The Hope Heart Institute

The Hope Heart Institute

Changing The Course Of Cardiovascular Disease.

Who We Are and What We Do

Every 40 seconds an American dies from heart disease, stroke or other cardiovascular diseases, making it the #1 killer in America. Heart disease and stroke take more lives than all forms of cancer combined and cost the US $314 billion a year in healthcare services and medications. But cardiovascular disease is not a number…it is our parents, husbands, wives and children.

The Hope was founded by renowned cardiovascular surgeon, Dr. Lester Sauvage who performed more than 10,000 surgeries in his career and mentored 40+ surgical fellows from around the world.

Dr. Mark Dedomenico joined Dr. Sauvage in 1965 and was the first cardiovascular fellow. He worked with Dr. Sauvage until Dr. Sauvage passed away in 2015. Although originally focused on treatment, Dr. Sauvage and Dr. Dedomenico were pioneers in understanding the need for research on the prevention of cardiovascular disease. They were also the first people to explain the scientific link between cardiovascular disease and overweight/obesity, lack of exercise and other behaviors. In the 1980’s, Dr. Dedomenico, with Dr. Sauvage’s support, began doing research on how to correct the growing epidemic of cardiovascular disease, most of which was caused by metabolic disorders, which included high cholesterol, high blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes and many other related diseases.

“Prevention Research for Cardiovascular Disease.”