Hartford HealthCare has appointed Dr. Sabet W. Hashim as chairman of cardiac surgery and co-physician-in-chief of the Hartford HealthCare Heart and Vascular Institute. Dr. Hashim, an international leader in cardiac surgery, will work collaboratively with internationally recognized Hartford Hospital cardiologist Dr. Paul Thompson, who also has been named the Institute’s Co-Physician-in-Chief.

Dr. Thomas Divinagracia, director of endovascular services at Hartford Hospital, will lead system-wide vascular surgery strategy.

“This is a profoundly important moment for our healthcare system as the newly formed Hartford HealthCare Heart and Vascular Institute and its co-physicians-in-chief will play a major role guiding our evolution and our future,” said Elliot Joseph, president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare. “In Dr. Hashim, we have found a national leader who has proven his ability in academic and community medical centers. He is a renowned clinician with a track record of fostering collaboration and developing multidisciplinary teams. He will help us take our well-regarded heart and vascular care to the next level.”

The Heart and Vascular Institute will be under the administrative direction of Mariane Carna, system Vice President for Cardiovascular Services.

“The institute’s three core disciplines — cardiology, vascular surgery and cardiac surgery — will come together to support Hartford HealthCare’s vision of developing a world-class center for clinical excellence and research in cardiovascular disease management,” said Jeffrey A. Flaks, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hartford HealthCare. “The doctors who practice within Hartford HealthCare are among the most knowledgeable and dedicated in the world. They will continue to set the standard for world-class care in Connecticut and beyond, enhancing access to the very best heart and vascular expertise.”

Dr. Hashim is best known for his expertise in mitral valve repair. For the past decade, he has served as director of cardiac valve surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he performed New England’s first mitral valve repair in 1984. Since then, Dr. Hashim has consistently maintained the largest mitral valve practice in Connecticut and has performed more than 1,500 mitral valve repairs and 10,000 open heart procedures.

He has developed novel techniques in minimally invasive aortic and mitral valve operations and serves as the primary investigator on several trials, including SurTAVI, COAPT and Commence. Dr. Hashim has received numerous professional honors and awards, has a significant background in biomedical research and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Paul Thompson is an international expert who has authored more than 200 scientific articles on topics including the effects of exercise training on preventing and treating heart disease, the risk of sudden death during exercise, the effects of statins on muscle function, and genetic factors affecting the exercise response. He is an associate editor of the Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine and editor of the book Exercise and Sports Cardiology. Dr. Thompson is a past president of the American College of Sports Medicine. He has served as a television medical commentator for two Boston and five New York marathons and was NBC’s Sports Medicine Analyst at the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea.