At RWJBarnabas Health, we have a passion for heart health and helping you make a plan for it, whether that includes the largest combined adult and pediatric cardiac surgery program in the state, NJ’s only heart and lung transplant programs, or our partnership with Rutgers Health. We bring nationally-renowned care close to home through NJ’s most complete network of easily accessible hospitals, centers, and physician offices. No matter what your heart may need, know it’s in the right place at RWJBarnabas Health.

Whether you are in need of care for high blood pressure, require heart surgery or are interested in ways to help keep your heart healthy, RWJBarnabas Health’s heart, vascular and thoracic care programs are here for you with:

• One of the top ten largest Heart Transplant programs in the nation with locations in Newark and New Brunswick
• The largest adult and pediatric cardiac surgery programs in the state.
• One of New Jersey’s highest performing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacements (TAVR) programs.
• Three of the only care destinations offering FFR-CT (Fractional Flow Reserve-Computed Tomography) in the state located in Jersey City, Lakewood in Newark.
• Leading specialists in cardiology, interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, and thoracic surgery who are at the forefront of innovation in critical care and the treatment of coronary artery and valvular diseases, heart rhythm disturbances, and vascular and thoracic disorders.
• The largest volume elective and emergent angioplasty program in the state.
• A network of Cardiac Rehabilitation programs and hundreds of preventative and wellness programs designed to strengthen and protect healthy hearts.
• Access to the latest technology and medical advancements via access to many of the most renowned clinical trials.
• Over 100 conveniently located cardiologists across 30 practices with offices throughout our communities who are able to customize personal care plans and provide the outpatient treatments needed to keep you and your loved ones healthy.
• The Cardio-Oncology Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between oncologists and cardiologists who are highly proficient in the care of cancer patients. The program offers adult and pediatric patients specialized care to identify and minimize the risk of heart disease throughout the cancer journey including survivorship.

Make plans for a healthy heart with screenings
and programs specific to you.

Everyone’s heart health is different, but a good place to start is with prevention efforts. Make sure your Wellness Visit with your Primary Care Physician includes the following Wellness Checks and Screening Tests.

• Diseases and Conditions
• Tests and Procedures
• Programs and Specialties

Plan for a Healthy Heart at All Stages of Life

Women’s Heart Health

Heart disease has traditionally been considered a disease for men, but it is the number one cause of death for men and women alike. At RWJBarnabas Health, our women’s heart specialists understand the differences—in warning signs, risks, and diagnoses—and can help you to plan for a healthy heart properly.

A woman’s risk increases post-menopause, usually by age 55, and she experiences less obvious warning signs than men. Beyond chest pain, women may also experience: jaw, neck or upper back pain, nausea or vomiting, shortness of breath, indigestion, and/or extreme fatigue. Women are also more likely than men to develop certain types of heart disease that can be harder to diagnose, such as coronary microvascular disease (MVD), broken heart syndrome, and coronary vasospasm. Meet with our women’s health specialists to avoid delays in diagnosis and to get a prevention plan in place.

Cardiology & Interventional Cardiology

RWJBarnabas Health’s outstanding cardiologists are also leading researchers who are influencing modern cardiovascular medicine. They include some of the nation’s top specialists in cardiac imaging and interventional cardiology, offering patients access to the most advanced tools for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

New Jersey’s Top Heart Surgery Program

RWJBarnabas Health’s premier cardiac services provide immediate access to highly sophisticated heart surgery such as aortic repairs and reoperative procedures. Members of the surgical team are recognized leaders in the field of cardiothoracic surgery and are advancing the latest minimally invasive repairs and transcatheter valve replacement techniques. Whether you need surgery on multiple valves, multiple bypasses, or suffered an aortic emergency we offer patients the most advanced therapies to ensure a faster recovery times with fewer complications.

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

The Children’s Heart Center at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is the state’s largest and most comprehensive center for diagnosis and treatment of children with cardiac conditions, adults with congenital heart disease and for expectant mothers whose fetus may have a heart issue.

The Children’s Heart Center is the only program in New Jersey that can provide the complete range of medical and surgical treatments for the most complex cardiac abnormalities. From fetal echocardiography to life-long care for adults with congenital heart disease, families turn to the experienced team of cardiac specialists for the finest care close to home.

New Jersey’s Leading TAVR Program

As New Jersey's most extensive health care network, RWJBarnabas Health is one of the state's highest performing health care systems for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). Available at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center and Jersey City Medical Center, an expandable artificial valve is threaded through a blood vessel to the heart on the tip of a catheter. Physicians, using state-of-the art imaging technology to place the new valve, which begins to work immediately, typically go home the following day.

Hope. Health. Hearts. All transplanted here.

The RWJBarnabas Health Heart Failure and Transplant program is one of the most experienced and comprehensive programs in New Jersey and one of the 10th largest programs in the United States. It is the site of the first heart transplant in New Jersey and has celebrated more than 1,300 heart transplants.

For those advanced heart failure patients awaiting a transplant we continue to be NJ’s longest running ventricular assist device (VAD) implant program. VADs are commonly used as a bridge therapy for people waiting for a heart transplant who are not currently eligible for a heart transplant because of other medical conditions, who have heart failure and must wait until their hearts are healthy enough to pump blood on their own again, or who have heart failure but aren’t good candidates for a heart transplant.

Ventricular Assist Devices

For those patients awaiting a transplant or receiving long-term therapy, another option may be a ventricular assist device (VAD). VADs are commonly used as a temporary treatment for people waiting for a heart transplant who are not currently eligible for a heart transplant because of other medical conditions, who have heart failure and must wait until their hearts are healthy enough to pump blood on their own again, or who have heart failure but aren’t good candidates for a heart transplant.

Research & Clinical Trials

The heart and vascular care centers at RWJBarnabas Health participate in more clinical research trials than any other heart care program in New Jersey. This prominent cardiovascular research helps patients gain access to promising new treatments and technology.

The cardiovascular research team participates in industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated research projects in a variety of subspecialties. The cardiac teams work closely to incorporate the latest research findings into the comprehensive care that helps to improve the lives of its patients.

Cardiac Imaging

In addition to providing the most advanced and thorough cardiac imaging services, state-of-the-art techniques support RWJBarnabas Health’s cardiovascular surgeons in the planning of complex cardiothoracic procedures and are a resource in the management of complex cardiac disease.

Screening & Prevention

From elementary school classrooms to senior centers, RWJBarnabas Health’s team of physicians, nurses, emergency medical technicians and nutritionists are educating members of the community about how to keep their hearts strong and offering prevention and wellness programs designed to strengthen and protect healthy hearts.

Patient Stories