Heart hospital in McAllen reaches 30 years in a high-risk region

Three decades ago, McAllen Heart Hospital opened in McAllen as a physician-owned 60-bed hospital in the Rio Grande Valley. 

More than 200,000 patients later, it’s still open today under the leadership of South Texas Health System. 

Jay Humberto Rodriguez has been a board member of South Texas Health System for 41 years, and his father was once treated at the heart hospital. 

“This hospital is very special to me because of that life-saving care given to my dad 27 years ago,” Rodriguez said. “Even though the hospital was relatively new [at the time], the outcomes were fantastic.” 

Some of its more than 300 employees have worked for the hospital since its inception as one of the nation’s first cardiac hospitals. Several of them were recognized on Thursday for 30 years of service. 

Startup to system

MedCath Corp. opened the McAllen Heart Hospital in 1996. Then two more heart hospitals in Austin and Phoenix in 1998. All three have new owners since MedCath dissolved as a physician-owned hospital system in 2012. 

In 2001, McAllen Heart Hospital was acquired by South Texas Health System in a $56 million deal. South Texas Health System is a subsidiary of Universal Health Systems Inc., a Pennsylvania-based healthcare provider.

In 2019, McAllen Heart Hospital was rebranded as South Texas Health System Heart. 

By the numbers

The hospital has three catheterization laboratories, three operating rooms, and a hybrid space that can be used as either a lab or an operating room for patients who need complex cardiac care. 

In 2025, the hospital admitted more than 400 patients and saw nearly 7,000 patients in its emergency room. Surgeons performed more than 300 open heart surgeries and almost 2,500 cardiac catheterization procedures, which include installing pacemakers. 

The hospital has also expanded its robotic surgery program – with more than 650 robot-assisted procedures since 2023. 

Serving a higher-risk region 

The Rio Grande Valley has a higher rate of heart failure, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hypertension, and heart disease compared to Texas and nationwide. 

For example, about 35% of Medicare recipients in the Rio Grande Valley had heart disease in 2019, according to the RGV Health Connect database. That’s compared to 29% in Texas and 26% across the U.S., the data shows. 

That’s why the South Texas Health System Heart hospital regularly invests in its technology and promotes chronic disease prevention, said its CEO Brenda Ivory. 

“Unfortunately, heart disease is the leading cause of death in America — for males and females. We’re actually seeing even younger adults now,” Ivory said. “We keep investing consistently in growing technology and keeping up with the advancement of treatment for heart disease that’s in the community.”