Novant Health's two largest hospitals, Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, N.C., and Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., will be affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic to deliver cardiovascular services across the Carolinas.

This relationship will include the spectrum of heart care from prevention, medical cardiology to cardiovascular surgery. This means when patients across the Carolinas are diagnosed with heart disease, clinical teams will have access to opportunities to provide new treatments and therapies to patients, as well as accelerated access to Cleveland Clinic's cardiac care, explained Paul Wiles, president and CEO of Novant. That team will work together to design custom treatment plans for patients allowing them to stay in their community for care, he said.

Cleveland Clinic will work with Novant’s clinical teams to give patients access to the advanced research, programs, technologies and clinical techniques. Novant said its surgeons will participate in training, conferences and educational programs provided by Cleveland Clinic, while its physicians will collaborate with Cleveland Clinic colleagues and have access to emerging technology and procedures being evaluated at Cleveland Clinic.