“Part of our strategic approach at The Christ Hospital is to expand our cardiology services to provide greater access and support to the communities we serve,” said Dean Kereiakes, MD, FACC, FSCAI, President of The Heart & Vascular Institute at The Christ Hospital. “We are delighted to provide patients north of Cincinnati with opportunities to have the same excellent level of cardiac care and heart failure treatment that we offer at The Christ Hospital.”

Ankit K. Bhatia, MD, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiologist, The Christ Hospital Heart & Vascular Institute, is one of the leading cardiologists who provides medical heart failure care, as well as evaluation of patients in need of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or heart transplantation, who live in and around Montgomery and Liberty Township. When asked why the services are expanding to these northern regions, Dr. Bhatia cites the estimated 6.5 million people in the US who suffer from heart failure and the need for quality care close to home.

“The closer we are to an individual’s home, the more likely they are to receive the most comprehensive cardiac services, heart failure care and advanced heart failure treatments in the region,” he said. "Our LVAD/heart pump volumes are the highest in the Tristate, and we continue to increase our spectrum of innovative therapies, advanced clinical trials, multiple valve studies, and novel technologies for heart failure care, as well as other cardiac conditions.”

Services at these expanded locations include imaging testing, echocardiograms, and nuclear studies at both locations; electrophysiology at Montgomery; and the services of an emergency room now established at Liberty. Ten of the world-class cardiologists from The Heart & Vascular Institute now attend to patients in Liberty, and fifteen are available in Montgomery, where the hospital established the main cardiac clinic. Dr. Bhatia explained that this expansion is critical to improving the heart health of the Tristate. “We want everyone to know that at The Christ Hospital Heart & Vascular Institute, we will continue to expand our locations to ensure that every patient has access to the most advanced and comprehensive heart care—close to home.”

Caring for cardiology patients is Dr. Bhatia’s main passion, and he not only wants to provide services close to their homes but also inside their homes. For advanced heart failure patients, Dr. Bhatia is working to coordinate and expand the existing remote care program for monitoring heart failure patients once they leave the hospital. The remote system helps ensure a patient’s health remains stable in their home setting and provides round-the-clock support between scheduled visits with their cardiologist.

“This work to improve and advance the functionality of a home monitoring system will bridge the time between heart failure cardiology appointments and allows us to quickly respond if there are changes in a patient’s cardiac health,” said Dr. Bhatia. “With advanced warning, we can swiftly reduce their symptoms and successfully avoid having the patient return for any additional hospital stays.”

His devotion to providing leading-edge care to heart failure patients led Dr. Bhatia to his position at The Christ Hospital Heart & Vascular Institute. With his exemplary credentials, he could have chosen any heart care program in the country—but the mission, strategy, and leadership at The Christ Hospital made his decision easy. “I was searching for a forward-thinking, innovative cardiology program that embraced new technologies for heart failure treatments, and that search brought me to The Christ Hospital,” he said. “Most healthcare organizations wait until new medical advances are commercially available. Working with heart care pioneers here at The Christ Hospital, I know I can remain at the frontier, providing cutting edge therapies to treat my patients and improve their quality of life.”

Dr. Bhatia earned an undergraduate degree at Princeton University, received his MD and completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, then completed his fellowship training at Washington University School of Medicine, Division of Cardiology. His fellowships include heart failure, transplant cardiology, cardiovascular disease, and healthcare innovation. His resume includes completing extensive clinical research in methods to optimize and expand the use of home monitoring systems for advanced heart failure patients. As the principal site investigator for the ALLEVIATE-HF home monitoring trial, his work includes investigating its effectiveness when combined with an insertable cardiac monitor, a small device placed under the skin. The study will determine if, when used together, these two innovative technologies can better predict and treat heart failure.

“I am particularly excited that we could attract this type of exceptional young talent,” said Dr. Kereiakes. “Dr. Bhatia comes from a top training program and is a highly skilled, extremely bright heart failure specialist passionate about research. His desire to grow and develop our cardiology services makes him a great asset to our group and to the future growth of The Christ Hospital.”

Along with his colleague, Wojciech Mazur, MD, Dr. Bhatia is also working to establish an accredited Center of Excellence clinic for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The clinic will provide a central location at the Auburn campus for patients with this condition who often need care from multiple cardiology specialists. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can occur in any age group, is difficult to diagnose, often leads to advanced heart failure, and is a leading cause of sudden cardiac death. Once established, Dr. Bhatia will serve as co-director of the clinic. In addition to seeing patients in Montgomery and Liberty Township, Dr. Bhatia lends his skills to the South Asian Cardiology Clinic.

About The Christ Hospital Health Network

The Christ Hospital Health Network is an acute care hospital located in Mt. Auburn, with a remote hospital location in Liberty Township, five ambulatory outpatient centers, and dozens of offices conveniently located throughout the region. More than 1,300 talented physicians and more than 6,000 dedicated team members support the Network. Its mission is to improve the health of the community and to create patient value by providing exceptional outcomes and the finest experiences, all in an affordable way. The Network has been recognized by US News & World Report—for the seventh consecutive year as the #1 hospital in Greater Cincinnati for cardiology and heart surgery—and awarded Healthgrades “America’s 50 Best Hospitals” for being in the top 1% in the nation for providing the highest clinical quality year after year. It is also a Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award recipient, which recognizes top-performing healthcare organizations that achieve the 95th percentile or above for performance in patient experience. The Christ Hospital is among a select number of hospitals in the nation to be awarded Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. For more than 130 years, The Christ Hospital has provided compassionate care to those it serves.