Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi: Transforming heart health in the UAE

World Heart Day is an opportunity to reflect on how far cardiovascular care has advanced in the UAE and how this benefits patients. Increasingly complex heart conditions can be diagnosed and treated closer to home, supported by specialized programs, multidisciplinary expertise, and technologies that continue to expand treatment options.

Since 2015, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute has introduced several cardiac firsts to the UAE and the region, while building programs across cardiac surgery, structural heart disease, electrophysiology, and advanced heart failure. This breadth of expertise led to the hospital’s designation as a Centre of Excellence for Adult Cardiac Surgery in 2023 by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH). The hospital also ranked #1 in Cardiology in Newsweek’s World’s Best Specialized Hospitals 2027 ranking.

The progression from its many firsts to the established programs is most evident in heart transplantation. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi performed the UAE’s first full heart transplant in 2017 and since then, the program has surpassed 50 heart transplants, reflecting the growth of heart transplantation from a landmark procedure to a well-established national capability for patients with advanced cardiac failure.

As these programs have grown in scale, the complexity of the conditions that can be treated has also increased. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has continued to introduce treatments that expand options for patients for whom conventional approaches may not be suitable. In 2025, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi became the first hospital in the Middle East to implant a Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis to treat a complex Type B aortic dissection without open-chest surgery. It also adopted the Coronary Sinus Reducer for selected patients with refractory angina who continue to experience symptoms despite conventional treatment.

The cardiac surgery program has evolved to become the largest program in the country, performing over 650 open-heart cases a year. The program has pioneered multiple firsts in the country, including robotic valve and bypass surgery, Left Ventricular Assist Device implantation, and simultaneous bypass surgery during liver transplantation. These achievements led to the designation by the DoH of Centre of Excellence for cardiac surgery, and CCAD serving as the quaternary referral for all complex cardiac cases in the country.

Innovation extends beyond the operating room and catheterization laboratory. In 2026, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi became the first hospital in Abu Dhabi to implant an advanced wireless monitoring system for patients with chronic heart failure. The CardioMEMS sensor, implanted in the pulmonary artery, remotely transmits pressure measurements to the care team. This can help identify early signs of deterioration and enable physicians to intervene before symptoms worsen.

The hospital also performed the UAE’s first cardiac neuroablation procedure this year – building on a history of innovation in the field of electrophysiology. The minimally invasive procedure targets abnormal nerve signals that can cause recurrent fainting and, for selected patients, offers an alternative to permanent pacemaker implantation.

Structural heart care has grown considerably since introducing the treatment in 2015. The Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute has performed over 800 transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVR) and 150 transcatheter mitral valve repairs since then, among many other transcatheter innovations. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has also completed 200 patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure procedures for stroke prevention. With smaller incisions, these complex procedures benefit patients by reducing pain, shortening hospitalization, and accelerating recovery.

All of these advances are supported by multidisciplinary teams and programs designed to determine the most appropriate treatment for each patient, whether medical, catheter-based, minimally invasive, surgical, or transplant-based.

For World Heart Day, the progress of cardiac care in the UAE is increasingly reflected in the treatments now available and the depth of expertise required to deliver them. At Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, the focus continues to be on expanding access to advanced cardiovascular care, developing specialized programs, and giving patients with complex heart conditions more treatment options, closer to home.