If you have a heart condition, choosing a hospital to perform heart surgery or other cardiac care is one of the most important — and nerve-wracking — medical decisions you will ever make. So, it’s not surprising that you’ll need some guidance for where to look.
That’s why U.S. News & World Report releases its annual Best Hospitals for Cardiology, Heart and Vascular Surgery in the country. These rankings are designed to help you make informed decisions about where to get top-tier care for patients with challenging heart and vascular conditions, including heart transplants, implantation of cardiac devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators, major chest procedures and patients with cardiovascular disease and other complex conditions such as endocarditis, heart failure and circulatory issues.
But what makes a hospital a best hospital for cardiology? And how can you use the U.S. News cardiology rankings to find the best hospitals near you?
U.S. News’s list isn’t just a seal of approval — it’s an in-depth evaluation of more than 800 heart hospitals nationwide based various key metrics, including:
— Patient outcomes
— Patient experience
— Expert physician opinions
— Other care indicators, such as patient volume, nurse staffing and technologies
These rankings are designed to serve as a starting point for your search for a hospital that is the best personal fit for you.
“The best hospital for you is the one that can deliver excellent care for your particular heart problem in a way that fits your life,” says Dr. Glenn I. Fishman, the William Goldring Professor of Medicine and director of the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology at NYU Langone Health, which was rated the No. 1 Hospital for Cardiology, Heart and Vascular Surgery in the country by U.S. News & World Report. “The goal is to match the complexity of your condition with the highest level of expertise you can reasonably access, and then build a practical plan around that.”
We asked experts for their advice on choosing a heart surgery hospital.
[READ: How to Assess Your Heart Health]
The Top Hospitals for Heart Care
The top 10 2025-2026 Best Hospitals for Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery in the country are:
1. NYU Langone, New York City
2. Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City
3. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland
4. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
5. New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell, New York City
6. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
7. Northwestern Medicine-Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
8. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
9. Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian, Philadelphia
10. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
[READ: Your Rights as a Hospital Patient]
Tips to Find Excellent Local Heart Care
U.S. News’s best heart hospitals guide is a great place to start to get an idea of what benchmarks make a hospital stand out.
“Whenever it’s feasible, there are real advantages to receiving care at a top-ranked, high-volume academic center,” Fishman says.
That’s because hospitals that perform a high volume of certain procedures have more experience and expertise, which typically leads to better outcomes.
“When a center does procedures day in and day out, the entire team — cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, nurses, techs — develops deep familiarity with the anatomy, the possible pitfalls and how to prevent and manage complications,” Fishman says. “The depth of expertise, access to advanced procedures and clinical trials and coordinated multidisciplinary teams are hard to match.”
However, not everyone lives close to or can travel to one of the top nationally ranked hospitals, so here’s how you can access top cardiac care closer to home.
[READ Pacemakers: Surgery, Types and How They Work for Heart Health]
1. Utilize U.S. News rankings for specific heart procedures and conditions
If you have a health issue, especially a complex case, it’s important to find a hospital that specializes in treating your specific type of condition or performing a particular procedure.
“If you have advanced heart failure, for example, you need a center that does transplants … and has a dedicated heart failure team,” Fishman says. “If you have complex arrhythmias, you need a hospital with a strong electrophysiology program.”
U.S. News’ Best Hospitals rankings provides a guide to top hospitals for various heart procedures and conditions to help you find the right specialized care for your specific needs:
— Best hospitals for abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
— Best hospitals for aortic valve surgery
— Best hospitals for heart arrhythmia
— Best hospitals for heart attack
— Best hospitals for heart bypass surgery
— Best hospitals for heart failure
— Best hospitals for pacemaker implantation
— Best hospitals for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
To find a hospital near you, use the search tool to find heart centers based on your zip code. Look for hospitals with the “High Performing” badge, which indicates that it rated significantly better than the national average in a given procedure or condition.
[READ: 10 Tips to Prepare Your Home After a Hospital Stay]
2. Check if your local hospital partners with a nationally ranked hospital
Many local hospitals are part of health systems that may include a nationally ranked center farther away or collaborate with larger academic centers.
“The connections of the local hospitals with the major hospitals is critical today,” says Dr. Valentin Fuster, president of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and physician-in-chief of Mount Sinai Hospital. He is also the general director of the National Center for Cardiovascular Investigation in Madrid, Spain. “We work constantly on transfers from small hospitals in which they do a good job.”
All hospitals and cardiologists have the same credentials, so your local hospital is likely equipped to handle emergency and initial care, but once you’re stabilized or know what your medical needs are for your heart health, your doctor can refer you to a top specialist or surgeon at a nationally ranked hospital.
“The smaller hospitals know exactly who is who in the larger hospitals and know where the patient should be transferred for that purpose,” Fuster says. “Networking is very important.”
3. Split your care
Even if you don’t have every doctor’s appointment there, doctors at a larger heart center may be able to direct your care to smaller, more local hospitals closer to home for routine procedures.
“For example, you might have your diagnosis, treatment plan and any complex procedures — such as a valve replacement, ablation or bypass surgery — at a top national program like NYU Langone, and then receive routine follow-up, basic imaging and lab work closer to home, guided by the plan developed at the leading center,” Fishman says. “Telehealth has made this kind of shared-care approach much easier.”
4. Get local recommendations
Ask friends and read the patient reviews and ratings available at U.S. News to see what others’ patient experiences have been.
“We already know it’s a good facility and has the tools and the technology, but we also want to know how the people are inside,” Fuster says. “This is absolutely critical: How empathic and nice are the doctors and the nurses?”
A good patient experience can also be a reflection of the quality of care, such as whether the doctors and nursing team communicate and coordinate, and whether they give clear directions for medications and follow-up at home.
“When you assess a hospital, don’t just look at the technology and reputation,” Fishman says. “In top-tier heart programs, patient experience and clinical quality go hand in hand.”
5. Consider logistics and preferences
The best fit for finding a cardiologist or hospital is also a practical and personal matter.
Think about whether the logistics of the care is feasible for you. Sometimes the best treatment plan is the one you will actually adhere to, as well as if you just get a “good feeling” from the health care team. If you don’t feel that they are a good fit, it may be time to change doctors.
“You tend to see the best long-term outcomes when a hospital combines top-tier clinical expertise with a care plan you can actually follow,” Fishman says. “If either piece is missing, it’s harder to stay on track over time.”
Consider these questions:
— Can you easily get to appointments?
— Do clinic hours work with your job or caregiving responsibilities?
— Do you feel heard and included in decisions? Or are they dismissing your health concerns?
— How easy is it to reach a member of the clinical team, especially at night or on the weekend?
[READ: A Patient’s Guide to Heart Attacks]
What to Ask Your Cardiologist
When you’re choosing a heart hospital, take this handy checklist of questions to ask your cardiologist or surgeon:
— Experience. What is your experience with my specific condition?
— Volume. What is the volume of patients you do this procedure on? How many cases like mine do you perform each year?
— Outcomes. What are your outcomes with this procedure, including survival and complication rates, and how do they compare to major centers nationally?
— Specialization. For a complex heart issue, do you have a specialized program and use a team working together?
— Advanced technology and clinical trials. Do you have access to advanced technology (including state-of-the-art options, not just the most basic approach) and clinical trials?
— Follow-up support. What type of follow-up support do you have after the procedure?
In addition, it’s always a good idea to get a second opinion, especially if you’re not completely comfortable with the first doctor or hospital you see. It’s one of your rights as a hospital patient in order to ensure you receive safe, respectful care.
“A second opinion can confirm the plan, present additional options or simply help you feel more confident about your choice,” Fishman says.
Bottom Line
Use U.S. News’s rankings as a first step to consider your options both locally and at nationally ranked hospitals, but the “best” hospital is the one that fits your specific medical needs and lifestyle.
If traveling to a top-ranked hospital isn’t realistic for you, look for a closer hospital that’s rated “High Performing” in your specific condition or procedure, has good outcomes, possibly can collaborate with larger academic centers and — most importantly — feels right for you.
“Patient experience is not just about comfort — it’s integral to safe, effective heart care,” Fishman says.
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A Guide to Finding the Best Heart Care Near You originally appeared on usnews.com
