The American College of Cardiology recognized Community Hospital for its care in treating patients needing cardiovascular care.

Northwest Indiana-based Community Hospital was recently awarded Transcatheter Valve Certification. The certification is based on an evaluation of the staff’s ability to meet standards for multidisciplinary teams, training, decision-making and registry performance.

The Structural Heart and Valve team at Community Hospital recently performed its 1,000th transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Known as TAVR, the procedure is a minimally invasive surgery used to treat aortic stenosis. Aortic stenosis is a disease that causes the aortic valve to narrow and restrict blood flow in the heart.

“One of the most common heart valve diseases seen in patients is aortic stenosis,” Dr. Samer Abbas said in a press release. “If left untreated, aortic stenosis may be life-threatening.” Abbas is an interventional cardiologist and medical director of cardiovascular services at Community Hospital and the Structural Heart and Valve Clinic of Powers Health.

The American College of Cardiology’s Transcatheter Valve Certification is an external review and certification process. It pairs with national clinical databases to monitor patient safety and real-world outcomes related to transcatheter valve therapies. Participation in established national clinical databases is required for hospitals focused on achieving Transcatheter Valve Certification.

“Community Hospital has demonstrated its commitment to providing Northwest Indiana with excellent heart care,” Dr. Deepak Bhatt, ACC accreditation management board chairman, said. “ACC Accreditation Services is proud to award Community Hospital with Transcatheter Valve Certification.”

Powers Health is a non-profit health care system comprised of four hospitals: Community Hospital in Munster, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart and Powers Health Rehabilitation Center in Crown Point.