Best hospitals in US for congestive heart failure: A data-based review of advanced cardiac care

How the hospitals were evaluated

Hospitals associated with leading congestive heart failure care appear in several different types of evaluations. CMS Hospital Value-Based Purchasing data measures hospital performance, while U.S. News rankings assess broader cardiology, heart and vascular surgery capabilities. Newsweek’s cardiac-care list incorporates clinical performance, patient outcomes, and expert input. These systems are not interchangeable, so a hospital with a strong overall cardiology ranking may not have the highest heart-failure-specific performance rate. 1 2 3

For patients, the relevant comparison depends on whether care involves newly diagnosed or chronic heart failure, complex rhythm problems, valve disease, transplant evaluation, or mechanical circulatory support. The supplied data identifies institutions with notable heart-failure results or advanced cardiac programs, but it does not establish a single universal ranking for every patient or every form of congestive heart failure.

Hospitals with high CMS heart-failure performance rates

CMS fiscal-year 2025 Hospital Value-Based Purchasing data reported Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago as having the highest 30-day heart-failure mortality performance rate among participating U.S. hospitals, at 0.942461. NYU Langone Hospitals followed at 0.935676, with Rush University Medical Center at 0.934941. Other hospitals near the top included Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Houston Methodist Hospital, St. David’s Medical Center, and Cleveland Clinic. The benchmark rate based on the top 10% of hospital rates was 0.910344. 1

Leading national cardiology programs

The 2026 to 2027 U.S. News cardiology, heart and vascular surgery ranking placed NYU Langone Hospitals first, followed by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Mount Sinai Hospital. Massachusetts General Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Cleveland Clinic also appeared among the leading programs. The evaluation covered nearly 500 heart hospitals and used outcomes from eight cohorts, including heart failure, heart attack, arrhythmia, valve surgery, bypass surgery, pacemaker implantation, and transcatheter aortic valve replacement. 3

The ranking methodology described by Becker’s Cardiology assigned 45% of a hospital’s score to survival. Other components included discharge-to-home rates, readmission prevention, and patient experience. A separate report stated that 41 risk-adjusted patient outcomes accounted for 80% of the updated heart-hospital score. These methodological changes make the rankings more outcomes-focused, but the scores still represent broad cardiac care rather than an individualized prediction of treatment success. 2 3

Hospitals recognized for advanced heart failure treatment

Advanced heart failure programs generally become most relevant when routine management is insufficient or when a patient requires specialized evaluation. Penn Medicine describes a nationally recognized program serving patients at every stage and type of heart failure, with prevention, ongoing management, advanced treatment, clinical trials, and second opinions. Several Penn hospitals have received The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Heart Failure, and the American Heart Association has recognized Penn hospitals for implementing its heart-failure quality program. 5

Newsweek’s 2026 cardiac-care ranking listed Mayo Clinic in Rochester first, Massachusetts General Hospital second, Cleveland Clinic third, NYU Langone Hospital-Tisch fourth, and Johns Hopkins Hospital fifth. The listed standout capabilities included heart transplant, heart valve surgery, coronary procedures, and treatment of chronic ischemic heart disease. Such capabilities can matter when congestive heart failure occurs alongside coronary disease, valve disorders, or a need for transplant assessment. 4

Heart transplant and LVAD expertise

Cleveland Clinic reported 91 heart transplants, including two pediatric cases, and 82 LVAD implantations during 2025. It also reported 383 patients referred for heart-transplant evaluation. Its reported one-year survival with a functioning graft was 97.6%, compared with a U.S. benchmark of 92.2%, while three-year survival was 89.8%, compared with 85.0%. The hospital noted that these transplant figures were unadjusted for patient and donor characteristics. 7

The same Cleveland Clinic report described 242 LVAD implants over the previous three years. One-year post-implant survival for primary LVADs was reported at 93.2%, compared with 85.2% STS Intermacs survival, for the period from April 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025. Destination-therapy continuous-flow LVAD survival was reported at 91.4%, compared with 84.7% in the cited registry comparison. Registry definitions, patient selection, and clinical complexity affect how these figures should be interpreted. 7

Notable programs by region

Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian reported a No. 2 national position for cardiology, heart and vascular surgery in the 2026 to 2027 U.S. News rankings. Its described subspecialties include heart failure, structural heart disease, electrophysiology, cardiac surgery, congenital heart disease, and preventive cardiology. Montefiore Einstein reported referral services for heart failure, arrhythmia, and mechanical circulatory support, along with a heart-transplant program described as the largest or leading program in its regional comparison. 6 10

How to interpret quality and outcomes data

CMS performance rates are useful for comparing a defined hospital measure, but they are not a complete profile of advanced heart-failure care. Value-Based Purchasing evaluates clinical care, patient and caregiver experience, care coordination, safety and efficiency, and cost reduction. The available data also shows that performance scores vary substantially even among hospitals included in national heart rankings. For example, reported fiscal-year 2025 total performance scores included 51.08 for Mayo Clinic Rochester, 39.83 for Rush, 38.00 for NYU Langone, and 34.42 for Cleveland Clinic. 9

Differences in case mix, referral patterns, procedure volume, eligibility rules, and reporting periods can influence comparisons. The U.S. News specialty ranking required hospitals to pass minimum procedure-volume and transfer-pattern checks, reducing an initial group of 665 hospitals to 488. Cleveland Clinic also states that its transplant survival figures are unadjusted for patient and donor characteristics. These limitations mean that rankings should support questions for a cardiology team rather than replace a clinical assessment. 3 7

Practical considerations before selecting a center

Patients evaluating a hospital should first identify the type of service required: general heart-failure management, advanced imaging, rhythm treatment, valve intervention, transplant evaluation, LVAD assessment, or clinical-trial access. Penn Medicine specifically describes care plans tailored to the patient’s stage and type of heart failure, while Massachusetts General Hospital is identified in the research as providing multidisciplinary care and clinical-trial access. The appropriate center therefore depends on clinical eligibility and the treatment pathway recommended by the treating team. 5 8

Travel and ongoing maintenance are also material considerations. Advanced heart-failure treatment can involve repeated evaluations, medication monitoring, device follow-up, rehabilitation, caregiver participation, and coordination between specialists, although the supplied sources do not quantify those requirements. Insurance networks, referral procedures, appointment capacity, transfer policies, and geographic access can affect whether a nationally prominent hospital is practical for a particular patient. Those administrative and clinical constraints should be clarified before care is transferred.

Overall comparison

The research points to several distinct strengths rather than one definitive winner. Northwestern Memorial led the cited CMS 30-day heart-failure performance measure, while NYU Langone led the cited U.S. News cardiology and heart-surgery ranking. Mayo Clinic Rochester ranked first in Newsweek’s cardiac-care list and reported a high CMS Value-Based Purchasing score. Cleveland Clinic combined a strong national cardiology position with detailed transplant and LVAD outcomes. Penn, Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian, Johns Hopkins, Cedars-Sinai, Massachusetts General, Stanford, and Montefiore add further depth in advanced or specialized services. 1 3 4 7 9

No ranking can determine which hospital is appropriate without the patient’s diagnosis, severity, comorbidities, prior treatment, insurance arrangements, and referral needs. A sound comparison separates heart-failure-specific outcomes from general cardiology reputation, checks whether advanced services are available when needed, and examines how published figures were calculated. The available evidence supports these hospitals as prominent national cardiac centers, but it does not guarantee an individual outcome or establish that one institution is superior for every form of congestive heart failure.

Sources

1. Becker’s Cardiology, 85 hospitals with highest heart failure performance rates
2. Cardiovascular Business, The best hospitals in the United States for heart care
3. Becker’s Cardiology, 50 best hospitals for cardiology, heart and vascular surgery
4. Newsweek, America’s Best Hospitals for Specialized Care 2026, Cardiac Care
5. Penn Medicine, Heart Failure Care and Management
6. Columbia Cardiology, Columbia/NYP Once Again Among Nation’s Best for Cardiology
7. Cleveland Clinic, Highlights of Our Heart Failure and Electrophysiology Outcomes
8. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic One of the Nation’s Best Hospitals
9. Becker’s Cardiology, Value-based care scores of U.S. News’ top 50 heart hospitals
10. Montefiore Einstein Advanced Care, Cardiology