Cardiac Surgery

View the 2022 Cardiac Surgery Clinical Outcomes & Innovation Report

Cardiac Surgery Outcomes Report
(click here)

When surgery is your best treatment option for a heart condition, choose the board-certified, fellowship-trained cardiac surgeons at the Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute.

Find expert care at Hartford Hospital, a convenient drive for patients in New Haven, Litchfield, and Middlesex counties, as well as residents of Rhode Island and western Massachusetts.

Best in the Nation

In Dec. 2023, Hartford Hospital achieved a perfect score from the Society for Thoracic Surgeons’ most recent Adult Cardiac Surgery Database ― the gold standard and the world’s premier clinical outcomes registry for adult cardiac surgery. Hartford Hospital is one of only four hospitals in the US to achieve a perfect score.

Twice a year, the STS ranks more than a thousand cardiac surgery centers in the United States and assigns a one to three star rating for patient outcomes in cardiac surgery. The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded measures of quality in health care. Hartford Hospital earned a distinguished three-star rating from STS for its patient care and outcomes in all five of the following areas:

  • Aortic valve replacement (AVR)
  • Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
  • Mitral valve replace/repair (MVRR)
  • Combined MVRR and CABG
  • Combined AVR and CABG

Sabet Hashim Heart and Valve

Dr. Sabet Hashim, Chairman of Cardiac Surgery and Co-Physician in Chief of the Heart & Vascular Institute, is a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive aortic and mitral valve surgery and repair.

Dr. Hashim earned his medical degree from St. Joseph’s University School of Medicine, Beirut, in 1975. He received his general surgical training from Columbia University at St. Luke's Hospital in New York City.

He joined the Yale University faculty after his cardiothoracic residency at Yale New Haven Hospital.


Your surgical team has the specialized experience needed to provide the most advanced treatments for delicate hearts. The Heart & Vascular Institute performs over 1,000 surgical procedures each year.

You can trust our expertise because Blue Cross Blue Shield recognized Hartford Hospital as a Blue Distinction Center+ for cardiac care. That means patients who receive heart valve surgery or coronary artery bypass surgery experience:

  • Better quality
  • Improved outcomes, including lower complication rates
  • More affordable care

View Cardiac Surgeons

Heart Surgery Procedures

Trust the expert heart surgeons at the Heart & Vascular Institute when you need one of these procedures.

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG)

Coronary bypass surgery reroutes blood around clogged heart arteries to treat coronary artery disease. At the Heart & Vascular Institute, you may benefit from a technique that Dr. Sabet Hashim developed to prevent the need for more treatment later in life.

Heart Transplant

Heart transplant treats heart failure by replacing your heart with a healthy donor organ. Entrust your care to the experienced team at Hartford Hospital, now part of the Heart & Vascular Institute, which has been performing successful heart transplants longer than any other Connecticut hospital.

Mini Maze Surgery

Mini maze surgery treats atrial fibrillation by sending your heart’s electrical impulses in the right direction. Your surgeon at the Heart & Vascular Institute will use only small incisions, so you recover sooner.

Mitral Valve Repair

Mitral valve surgery stops blood from leaking backward through the heart. Surgeons at the Heart & Vascular Institute nearly always repair, not replace, mitral valves. That means you’ll experience the best possible long-term outcome. 

Heart Conditions We Treat

Your physician at the Heart & Vascular Institute may recommend surgery to treat conditions such as:

Recovery & Support

Recover and regain strength after heart surgery with cardiac rehabilitation. In this supervised exercise program, you’ll reduce the risk of future heart problems and learn how to live a heart-healthy lifestyle.

We acknowledge our history, too. Doctors at Hartford Hospital, now part of the Heart & Vascular Institute, in 1984 became the first Connecticut hospital to perform a successful heart transplant. Since then, we’ve performed more than 250 heart transplants.


Request an Appointment

Call 833.444.0014 to request an appointment with a cardiac surgeon at the Heart & Vascular Institute. Ask your doctor for a referral before you call.

HHC Cardiac Surgery BookletEducation is critical to helping you understand your individual heart problem and its treatment.

Your Guide to Cardiac Surgery
 

Useful information regarding your heart and heart surgery, preparing for surgery, recovery, and more.

 

Download the guideDescarga la guíaPobierz przewodnik

Cardiac Surgery at The Heart & Vascular Institute


Meet our Cardiac Surgeons:

Sheelagh Pousatis

4.9

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Ayyaz Ali

4.7

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Mohiuddin Cheema

4.9

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Sabet Hashim

4.9

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
More Locations
Bridgeport, CT 06606
Robert Hagberg

5

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Jonathan Hammond

5

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Daniel Fusco

5

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Medical Group at St. Vincent's Medical Center Main Floor Cardiac Surgery
Bridgeport, CT 06606
More Locations
Hartford, CT 06106
Rafael Squitieri

4.9

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Medical Group at St. Vincent's Medical Center Main Floor Cardiac Surgery
Bridgeport, CT 06606
David Yaffee

4.9

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Dina Al Rameni

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106

Meet our Advanced Practitioners and Physicians Assistants:

Andrew Panetta

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Jessica Russell

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Medical Group at St. Vincent's Medical Center Main Floor Cardiac Surgery
Bridgeport, CT 06606
Jessica Reso

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Corrie Asseo

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Medical Group at St. Vincent's Medical Center Main Floor Cardiac Surgery
Bridgeport, CT 06606
Danielle Putnam

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Benjamin Iapaluccio

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Samantha Zaza

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Benjamin Mucci

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Caroline Combs

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Robert Ficara

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Vanessa Klopfer

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Theresa Phillips

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106
Marissa McClement

 

Cardiac Surgery

Medical Group Hartford HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Hartford Hospital
Hartford, CT 06106

Our Cardiac Surgery Locations: