Top hospitals for cardiac surgery in the United States

When evaluating the top hospitals for cardiac surgery in the United States, no single ranking tells the complete story. Multiple independent frameworks, including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) National Database, U.S. News and World Report specialty rankings, the CMS Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program, and the Modern Healthcare 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals program, each measure different dimensions of performance. Understanding how these systems work, and how specific institutions perform across them, is essential for forming an accurate picture of the national cardiac surgery landscape.

How Major Rating Systems Evaluate Cardiac Surgery Programs

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons maintains the most clinically rigorous public database for cardiothoracic surgical quality in North America. Its star rating system evaluates programs across specific procedure categories, including isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), aortic valve replacement (AVR), mitral valve repair and replacement, and combined procedures. Ratings assess complications such as kidney failure, prolonged ventilator support, infection, stroke, and operative death, as well as post-procedural medication management upon discharge. 2 The STS database now includes more than 10 million surgical records from over 6,000 physicians and captures over 95% of adult cardiac surgeries performed in the U.S. 10

U.S. News and World Report evaluates more than 800 hospitals based on patient outcomes, operational structure, process measures, expert opinion, patient experience, and public transparency. 3 Separately, CMS ranks hospitals through its Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program across four domains: clinical care, patient and caregiver experience, safety, and efficiency with cost reduction. 3 The Modern Healthcare 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals program, powered by Premier Inc., uses an objective, quantitative analysis of publicly available data across 21 measures including clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, extended outcomes, and patient experience. Hospitals do not apply and do not pay to be recognized. 1

Nationally Recognized Programs: Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic

Cleveland Clinic in Ohio has been ranked the number one hospital in the nation for cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News and World Report for nearly three decades. 6 The institution performs more than 5,000 heart surgeries each year, with individual cardiac surgeons completing between 300 and 400 cardiac cases annually. 18 The STS awarded Cleveland Clinic its highest Composite Quality Rating of three stars for CABG, isolated aortic valve replacement, and mitral valve repair and replacement for the three-year period ending June 2025. Its 2025 operative mortality for isolated CABG stood at 0.8% against an STS expected rate of 1.6%, while isolated AVR recorded 0.0% observed mortality against a 1.6% expected rate. 2

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, consistently maintains a top-tier ranking due to its multidisciplinary treatment approach and high surgical volumes in complex heart procedures. 7 In the CMS Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program for fiscal year 2025, Mayo Clinic Rochester recorded one of the highest total performance scores among U.S. News top 50 heart hospitals at 51.08, while Mayo Clinic Arizona led all listed hospitals at 51.5. 3 Both campuses ranked among the strongest performers in the clinical care and efficiency domains that underpin the HVBP scoring framework.

Leading Academic Medical Centers in the Northeast

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, affiliated with Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, is a nationally recognized leader in complex structural heart disease, advanced heart failure management, aortic surgery, and complex CABG procedures. 9 The institution is equipped with cardiac catheterization laboratories, 3D echocardiography, and advanced hybrid operating rooms. In the U.S. News and World Report rankings, NYU Langone Hospitals held the top position among the outlets top 50 heart hospitals, with an HVBP total performance score of 38.00 for fiscal 2025. 3

Penn Medicine, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, performs more than 3,000 cardiac procedures each year and has conducted over 1,600 heart transplants in total, more than any other regional transplant center in its area, averaging approximately one heart transplant per week. 15 Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania earned an HVBP performance score of 35.83 in fiscal 2025. 3 Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Brigham and Womens Hospital, also in Boston, each maintained positions in the U.S. News top 15 heart hospitals, with HVBP scores of 26.42 and 31.5, respectively. 3

Multi-Facility STS Three-Star Programs Across the Country

Several health systems have distinguished themselves by earning STS three-star ratings across multiple facilities simultaneously. Northwell Health in New York had five of its cardiothoracic programs earn three-star overall quality ratings in the most recent STS report, evaluated against 945 peer facilities across the U.S. and Canada between January 2023 and December 2025. Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset achieved a three-star rating in all six surgical categories for the third consecutive time, the only program to hold that distinction in New York State. 4

Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh received three stars across five evaluated adult cardiac surgery procedures for the reporting period January 2023 through December 2025, covering CABG, aortic valve replacement, mitral valve replacement and repair, multivalve procedures, and combined valve-bypass procedures. 6 Ascension Saint Thomas Heart in Tennessee also earned three-star STS ratings for CABG, a distinction achieved by only 22% of hospitals nationwide, and for combined aortic valve replacement and bypass surgery, an honor earned by just 3.8% of participating programs. 8 UCSF Health in San Francisco maintains one of the nations largest heart transplant programs with survival rates above the national average, along with a total artificial heart program, one of the only such programs in Northern California. 16

Performance Data Snapshot: Selected Institutions

St. Josephs Health Cardiovascular Institute in Syracuse, New York, completed 1,223 cardiac surgeries in 2025, the highest volume recorded since 2007. This included 693 CABG procedures and 187 robotic CABG operations, representing 27.8% of bypass surgeries performed with robotic assistance. 13 Lankenau Medical Center in Pennsylvania earned STS three-star ratings in isolated AVR, isolated MVRR, isolated CABG, and the multiprocedural overall category covering all heart and thoracic procedures, with 29% of the 941 STS participants receiving the three-star multiprocedural rating. 7

Key Considerations, Limitations, and Patient Guidance

National rankings and star ratings reflect historical data aggregated over defined multi-year windows, typically spanning two to three years. The STS database reporting period and the U.S. News annual survey are not synchronized, meaning a hospital could hold strong marks in one system while undergoing changes that are not yet reflected in the other. Patients should also recognize that rankings are procedure-specific: a hospital holding a three-star STS rating for isolated CABG may hold a two-star or one-star rating for mitral valve repair, and these distinctions matter significantly depending on the specific intervention required. 2

Volume alone does not guarantee superior outcomes, though research consistently associates higher surgical volumes with lower complication rates in complex cardiac procedures. The 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals analysis found that benchmark institutions outperformed peer hospitals across all 21 measures, with CABG inpatient mortality showing a 56% difference in index value between benchmark and peer hospitals, at 0.43 versus 0.99 respectively. 1 Patients with complex conditions, prior cardiac surgery, or multiple comorbidities may benefit from centers with demonstrated experience in reoperative and high-risk cases. Insurance network participation, geographic access, rehabilitation infrastructure, and post-discharge support programs are additional practical factors that clinical rankings do not capture but that substantively affect recovery outcomes. Consulting both STS public data and U.S. News specialty ratings alongside CMS quality reports provides the most balanced evidence base for evaluating any specific program. 5

Sources

1. Modern Healthcare / Premier Inc. - 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals Program (finance.yahoo.com, February 2026)
2. Cleveland Clinic Consult QD - Vital Statistics in Adult Cardiac Surgery Including Valve and Aorta Operations (consultqd.clevelandclinic.org, March 2026)
3. Beckers Cardiology - Value-Based Care Scores of US News Top 50 Heart Hospitals (beckerscardiology.com)
4. Northwell Health - Five Northwell Hospitals Achieve Top STS Ratings 2026 (northwell.edu)
5. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - Hospital Compare and Quality Reporting Programs (medicare.gov / cms.gov)
6. PR Newswire - Allegheny General Hospital Earns Elite 3-Star STS Rating for Cardiac Surgery Excellence (prnewswire.com, May 2026)
7. Main Line Health - Lankenau Medical Center Earns Top STS Rating for Cardiac Surgery (mainlinehealth.org, October 2025)
8. Ascension - Ascension Saint Thomas Heart Program Receives National Recognition for Excellence in Heart Surgery (ascension.org, June 2026)
9. ShunHospital - New York Presbyterian Hospital: Leading Heart Care and Expertise (shunhospital.com)
10. ECU Health - East Carolina Heart Institute Earns Top National Ratings in Four Cardiac Surgery Categories (ecuhealth.org)
11. Society of Thoracic Surgeons - STS National Database (sts.org)
12. U.S. News and World Report - Best Hospitals Rankings: Cardiology and Heart Surgery (health.usnews.com)
13. St. Josephs Health - Sets Record for Cardiac Surgeries and Expands Advanced Care in Central New York (sjhsyr.org, May 2026)
14. Penn Medicine - Cardiac Surgery and Heart Transplant Program Overview (pennmedicine.org)
15. Penn Medicine - Heart Transplant Program (pennmedicine.org)
16. UCSF Health - Heart Transplant Program (ucsfhealth.org)
17. Cleveland Clinic - Awards and Rankings Overview (my.clevelandclinic.org)
18. Cleveland Clinic Providers - Dr. Edward Soltesz and Dr. Anthony Zaki Profile Pages (providers.clevelandclinic.org)