Cleveland Clinic's main campus in Cleveland, Ohio — consistently ranked the world's leading institution for cardiovascular medicine for over three decades.
Cleveland, Ohio · Founded 1921 · The Heartbeat of Global Cardiovascular Medicine
Cleveland Clinic's main campus in Cleveland, Ohio — consistently ranked the world's leading institution for cardiovascular medicine for over three decades.
There are hospitals that treat heart disease. And then there is Cleveland Clinic — the institution that has, more than any other in the world, shaped what cardiovascular medicine looks like in the 21st century.
Founded in 1921 by four visionary physicians returning from the surgical theaters of World War I, Cleveland Clinic was conceived from the outset as something different: a group practice in which doctors worked collaboratively under a shared salary model rather than in the competitive fee-for-service arrangements that dominated American medicine at the time. That founding decision — deceptively simple, organizationally radical — created the conditions for a culture of collective excellence that has endured for over a century.
The institution's reputation for cardiac care is unmatched. For more than 30 consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Cleveland Clinic's Heart and Vascular Institute as the #1 cardiac program in the United States. No other hospital has come close to matching this streak — in any specialty. The reasons are institutional: a concentration of cardiovascular expertise, a surgical volume that produces outcomes unattainable at lower-volume centers, and a research apparatus that has consistently introduced techniques now practiced globally.
"We came back from the war determined to build a kind of hospital that didn't exist — one run not for the benefit of physicians but entirely for the benefit of patients."
— Frank Bunts, Co-Founder, Cleveland Clinic (1921)Beyond cardiology, Cleveland Clinic has quietly built one of the most comprehensive multi-specialty medical campuses in the world. With over 130 clinical specialties, more than 300 locations across the globe, and a patient volume exceeding 7.5 million visits per year, it is now less a single hospital than a global healthcare organization with Cleveland at its intellectual and surgical core.
In 2026, Cleveland Clinic operates campuses not only in Ohio but in Florida, Nevada, Toronto, London, Abu Dhabi, and beyond — extending its distinctive care model to patients who cannot travel to the United States while maintaining the quality standards that have made its name synonymous with cardiac excellence worldwide.
Cleveland Clinic's depth of clinical specialization extends far beyond cardiology. Across its global network, patients can access world-class care in more than 130 distinct medical and surgical disciplines.
The undisputed global leader in cardiovascular medicine. Performs more than 6,000 open-heart surgeries annually with outcomes that consistently exceed national benchmarks by significant margins.
Ranked #1 nationally for rheumatology multiple times. The Cleveland Clinic Orthopaedic Institute is among the highest-volume joint replacement and sports medicine programs in the United States.
A top-five U.S. neurology program specializing in epilepsy surgery, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, and cerebrovascular disease. The epilepsy monitoring unit is one of the largest in the world.
An NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center with specialized programs in hematologic malignancies, thoracic oncology, and immunotherapy. Clinical trial enrollment among the highest nationally.
Ranked #1 in gastroenterology and GI surgery nationally. The Digestive Disease Institute manages the nation's highest volume of complex colorectal, pancreatic, and hepatic surgeries.
A national leader in pulmonary hypertension, interstitial lung disease, and COPD. The medical ICU at Cleveland Clinic consistently posts mortality rates well below the national average.
One of the highest-volume robotic surgery programs in the U.S., performing thousands of da Vinci-assisted procedures annually across urology, gynecology, thoracic, and colorectal surgery.
Cleveland Clinic Genomic Medicine integrates next-generation sequencing into clinical care across oncology, rare disease, and transplant medicine — one of the most advanced programs of its kind in the U.S.
Cleveland Clinic's research enterprise is, above all, a cardiac innovation machine. But its contributions extend well beyond the heart — into oncology, neuroscience, genomics, and artificial intelligence — making it one of the most productive applied research institutions in American medicine.
Among its most transformative contributions: Cleveland Clinic surgeons introduced coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) techniques that are now the global standard for treating blockages in the heart's arteries. Its cardiologists were instrumental in the clinical trials establishing the efficacy of statins — cholesterol-lowering drugs now taken by hundreds of millions of patients worldwide. And its valve surgery programs have pioneered transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) techniques that allow surgeons to replace a failing heart valve without opening the chest.
Over the past two decades, Cleveland Clinic has expanded from a single Ohio campus into one of the most geographically distributed healthcare systems in the world — bringing its evidence-based, collaborative model to patients on four continents.
The main campus and global headquarters. Home to the Heart & Vascular Institute and the majority of Cleveland Clinic's specialty institutes and research operations.
Cleveland Clinic Florida provides full-service academic medical care to the Southeast U.S. and serves as a gateway for patients from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Cleveland Clinic Nevada opened in 2022, delivering flagship-level specialty care to the Intermountain West — with a focus on cardiology and neurology.
Cleveland Clinic London brings the full U.S. model — salaried physicians, integrated team care, and subspecialty depth — to the heart of the United Kingdom's private healthcare market.
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is a multi-specialty hospital serving the Gulf region and beyond, offering cardiac, neurological, and oncological care aligned fully with Cleveland standards.
A growing ambulatory presence in Canada, providing Cleveland Clinic specialty consultations and second opinions to patients across Ontario and Eastern Canada.
Cleveland Clinic accepts both self-referred and physician-referred patients. The appointment process is designed to move quickly — particularly for cardiac and oncology cases, where time is often critical.
Appointments can be scheduled through my.clevelandclinic.org or by calling the main appointment line. International patients are directed to the Global Patient Services team, which assigns a dedicated coordinator.
Cleveland Clinic's intake team requests prior imaging, ECGs, echocardiograms, lab work, and clinical notes before scheduling. This allows the appropriate specialist to be assigned before your first visit — avoiding delays once you arrive.
Financial counselors verify insurance coverage and provide cost estimates in advance. International patients can pre-pay by wire transfer, and Cleveland Clinic's international billing office handles invoicing for most global insurance providers.
The Cleveland Clinic campus is designed for efficiency. Most cardiology patients receive an ECG, echocardiogram, stress test, and specialist consultation within the same appointment day — a process that might take weeks in fragmented care systems.
Your care team provides a written treatment summary, follow-up schedule, and home-physician communication package. Remote monitoring programs and telemedicine follow-ups are available for patients who have returned home after treatment.
Browse our full 2026 global rankings — 250+ hospitals across 50 countries, ranked by outcomes, research, and patient experience.
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Cleveland Clinic is one of the most respected hospitals in the world, especially known for its leadership in cardiovascular medicine and advanced surgical procedures.
The hospital has been consistently ranked among the best hospitals globally due to its commitment to patient care, medical research, and innovative treatments.