What Is the Heart Team?
The Heart Team concept refers to a multidisciplinary group of specialists — typically including a cardiac surgeon and an interventional cardiologist — who jointly evaluate complex cardiac cases and make collaborative treatment recommendations.
Why Guidelines Mandate It
The 2020 ACC/AHA Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Valvular Heart Disease state:
"A Heart Team approach is recommended for patients with severe valvular heart disease to determine the optimal intervention." (Class I recommendation)
This isn't a suggestion — it's a Class I, Level of Evidence B recommendation, the strongest category for clinical recommendations short of multiple randomized controlled trials.
The Problem Heart Teams Solve
Consider a patient with severe aortic stenosis, moderate mitral regurgitation, and two-vessel coronary disease. This patient could potentially receive:
- TAVR alone (addressing only the aortic valve)
- SAVR + mitral repair + CABG (comprehensive surgical approach)
- TAVR + PCI (hybrid catheter approach)
- SAVR + CABG with medical management of the mitral valve
A cardiologist may default to the catheter-based approach. A surgeon may default to the comprehensive surgical approach. The right answer depends on an analysis that incorporates both perspectives.
Why Most Heart Teams Fall Short
In practice, hospital-based Heart Teams often function suboptimally:
- Institutional bias — Both specialists work for the same hospital. Volume targets, revenue expectations, and referral relationships influence recommendations.
- Time pressure — Real-world Heart Team discussions are often brief, conducted between cases, without full data review.
- Incomplete data — Risk scores may not be formally calculated. Guideline mapping may be informal.
The WhiteGloveMD Heart Team Model
WhiteGloveMD was designed from the ground up around the Heart Team concept — but without the institutional constraints:
- Complete independence — Our physicians have no procedural incentives. They don't operate on you, so they have no financial interest in recommending surgery vs. catheter intervention.
- Structured analysis — Every case includes formal risk scoring (STS, EuroSCORE II, AATS), guideline mapping, and treatment alternative analysis.
- Full documentation — The White Glove Insights™ Report provides a permanent clinical artifact that you can share with any physician.
See how our Heart Team process works or take the quiz to determine if an independent Heart Team review is right for you.