Prebys Cardiovascular Institute Marks 10 Years of Heart Care

Since its opening, Prebys Cardiovascular Institute has been a leader for cardiac care on the West Coast. It’s a place where the knowledge and skill of Scripps cardiologists and surgeons come together with the latest technology and research to provide the finest heart care possible. 

To meet the individual needs of every cardiac patient, Scripps offers a comprehensive range of advanced cardiovascular diagnostics and treatments, including: 

Physicians at Prebys Cardiovascular Institute perform more heart surgeries than anyone in San Diego, including coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), atrial and ventricular septal defect repairs and various valve repair and replacements.  

Traditional open procedure options and minimally invasive procedure options are both available, based on the patient’s surgical needs and medical history. 

Electrophysiology is used to diagnose and treat abnormal heart rhythms, also known as arrhythmias. Procedures performed to treat these arrhythmias include the implantation of pacemakers as well as cardiac ablations, which are performed via catheter to eliminate the abnormal heart muscle causing the arrhythmia. 

This technique uses non-surgical, catheter-based options to correct various heart conditions. Prebys Cardiovascular Institute performs stent placement, as well as new leading-edge balloon therapies to restore blood flow in areas that may be narrowed or blocked.  

Also pioneered at Prebys Cardiovascular Institute are the newer transcatheter valve procedures, a minimally invasive alternative to open surgery that replaces aortic, mitral or tricuspid valves without opening the patient’s chest. 

When the heart is unable to pump blood throughout the body, it can be fatal if left unchecked. Scripps uses several technologies to diagnose and treat heart failure, including advanced lifesaving options like left-ventricular assist devices (LVADs). When a patient has weakened heart muscle, LVADs can serve as a temporary bridge to a heart transplant. 

Scripps offers an array of standard cardiac imaging like CT, MRI, ultrasound and fluoroscopy, as well as the specialized 3-D echocardiography, which provides real-time imaging during interventional radiology procedures. 

Through its first decade of service, Scripps cardiologists have been on the front lines in testing and introducing new cardiac technology that quickly becomes the standard. The benefits of these new procedures are varied but generally tend to be less invasive and lead to quicker recovery. In some cases, they may even give patients an option for care when previously there was none.  

Here are a few of the recent advances that involved Prebys Cardiovascular Institute physicians: 

Scripps cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons at Prebys Cardiovascular Institute are consistently ranked among the nation’s best. It’s their experience and expertise that help make the institute a destination for exceptional heart care. 

To maintain that level of expertise for years to come, Scripps is also working to develop the next generation of cardiac specialists. Through robust cardiac graduate medical education (GME) programs, experienced faculty, clinical educators and researchers help to expose cardiovascular fellows to all aspects of cardiology. 

Scripps Clinic Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program and the Interventional and Structural Cardiology Fellowship Program provide an advanced curriculum and hands-on opportunities that are helping to guide today’s promising physicians into tomorrow’s cardiac leaders. 

“Our fellowship graduates are quickly identified as leaders in their future medical programs,” says Malhar Patel, MD, program director of the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program at Scripps Clinic. 

“They continue to be productive in research, they seek leadership roles in national cardiology societies and they are such outstanding clinicians that we would be happy and find great comfort if they were to care for our own family members,” he says.  

In addition to providing comprehensive care for patients with a variety of heart conditions, Prebys Cardiovascular Institute is also a hub for medical research and clinical trials. 

Many of the physicians who see and treat cardiac patients also lead or take part in research that keeps them at the forefront of medicine and can quickly shape the care they provide. 

At any given time, the Scripps Health Cardiology Clinical Research team supports more than 50 clinician-led research trials in interventional cardiology, heart failure, electrophysiology and general cardiology. More than 20 trials are currently open for new patient enrollment, including device and drug trials for the treatment of congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease and heart valve disease. 

It’s through this type of biomedical research and science that Scripps’ cardiac specialists and surgeons drive and embrace innovation and test new procedures, therapies and devices. 

Scripps clinician researchers supported some of the first transcatheter valve replacements, drug-coated stents and left atrial appendage closure devices — all now used as standard of care. And Scripps has long been a leader in electrophysiology research for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. 

“In the field of heart failure, we’re at the forefront of change,” says Rola Khedraki, MD, an advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist at Scripps Clinic Anderson Medical Pavilion. “We’re involved in leading-edge clinical trials and new technologies and we have so many therapies we can offer patients today that we didn’t have just a few years ago. 

“We want to continue bringing those advances forward for our patients.” 

More than 20 clinical trials are currently open for new patient enrollment, including: 

• Transcatheter valve replacements for the treatment of diseased, narrowed heart valves in patients with heart valve disease. 
• New and updated drug-coated balloons for the treatment of coronary artery disease. 
• Congestive heart failure treatment drug trials. 
• Shunt device systems for the treatment of congestive heart failure. 
• New/updated ablation catheters for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. 
• Left atrial appendage closure devices for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation. 
• Gene therapy treatment for heart failure. 

When San Diego businessman and philanthropist Conrad T. Prebys was a young boy in Indiana, he stepped on a rusty belt buckle. That single misstep led to a life-threatening cardiac infection that left him bedridden for years. 

Decades later, it would lead to his life-changing investment in cardiovascular care. 

“That experience from my childhood never left me,” Prebys said in 2015 after making a $45 million gift to the cardiovascular institute that would bear his name. “Now here I am, part of what will be the best heart care center there is, with the greats of the medical world and research and innovation that will help mankind.” 

At the time, that donation was the largest Prebys had ever made and that Scripps had ever received. It helped make construction of Prebys Cardiovascular Institute possible, and it helped articulate a cardiovascular vision for the region. 

“The vision of a state-of-the-art cardiovascular institute and emergency services center in La Jolla triggered our desire to support the new Prebys facility being constructed,” say donors Bill and Janie Rohn, who were inspired by the idea of a world-class cardiovascular center in their community. “Looking back over the past 10 years, it is rewarding to see the vision brought to life.” 

Since opening, Prebys Cardiovascular Institute has been recognized for groundbreaking work in stent placement, valve repair and replacement and minimally invasive heart surgery. It is an international leader in managing and treating heart rhythm disorders and in electrophysiology research for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmia.  

Continued philanthropic support from the community has helped Scripps cardiac specialists and surgeons stay at the forefront of clinical trials and research, as well as help them teach and train the next generation of cardiac leaders. 

“I believe he would be so proud to hear of all the lives this superb facility has touched in the past 10 years and continues to touch every day,” says Grant Oliphant, president and CEO, Prebys Foundation. “Conrad’s support for Prebys Cardiovascular Institute expressed his love of philanthropy and his passion for top-notch health care for San Diego.” 

On the institute’s opening day after touring the new facility, Conrad Prebys spoke to the group in attendance briefly sharing his childhood medical experience. After a lifetime of success, it seemed he had come full circle. The young boy with a cardiac infection was now a successful business leader and a champion for cardiovascular care and advancement. 

“I always thought I was the luckiest guy in the world,” he said. “Today, I am the most proud.” 

Completion of Prebys Cardiovascular Institute in 2015 launched a new era for heart care in San Diego. It was also the beginning of a master construction plan that will redefine Scripps health care for future generations. 

The institute was the first of three nearly identical hospital towers planned for the 62-year-old Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla campus. The second “North” tower opened last May and a third hospital tower is now in planning stages. 

The three towers and another medical office building will be the core of a new state-of-the-art regional medical center that will merge the physicians, staff, programs and services of Scripps Green Hospital and Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla onto the single Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla campus. 

Other plans for the northern region include nine phases of new construction at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas and full development of a new regional medical center campus in San Marcos. 

“Over the past 10 years, Prebys Cardiovascular Institute has redefined quality heart care in San Diego,” says Van Gorder. “Now the building serves as the cornerstone for further expansion in La Jolla and well beyond. This is a major step forward in meeting the expanding and changing health care needs of San Diego County.”