Division of Cardiovascular Medicine Clinical Programs
Experts in 10 cardiovascular subspecialties
The faculty of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine lead clinical programs that advance patient care, discover new treatments and techniques and help train the next generation of cardiologists.
As Oregon’s only academic medical center, we offer the most complex and complete cardiovascular care in the state. Our clinical program leaders are internationally renowned experts in their cardiology subspecialties.
The top clinical programs of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine are:
Adult congenital heart disease
OHSU has the only adult congenital heart disease program in Oregon. Our team cares for patients, researches new treatments and techniques, and trains the ACHD experts of tomorrow in a collegial environment.
Adult congenital heart disease clinical care
We offer a comprehensive program that cares for every aspect of adult congenital heart disease, including:
- Surgery
- Catheter intervention
- Valve intervention
- Electrophysiology
- Obstetrical care
- Psychological and psychiatric care
- Imaging
Our team also collaborates with colleagues at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital treating children with congenital heart disease. Our integration of congenital heart disease care from birth to adulthood helps our team learn to care for patients of all ages.
Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship
The fellows of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship work closely with the ACHD faculty at OHSU and pediatric cardiology faculty and fellows at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. They also collaborate with the maternal fetal medicine team while caring for high-risk pregnancy cases.
Adult congenital heart disease research
OHSU is heavily involved in ongoing clinical research into adult congenital heart disease, including:
- Eisenmenger syndrome
- Systemic right ventricular function
- Myocardial fibrosis
- Advanced imaging techniques applied to congenital heart populations
- Impact of congenital heart disease on pregnancy outcomes
- Exercise and congenital heart disease
Program leaders
Craig S. Broberg, M.D., heads the ACHD program at OHSU.
Lidija McGrath, M.D., is the director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship.
Advanced heart failure and transplant
As the only academic medical center between Seattle and San Francisco, OHSU cares for many advanced heart failure, LVAD and cardiac transplant patients. Our multidisciplinary team includes cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, advanced practice providers, clinical pharmacists, transplant coordinators, LVAD coordinators and heart failure nurses.
Advanced heart failure and transplant clinical care
We offer the most comprehensive heart failure and transplant program in Oregon. Our services include:
- FDA-approved devices for heart failure
- Heart transplant
- Heart-kidney transplant
- LVAD surgery
- Short-term mechanical heart support devices
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Fellowship
OHSU offers the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Fellowship, a one-year, ACGME-accredited fellowship. Fellows will get advanced training in all stages and forms of heart failure, pre- and post-operative care of heart transplant and ventricular assist device patients, and key diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
Research
We’re involved in all aspects of research into heart failure therapies, with a particular focus on device-based heart failure therapies. Our research includes:
- Novel LVAD clinical trials
- Interventional heart failure trials
- Percutaneous valve replacement trials
- Pharmacological trials
- Heart failure research
- Pulmonary hypertension research
Program leaders
Johannes Steiner, M.D., leads the heart failure and transplant program.
Conrad Macon, M.D., is the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Fellowship director.
Arrhythmias and electrophysiology
OHSU is the referral center for arrhythmias for all of Oregon and Southwest Washington. We’re pioneers in performing MRI on patients with pacemakers, and we are particularly strong at lead extraction and VT ablation.
Arrhythmias and electrophysiology clinical care
Our arrhythmias team members are experts in device implantation and ablation procedures.
At OHSU, we offer:
- Pacemakers
- Implantable defibrillators
- Lead extraction
- Cardiac resynchronization therapy
- Left atrial appendage closure (WATCHMAN device)
- Left bundle branch pacing
- Epicardial access and ablation
- Ventricular tachycardia ablation
We also treat:
- Atrial fibrillation
- Atrial flutter
- Supraventricular tachycardia
Electrophysiology fellowship
The Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship is the only EP fellowship in Oregon. It’s a two-year, AGCME-accredited fellowship that provides comprehensive training in the diagnosis, management and procedural treatment of cardiac arrhythmias across inpatient, outpatient and consultative settings.
OHSU is also one of few places in the country where fellows can do a track of two years of cardiovascular fellowship rather than three, followed by two years of EP fellowship.
Research
OHSU is involved in multicenter sponsored trials by device and ablation companies to help discover new treatments for heart rhythm disorders.
We were also pioneers in performing MRIs on patients with pacemakers. Since 2012, our team has performed more than 2,000 MRIs on patients with pacemakers or defibrillators.
Program leaders
Charles Henrikson, M.D., leads the arrhythmias and electrophysiology program at OHSU.
Cardiovascular imaging
The cardiovascular imaging program at OHSU is made up of experts in all imaging techniques, including echocardiography, CT, MRI and PET/nuclear imaging. We play a vital role in clinical care across the division and the Knight Cardiovascular Institute. Our imaging specialists help diagnose and treat patients and are integral to research into diseases, therapies and new techniques.
The cardiovascular imaging program and general cardiology program work closely together. Cardiovascular imaging specialists are fully qualified general cardiologists, and general cardiologists are also imaging specialists.
Cardiovascular imaging clinical care
OHSU has state-of-the-art imaging equipment, including two dedicated cardiac MRI scanners and three PET/MRI scanners.
OHSU is the only hospital on the West Coast that offers myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE). Former Division of Cardiovascular Medicine head Sanjiv Kaul, M.D., pioneered the field of MCEs. OHSU is one of the only hospitals in the country using this technology to instantly detect heart attacks.
Cardiovascular imaging fellowships
Our one-year Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Fellowship trains fellows in multimodality cardiac imaging, including echocardiography, CT, MRI and PET/nuclear imaging.
The fellows of the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship also get advanced training in echocardiography and the opportunity for basic training in nuclear cardiology.
Cardiovascular imaging research
Our cardiac imaging program plays a pivotal role in research across the Knight Cardiovascular Institute. We provide imaging for cardiovascular clinical trials to monitor the efficacy of novel treatments.
We work closely with industry partners, including General Electric (GE), to evaluate new interventions and new technology like machines and software. This relationship lets OHSU researchers access developing technologies that aren’t available elsewhere.
Program leaders
Maros Ferencik, M.D., Ph.D., M.C.R., leads the cardiovascular imaging program at OHSU.
Critical care cardiology
OHSU is one of the few places in the country with an established critical care cardiology program. Ours includes four dedicated critical care cardiologists who use the latest techniques to treat critically ill patients. We are also instrumental in training future critical care cardiologists.
Critical care cardiology clinical care
OHSU’s cardiovascular intensive care unit offers a unique clinical setting where medical and surgical patients are treated in the same place. This setup allows critical care cardiologists to practice to the full extent of their training.
Critical care cardiology fellowships
We are national leaders in training new critical care cardiologists. Our team works with fellows from the Critical Care Medicine Fellowship, and we have a dedicated teaching service with critical care fellows and cardiovascular disease fellows integrated onto one learning team.
Research
We’re involved in the Critical Care Cardiology Trials Network (CCCTN), which uses data from more than 40 academic and clinical care centers in the United States and Canada to investigate the epidemiology of critical cardiac illness.
We’re also part of the American Heart Association’s Cardiogenic Shock Registry, which aims to better understand outcomes in patients with cardiogenic shock.
Our team is actively enrolling and participating in manuscript creation for both registries.
Critical care cardiology program leaders
Srini Mukundan, M.D., leads the critical care cardiology program at OHSU.
Miranda Merrill, M.D., is the associate program director of the Critical Care Medicine Fellowship.
General cardiology
The general cardiologists at OHSU deliver high-quality, complex care to all manner of heart patients. We’re involved in innovative research and clinical trials, and we help train tomorrow’s cardiologists.
The general cardiology program also works closely with the cardiovascular imaging program.
General cardiology clinical care
Our team is involved in all areas of care for our patients.
Our general cardiology team includes experts in:
- Cancer and the heart (cardio-oncology)
- Heart failure
- Cardiomyopathies
- Arrhythmias
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart valve disease
- Pericardial disease
- Autoimmune diseases
- Nerve and muscular dystrophies
- Endocarditis
- Microvascular disease and coronary vasospasm
We’re able to tailor our roles to our cardiologists’ strengths and interests.
General cardiology fellowships
Our faculty are heavily involved in the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship. We train the next generation of general cardiologists, nurture interest in scientific investigation and help trainees reach their ultimate goals in cardiology.
General cardiology research
General cardiology research at OHSU covers a broad spectrum of topics, determined by faculty interest. Our faculty are examining the intersection of heart disease and substance use disorders, including methamphetamine-related heart disease. We’re also researching treatment for pericardial disease, including constrictive and chronic pericarditis, as well as using CT imaging to evaluate heart disease.
General cardiology program leaders
Evan Shalen, M.D., leads the general cardiology program at OHSU.
Infiltrative and genetic cardiomyopathies
OHSU’s nationally recognized cardiomyopathy programs are among the largest in the country. We’re the only Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center of Excellence in Oregon, and we are performing innovative research into new therapies and techniques to treat these diseases.
Cardiomyopathies clinical care
We take a multidisciplinary approach to treating cardiomyopathies that’s unique in the Pacific Northwest. We center our clinical care around individual heart muscle diseases, so all disease-related services and experts are housed under one roof, including highly specialized services such as surgical myectomy, alcohol septal ablation and heart transplantation. Since cardiomyopathies can run in families, we provide services for the whole family.
Our multidisciplinary teams include:
- Cardiologists
- Cardiothoracic surgeons
- Electrophysiologists
- Oncologists
- Gastroenterologists
- Hematologists
- Nephrologists
- Cardiovascular certified genetic counselor
- Psychologist
Cardiomyopathy fellowships
Our faculty are involved in training and educating future cardiologists across multiple fellowships and training programs. We work with fellows from:
- Amyloidosis Fellowship
- Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship
- Sports Cardiology and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Fellowship
- T32 Training in Translational Science and Cardiovascular Research
Cardiomyopathies research
We investigate and develop therapies that target the underlying cause of the disease. We are heavily involved in novel cardiomyopathy research, including:
- Investigational therapeutic clinical trials
- Imaging trials that focus on biomarker discovery for individual diseases
- New gene-editing and gene-replacement therapies to treat heart diseases
- Investigating and developing therapies that target the underlying cause of the disease
- Deep phenotyping of patients and diseases with a comprehensive cardiomyopathy registry and biobank, enabling complex multi-omics assessments using sophisticated computational biology techniques
The cardiomyopathy team also works hard to integrate research findings into clinical care and delivery. Our resources let patients access novel therapies and experimental treatments.
Program leaders
Ahmad Masri, M.D., M.S., leads the cardiomyopathies program at OHSU.
Interventional cardiology
Our interventional cardiology program is world-class, excelling in clinical care, research and education.
Interventional cardiology clinical care
We provide the latest minimally invasive treatments for heart conditions using innovative transcatheter procedures. We also participate in clinical trials for novel therapies, which give our patients access to treatments they wouldn’t otherwise be able to try. We work as part of a multidisciplinary team at the Knight Cardiovascular Institute to treat our patients. These teams include:
- Cardiologists
- Cardiac surgeons
- Imaging specialists
- Cardiac anesthesiologists
As Oregon’s only academic medical center, we see a high volume of patients and a wide variety of heart conditions. We also have one of the highest outcomes in the country, despite an overall patient population that is sicker when they come to us.
Interventional Cardiology Fellowship
We offer a one-year, AGCME-accredited fellowship in interventional cardiology. During training, fellows develop proficiency in:
- A broad spectrum of coronary and structural heart interventions, including elective and complex emergent PCI
- Management of cardiogenic shock
- Advanced hemodynamic assessment
- Recognition and treatment of procedural complications
The interventional cardiology program is also involved in the Structural Heart Disease Fellowship, a one-year fellowship that provides focused training in structural heart disease decision-making and interventions.
Interventional cardiology research
We’re working on multiple clinical trials that provide novel technologies to patients who aren’t suitable for traditional therapies. We also do research into the pathology of cardiovascular diseases to discover new ways to target the cause of the disease.
Interventional cardiology program leaders
Firas Zahr, M.D., leads the interventional cardiology program at OHSU.
Preventive cardiology
The preventive cardiology program at OHSU is part of the Center for Preventive Cardiology, which provides clinical care and research opportunities. Our faculty are leaders in prominent organizations like the American Heart Association and the National Lipid Association.
Preventive cardiology clinical care
We aim to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease through prevention, early detection and tailored treatment.
Our care teams include experts in:
- Nutrition
- Heart and blood vessels
- Diabetes, metabolism and hormones
- Cholesterol and triglycerides
- Obesity medicine
- Advanced therapeutics
- High blood pressure
- Genetics
- Imaging of the heart and blood vessels
- Cardiac rehabilitation
Preventive cardiology fellowships
Our team works with fellows from the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship to train them in all areas of preventive cardiology.
Preventive cardiology research
We conduct research as part of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the Knight Cardiovascular Institute. Our team’s major areas of research include:
- Clinical trials of promising new therapies for cholesterol and coronary disease
- Studies of familial hypercholesterolemia
- Studies to identify the genetic and biochemical underpinnings of atherosclerosis, the driver of heart attacks and stroke
- Studies to redefine the diagnostic and therapeutic value of HDL, so-called “good cholesterol”
- Studies of lipoprotein (a), a novel “bad” cholesterol carrier responsible for heart attacks, stroke, and aortic stenosis
Preventive cardiology program leaders
Jonathan Purnell, M.D., leads the preventive cardiology program at OHSU.
Sports cardiology
OHSU has one of the only comprehensive sports cardiology programs on the West Coast. In addition to patient care and research, our team works with the National Hockey League and teams from the University of Portland, Portland State University, the University of Oregon and Oregon State University.
Sports cardiology clinical care
Our program has its own dedicated cardiopulmonary exercise testing lab, featuring:
- Treadmills
- Cycle ergometers
- Rowing ergometers
- Weight sets
Sports Cardiology Fellowship
Our Sports Cardiology Fellowship is the first on the West Coast and one of the only sports cardiology fellowships in the country.
Fellows receive advanced subspecialty training in the care of athletes and physically active individuals with all types of cardiovascular disease. They also work in the OHSU Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center, a leader in clinical care and research for HCM.
Sports cardiology research
OHSU’s robust research infrastructure offers many research opportunities. Sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes is a major focus of our clinical research, along with many other topics in sports cardiology.
Program leaders
Bradley Petek, M.D., leads the sports cardiology program at OHSU. He also serves as chair of sports cardiology for the American Society for Preventive Cardiology and is on the boards of national sports cardiology societies. He also serves on the steering committee for the Outcomes Registry for Cardiac Conditions in Athletes (ORCCA) study.
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