ST. HELENA, Calif. – St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley has been named by Becker’s Hospital Review to its listing of 100 Hospitals with Great Heart Programs.

The list names hospitals in the country exhibiting excellence in heart care and research, selected based on clinical accolades, outstanding local and national reputations, recognition for quality care, and contribution to the field of cardiology and cardiovascular surgery.

Becker’s highly-regarded lists are compiled independently based on extensive staff research and recommendations from reputable outside sources.

The Becker’s review highlights St. Helena Hospital’s long history of innovation in cardiac care, including its history of “firsts” in the North Bay area.

St. Helena was the first hospital in the area to perform coronary angiogram, coronary angioplasty and coronary bypass surgery.

It also was the first in the area to offer minimally invasive cardiac bypass surgery and percutaneous thoracic aortic aneurysm repair.

Becker’s also recognized St. Helena Hospital as one of few hospitals in the region with the rapid-response care team and specialized technology required to respond to the most serious form of heart attack, an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

St. Helena Hospital has previously been recognized by the Coastal Valley EMC Agency for its best-in-the-region STEMI response time.

From the inception of its first destination cardiac surgery program by Dr. Wilfred Huse in 1975, to the first-ever North Bay area deployment of the Impella heart pump in 2012, St. Helena Hospital has taken a pioneering role in cardiac medicine in Northern California.

Among other accomplishments, it was the first to offer “off pump” coronary cardiac bypass surgery and endovascular repair of thoracic aortic aneurysms.

That history of innovation and leadership now allows patients of the Adventist Heart Institute-St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley to benefit from access to the region’s most-honored doctors and specialists, the latest technologies and equipment, a fove-star catheterization lab, and the highest level of care.

“This is an extremely well-rounded team of physicians,” says Dr. Andreas Sakopoulos, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon. “We have experts from every field of cardiac care, all working together to give each of our patients seamless access to the precise type of care their particular situation requires. We do more complicated cardiac procedures than most hospitals our size, and that experience makes a big difference in our ability to care for all our patients.”

In staying at the forefront, St. Helena Hospital is pleased to welcome to the medical staff Gan Dunnington, MD, a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive cardiac and thoracic surgery, with special interest in treating patients with arrhythmia.

Dr. Dunnington will be instrumental in the opening of Adventist Heart Institute’s new Arrhythmia Center.

For more information about the St. Helena Adventist Heart Institute, visit www.AdventistHeart.org or call 888-529-9018.