The ACS Research Department is an internationally reputed state-of-the-art cardiovascular research site with an established, high-volume, quality program, serving a patient population of over 150,000 nationwide.

Leading-edge research has been a part of Advanced Cardiac Specialists since its inception in 1991. Most of the cardiologists and internists at ACS are actively involved in the research activities. The research program is headed by a cardiologist as medical director, and has a well-established infrastructure employing a research director, research nurses and clinical coordinators. With a full-fledged specialized staff dedicated to patient care, our activities keep ACS in the forefront of medical science and at the leading edge of technology.

Based on meticulous data collection, the research department maintains several registries including Coronary Interventional (Angioplasties / Stents) Registry, Heart Failure Registry and Cardiac Rehabilitation Registry.

The ACS Coronary Interventional (Angioplasty) Registry is a meticulous record of all coronary interventional procedures performed at the ACS – Outpatient Treatment Center (ACS-OTC) since it opened in December 1993 (currently part of the Cardiovascular Center at Mesa General Hospital). This includes balloon angioplasties, laser angioplasties, directional atherectomies, rotational atherectomies and intracoronary stents. The database is updated regularly and serves as a valuable point of reference for vital information on patient outcomes, including immediate procedural success and long-term clinical outcomes. We also conduct regular "meta-analyses" comparing the data from the registry with outcomes from landmark international and national trials. This provides a scientific and objective way of ensuring quality control. The Registry currently consists of over 8,500 patients. One-year follow-up is more than 95% complete at all times.

In the last five years, we have added other registries, including the Heart Failure Registry (412 patients), the Cardiac Rehabilitation Registry (3,000 patients) and a Registry on PTA of Dialysis Access Site Fistulas.

This data has served us well in terms of monitoring and modifying the quality of care we provide to our patients. It has also served the international medical / scientific community well and has resulted in 86 presentations in the past eight years, at international scientific conferences in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. The scientific forums have included the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, Society of Cardiac Angiography & Intervention, European Society of Cardiology, Heart Failure Society of America and the World Congress of Cardiology.

Our presentation on "Stenting versus Balloon Angioplasty in Acute Myocardial Infarction" was included in the "Featured Research" section of the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions held in Orlando, Florida in November 1997. Our paper on "Stenting the Coronary Vessel in Diabetics" was selected as a "Special Interest" presentation at the XXIst Scientific Congress of the European Society of Cardiology held in Barcelona, Spain, in August 1999. ACS’ contributions to scientific research were further recognized when we were invited to present our experience in the treatment of Coronary Heart Disease at the First World Congress of Cardiology in Prague in September 1997, and the Second World Congress of Cardiology in Florence, Italy, in October 1998. Our abstracts/papers have also been published in internationally indexed medical journals. In the last three years alone, ACS had over 25 original scientific research papers at international cardiology conventions. These were recognized by our peers as path-breaking and stimulated exceptional interest and informative interaction.

• Recognized as one of 20 "elite sites" for Pilot Studies and Phase I clinical trials of new interventional devices, 2000 - 2001.

• Independent IDE (Investigational Device Evaluation) registration with the FDA, 1994 - 2000.

• Received accreditation by the National Institutes of Health for research conducted in interventional cardiology at the ACS-OTC, 2000 to present.

• Featured research presentation at the 70^th Scientific Sessions of American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida 1997.

• Paper selected as of special public interest at the 20^th Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Vienna, Austria, 1998.

• American Black Cardiologists Association (ABC)

• Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York

• Cardiovascular Research Foundation, NY-Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Medical Center

• Cleveland Clinic Cardiovascular Coordinating Center (C), Cleveland Clinic Foundation

• Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), Duke University Medical Center

• Harvard Clinical Research Institute (HCRI), Boston, Massachusetts

• Harvard Medical School / Brigham and Women’s Hospital

• Jewish General Hospital / McGill University, Montreal, Canada

• Mayo Physicians’ Alliance for Cardiovascular Trials (M-PACT)

• Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, Florida

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute (NHLBI)

• New Approaches to Coronary Intervention (NACI), University of Pittsburgh

• St. Luke – Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York

• University of Arkansas

• William Beaumont Hospital, University of Michigan.