation is the use of artificial intelligence, Dr. Nguyen believes. “Imagine going in a bookstore and having a friend that has read every single book there, in every single language. Imagine an artist that has looked at every single painting or photo or work of art. Now imagine that this person is available to you 24/7. The reality is that the technology is almost here right now. That’s AI,” he said.

“AI is going to be more transformative than electricity was, and we want to be on the top of that bandwagon,” Dr. Nguyen recently told the Consular Corps of Miami at a meeting hosted by Baptist Health International. With Miami being a medical evacuation center for many countries, as well as a popular destination for vacation and business travelers, members of the Consular Corps must stay on top of healthcare services in the region.

Currently, AI is used at the Institute to help analyze data that enables treatment decision-making and helps streamline patient care, ensuring that operating rooms are staffed and scheduled properly so that there are no delays for the patient, for example.

Dr. Nguyen is personally involved in AI technology research to develop digital stethoscopes and ultrasound machines used to find heart problems, as well as small wearable devices that track cardiac patient metrics that could predict a post-surgical complication before it is detectable by humans.

Exploring partnerships

As the Institute grows, its partnerships become even more important, he added. Working with industry leaders, researchers in academia, engineers and others in the tech field moves the needle. And helping develop the next generation of physicians, through residency and fellowship programs, is part of the process as well.

“The magic happens when we bring them all together,” Dr. Nguyen said. “Our priority is to give the best and most compassionate care. But if we do surgery the same way in the future as we do now, we’re not making progress. We are at the beginning of our journey toward the future. It’s a long path. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”