SEATTLE — Two Washington health systems, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Tacoma and UW Medicine in Seattle, have been named to Becker’s Cardiology’s 2026 list of 100 hospitals and health systems with great heart programs.
The recognition highlights programs that deliver strong clinical outcomes, advanced technology and research at a time when heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States.
Becker’s Cardiology, a specialty publication of Becker’s Healthcare, spotlights programs known for solid outcomes, newer technology and research. The candidates were chosen from nominations and editorial research. Organizations did not pay to be on the list, and the list is neither a ranking nor an endorsement, according to the 2026 report.
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, part of CommonSpirit Health, operates hospitals and clinics across the Puget Sound region, including St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma and Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. The system’s cardiac surgery outcomes rank in the nation’s top 10 percent. It holds the highest three-star rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for isolated coronary artery bypass grafting, aortic valve replacement combined with bypass grafting, and mitral valve repair or replacement. Only a small share of programs nationally earn the top rating in these categories, which reflect risk-adjusted results for mortality, complications and process measures.
U.S. News & World Report ranks Virginia Mason Medical Center No. 1 in Washington for cardiology, heart and vascular surgery. The system also holds the American Heart Association’s “Get With The Guidelines Gold Plus” distinction for heart failure care. Its teams were early adopters of echocardiography and transcarotid artery revascularization in the Pacific Northwest. More recently, the program became one of the first in the nation to combine extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat a critically ill patient. Patients travel to the system for interventional cardiology, complex aortic disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, advanced ablation and cardio-oncology services.
The second Washington state hospital to make the list was UW Medicine’s Heart Institute which provides care for adults with coronary and valve disease, rhythm disorders, heart failure and congenital conditions. Patients come from Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. The institute performed the region’s first heart transplant in 1985 and remains the largest transplant program in the Pacific Northwest and the only active one in Washington state. Its Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Clinic is a center of excellence recognized by the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association. The adult congenital heart disease program, a collaboration with Seattle Children’s, was among the first five centers accredited as comprehensive care centers by the Adult Congenital Heart Association. The cardio-oncology program holds “Gold” center-of-excellence status from the International Cardio-Oncology Society.
University of Washington Medical Center holds the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization’s Platinum Award for ECMO — the only such designation in Washington — and is a Mitral Foundation mitral valve repair reference center. The program is a founding member of the American Ross Consortium, a group of high-volume centers studying the Ross procedure for aortic valve disease. Interventional specialists perform complex coronary interventions, transcatheter aortic valve replacement and transcatheter mitral and tricuspid repair. Cardiac surgeons offer valve repair and replacement, coronary bypass and thoracic aortic surgery. Advanced heart failure care includes medical therapy, left ventricular assist devices and transplant.
Cardiac surgery addresses problems that medications or less invasive procedures cannot fully correct. Common operations include coronary artery bypass grafting, in which surgeons use a blood vessel from elsewhere in the body to reroute blood around blocked arteries, and valve repair or replacement for stenotic or leaking valves. Some procedures use traditional open approaches through a sternotomy; others rely on minimally invasive, robotic or catheter-based techniques such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Heart transplantation replaces a failing heart with a donor organ when other options are exhausted.
Recovery typically begins in an intensive care unit for one to two days, with most patients spending about a week in the hospital. After discharge, full recovery often takes six to 12 weeks while the sternum heals, though individual timelines vary. Patients gradually increase walking, participate in cardiac rehabilitation programs that combine supervised exercise with education, and follow activity restrictions on lifting and driving. Fatigue, incision discomfort and temporary mood changes are common. Outcomes at high-performing centers show low complication rates and meaningful gains in quality of life for most patients.
The American Heart Association recommends Life’s Essential 8: a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and unsaturated fats while limiting sodium, added sugars and ultra-processed foods; at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity weekly; not smoking; healthy sleep of seven to nine hours for adults; and control of weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose. Managing these factors reduces the risk of needing advanced interventions later. Regular checkups allow early detection of conditions such as high blood pressure or coronary disease.
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
