The Eyal Ofer Heart Hospital
Keeping Hearts Beating
Rambam’s distinction as a world leader in cardiovascular medicine rests upon decades of innovations developed by its gifted researchers: minimally-invasive treatment approaches, sophisticated 3D imaging systems to visualize the heart during surgery, and pioneering work with cardiac stem cells.
“All of Rambam’s heart medicine now beats under one roof: treatment, surgery, research, and prevention.”
From Pavilions to a New Home for the Heart
For decades, Rambam’s cardiac patients were treated in pavilions dating back to the 1940s. The Eyal Ofer Heart Hospital opened its doors in 2022, and with the relocation of Rambam’s cardiovascular services completed in June 2026, it now unites treatment, surgery, imaging, intensive care, research and preventive care under one roof. As the focal point for Rambam’s extraordinary expertise and innovations in the field, it is a launching stage for the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
- First in the world to adopt the VIOLA bypass device
- First in Israel to deliver gene-editing therapy for heart failure
- Home of the world’s first embryonic stem cells coaxed into beating human heart cells
- Opened 2022, with all heart services united under one roof in June 2026
Rambam Premieres Safer Heart Surgery
In traditional bypass surgery, the aorta must be clamped, and in patients with calcified arteries, that pressure can fracture deposits and send them toward the brain. Roughly two percent of bypass patients suffer a stroke, a risk heart surgeons worldwide have long sought to reduce.
Rambam became the first medical center in the world to perform bypass surgery with VIOLA, an Israeli-developed device that lets blood flow through the aorta uninterrupted: no clamping, and dramatically less risk. The standard of care for tomorrow is being set at Rambam today.
The Advanced Heart Failure Center
The final piece arrived in June 2026, when Rambam’s Advanced Heart Failure Center moved into the hospital. Its teams care for patients with the most complex forms of heart failure, from ventricular assist devices and artificial heart implantation to remote-monitoring programs that follow patients at home.
Rambam’s researchers are re-imagining the field itself: the center was the first in Israel to deliver gene-editing therapy for heart failure, and Prof. Doron Aronson’s team has pioneered a wearable “microclimate suit” that relieves fluid overload using the body’s own sweat mechanism: no drugs, no dialysis.
Ending Sudden Cardiac Death
Professor Lior Gepstein, Director of Cardiology at Rambam and a Technion researcher, made medical history when he differentiated embryonic stem cells into functioning heart cells in vitro. Building on that foundation, Dr. Oren Caspi and Rambam’s cardiology researchers are using stem-cell models to unravel Sudden Cardiac Death Syndrome, a leading cause of death in young people. This work could open new ways to diagnose and treat this devastating condition.
A Founding Role in Heart Health
The Eyal Ofer Heart Hospital is complete, but its mission is just beginning. Naming opportunities are available for departments, units, and medical equipment, and support opportunities span every field of cardiovascular medicine.
If advancing cardiovascular medicine and research is a cause that is close to your heart, there are many ways you can make an impact.
To learn more, request research or program proposals, or arrange a briefing with Rambam’s clinical and scientific leadership, please contact American Friends of Rambam at (212) 292-4499 or info@aforam.org.