July 12, 2023 By Julia Moro

Mount Sinai Queens announced on July 11 that a new cardiac catheterization lab will open in its Astoria location, providing more efficient and comprehensive care to hundreds of heart patients for emergencies and scheduled procedures.

Atul Kukar, DO, the director of the Mount Sinai Queens Catheterization Lab, will lead a team of 14 specialists including interventional cardiologists, nurses, and technicians.

“Our team is thrilled that Mount Sinai Queens will now be a destination for world class cardiac care, by offering the advanced cardiac services of elective and emergency coronary intervention 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Dr. Kukar said.

According to Mount Sinai, this catheterization lab, also known as a “cath lab,” is critical in treating heart attack patients whose artery has become blocked, which leads to a loss of blood flow in the heart.

Previously, Mount Sinai Queens transferred hundreds of heart attack patients yearly to the Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan for treatment. Now, these patients in need will get care from a specialized team onsite in western Queens.

“Achieving the quality of cardiac care offered at the world-renowned Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan is now possible in the borough of Queens. This is a great demonstration of our institutions’ commitment to serving the most diverse parts of our New York City population,” said George Dangas, MD, PhD, Chief of Cardiology at Mount Sinai Queens.

Dr. Dangas mentioned this expansion showcases the tenacity of the hospital after the harsh toll the COVID-19 pandemic had on them.

“Expanding the Cardiology Division at Mount Sinai Queens to include a full service catheterization laboratory shows how well we have bounced back from the pandemic that hit the borough of Queens incredibly hard, and we are proud of this new achievement,” Dr. Dangas said.

The cath lab will also provide elective procedures to patients. This includes stenting for blocked coronary arteries that cause chest pain or shortness of breath; catheterizations in measure the function in heart failure patients to better manage their symptoms; and implanting pacemakers and defibrillators in patients with abnormal heart rhythms.

“We are so proud of the innovative spirit of the cardiac team at Mount Sinai Queens. We celebrate their dedication to the community, saving lives every day,” says David Reich, MD, president of Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens.

This new lab in Astoria will have the ability to fully integrate treatment with Mount Sinai in Manhattan, allowing patients who receive serious and invasive cardiovascular procedures in Manhattan to have evaluations or aftercare in the Queens facility.

“This is another example of Mount Sinai Queens treating the local community in their own backyard, making it a destination for high-quality care,” said Cameron R. Hernandez, MD, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Mount Sinai Queens. “The Catheterization Lab is a great addition to the cardiac services that Mount Sinai Queens provides. Cardiac care will be further enhanced at the end of this year with the opening of a new Mount Sinai Health System Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai Queens.”

For more information, visit the Mount Sinai Queens Cath Lab website.

No comments yet