Category: News

A study co-authored by WashU Cardiovascular Division faculty members Joshua D. Mitchell, MD, MSCI, Ali Javaheri, MD, PhD, and Jonathan D. Moreno, MD, PhD, evaluated the availability and delivery of cardiac amyloidosis care across the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system. The study also included Amen B. Zelleke, MPH, a clinical research coordinator in the Javaheri lab at the WashU Center for Cardiovascular Research, and lead author Sang Gune K. Yoo, MD, a former WashU cardiology fellow. The findings were published in JACC: Advances.

WashU Cardiovascular Division faculty members Mark Huffman, MD, MPH and Zainab Mahmoud, MD, MSc, along with cardiology fellow Aishwarya Vijay, MD, have published a perspective in Circulation addressing implementation of the newly released 2026 AHA/ACC/ADA/ASN Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) Syndrome.

When Abigail Ellis began working as a cardiothoracic surgery nurse at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, she was beginning the career she had trained for—helping patients recover from complex heart procedures.

She never expected to become one of them.

In early 2025, Abigail began experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, and fatigue. At the time, she was finishing nursing school and assumed stress and anxiety were to blame.

Aishwarya Vijay, MD, a research fellow with the WashU Cardiovascular Division, has been selected for the American College of Cardiology’s inaugural cohort for the Fuster Prevention Forum. Participants will become experts in primordial prevention and gain skills to lead a culture of prevention in their local communities.

Anubha Agarwal, MD, MSc, of the WashU Cardiovascular Division, contributed to an international expert consensus document updating the global definition of heart failure and providing a unified framework for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

A perspective co-authored by Zainab Mahmoud, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine in the Cardiovascular Division; Ifeoma Obionu, PhD, MSc, a postdoctoral research associate in Global Cardiovascular Health; and Mark D. Huffman, MD, MPH, professor of medicine in the Cardiovascular Division, and Co-Director of the WashU Global Health Center, highlights emerging evidence linking malaria during pregnancy to preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication associated with increased long-term cardiovascular disease risk. Their article was published in Communications Medicine.

As we prepare for the start of a new academic year, I am delighted to welcome more than 40 new faculty members, along with an outstanding group of residents and fellows, to the Department of Medicine. Their expertise, talent, and dedication strengthen our collective commitment to excellence in patient care, research, education, and service.

WashU Cardiovascular Division faculty members Mark D. Huffman, MD, MPH, Victor G. Dávila-Román, MD, and Anubha Agarwal, MD, have published an editorial in JAMA accompanying a new Global Burden of Disease investigation examining worldwide trends in elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and its contribution to cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Douglas Hall joins the Department of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division as an Assistant Professor as of August 2026.
Dr. Hall completed his undergraduate training in Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University before earning his medical degree and completing his medical training at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Kenji Lim joins the Department of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division as an Instructor as of August 2026. Dr. Lim is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, where his research focuses on understanding the roles of the immune system in cardiac homeostasis and disease.

The Department of Medicine is proud to announce that over 170 of our faculty, including 38 cardiovascular faculty have been selected for the 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors® list.

the Inspiration of Excellence Award to Alan Braverman, MD, and Rebecca Braverman. Dr. Braverman, Director of the Marfan Syndrome and Aortopathy Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, has a personal connection to Marfan syndrome: both his father and brother died from complications of the condition. Together, Alan and Rebecca have been longtime champions of the Foundation’s mission, co-founding the annual St. Louis HeartWorks gala in 2008 and often taking their two daughters to Marfan events around the country. “It’s not a job,” said Dr. Braverman. “It’s the way our lives are.”

“We’ve got an increasing population in age, but also in prevalence of cardiometabolic disease and non-direct cardiac conditions, so more people have orthopedic issues, or cerebral vascular issues, or kidney issues, and they all make it more complex for cardiac disease and elevate the risk,” said Thomas M. Maddox, MD, MSc, a professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis. “On the supply side, we’ve got an aging cardiology workforce, there’s uneven geographic distribution, and people are retiring.”

William Bowen Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health Mark Huffman, MD, MPH, has been appointed to the advisory board of the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Huffman received the invitation from U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Nathan Stitziel, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and genetics at WashU Medicine, has received $1.9 million over five years from the Leducq Foundation as part of an international Network of Excellence award to identify genetic pathways that drive atherosclerosis and uncover new strategies to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Missouri and across the nation, claiming more than 15,000 lives in the state each year.
New research suggests rising rates of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes among women could drive more heart attacks, strokes and heart failure in the decades ahead.
Dr. Karen Joynt Maddox, cardiologist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said the most common risk factor for heart disease is high blood pressure.

The inaugural WashU Cardiology Forum: Educate. Innovate. Collaborate. brought together cardiologists, advanced practice providers, pharmacists, trainees and primary care clinicians from across the region on June 6 at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac for a full day of education, discussion and professional collaboration. The forum highlighted the breadth of expertise within the Washington University Cardiovascular Division and demonstrated the division’s commitment to advancing cardiovascular care through clinical excellence, research innovation and interprofessional education.

Sonia Carlson quickly turned her HCM diagnosis into purpose. As a WashU student, she joined a research lab led by Dr. Sharon Cresci, professor of medicine and genetics and the Associate Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center of Excellence at WashU.

Dr. Cresci said while HCM has been around for a while, in the last 10 years there’s been an explosion of interest.

The first WashU Cardiology Forum: Educate. Innovate. Collaborate, is taking place Saturday, June 6th, 2026, at the Hilton Frontenac.

The WashU Cardiology Forum is planned and implemented interprofessionally by cardiologists, advanced cardiology practice providers, and pharmacists.

The activity is designed for cardiologists, advanced practice providers and primary care physicians with an interest in cardiology.

On May 7, 2026, the Office of Technology Management hosted the ninth annual Celebration of Inventors, an event to honor and recognize Washington University inventors, researchers and faculty entrepreneurs. Honorees included 2025 United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awardees; newly elected National Academy of Inventors Fellows and Senior Members; and the recipients of the 2026 Chancellor’s Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. OTM also recognized the 2025-2026 Venture Fellows cohort and others who completed the Advanced Certificate in Biotech Entrepreneurship.

“We can and must do better for our patients and communities as we continue to bridge the gap between evidence-based therapies and routine clinical practice to improve blood-pressure control and improve cardiovascular, kidney, and brain health for all,” Sadiya Khan of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Mark Huffman of the Washington University School of Medicine wrote.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – One organ donor can save up to eight lives and improve the lives of more than 75 people through eye and tissue donation. More than 100,000 people are currently on the national transplant waiting list, highlighting the urgent need for donors.

For Joseph Wright, that need became personal.

“The gift of organ donation allows patients to receive organs before something irreversible or tragic happens,” said Dr. Joel Schilling, a WashU cardiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “Up to 10% of people die while waiting for a heart transplant.”

The WashU Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) and The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital have awarded 22 investigators as part of the 19th annual Clinical and Translational Research Funding Program (CTRFP). The CTRFP is the largest internal grant funding program of the ICTS. Applicants are required to submit proposals for projects that promote the translation of scientific discoveries into improvements in human health. For 2026, awards were considered across three project categories: clinical/translational, community-engaged research, and biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design.

When it comes to dealing with strokes, every second truly does matter. Nearly 2 million brain cells die each minute a stroke remains untreated. And every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a stroke. 795,000 strokes happen each year and chances are if you have one stroke… you’re more than likely to have another one. Statistics show of those 795,000 strokes, one in four have had a previous stroke. And the majority of strokes that happen are ischemic strokes, in which blood flow to the brain is blocked.

The structural heart program at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital has completed its first cases using the J-Valve transcatheter device as part of the JOURNEY Trial, a national clinical study evaluating a novel treatment approach for native aortic regurgitation. The milestone expands access to transcatheter options for aortic regurgitation — a condition in which the heart’s aortic […]

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have released new guidance on cholesterol management, as heart disease remains the leading cause of death nationwide.
Health professionals said what makes high cholesterol even more dangerous is many people do not realize they have it.
Dr. Mark Huffman, Washington University Medicine cardiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, in St. Louis, said there is some good news.

Cardiologists and cardiac surgeons from WashU Medicine’s cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgery divisions used the used newest technology to successfully treat a high-risk patient with a failing heart valve. Physicians at WashU Medicine have performed the first procedure in the region using a novel catheter-based tool that simplifies a complex and potentially life-saving heart valve intervention. […]

The WashU Medicine Amyloid Center of Excellence has been selected as one of just 10 centers nationwide to participate in the American Heart Association’s ATTR-CM Discovery Initiative, a three-year program aimed at transforming care for patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).

Greg Ewald MD, Director, Section of Heart Failure and Heart Transplantation, has received the  2026 Neville Grant Award for Clinical Excellence. Ewald and other recipients will be recognized at the upcoming BJH Medical Staff Association Semi-Annual meeting.  The BJH “Dr. Neville Grant Award for Clinical Excellence” is granted annually to a member of the attending medical staff who, […]

Courtesy of Physician-Scientists Divisional Newsletter What motivated you to become a physician-scientist? I went to undergrad at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Academically I was passionate about chemistry but was unsure about what with my degree after graduation.  One of my professors, Richard Taber, taught a course in biochemistry and after completing it I realized […]

Cardiology Fellow Aishwarya Vijay, MD, is the primary author on a Viewpoint article in JACC, coauthored by Professor of Medicine Sharon Cresci, MD.  The paper argues for stronger support for medical trainees experiencing postpartum lactation, and Vijay references her own experience returning to work 8 weeks postpartum. 

WashU Cardiovascular Division Global Health researchers have published a new article on disparity on heart failure care for Asian patients in the U.S. Mark Huffman, MD, MPH, William Bowen Endowed Professor of Medicine and Co-Director of the Global Health Center, and Anubha Agarwal, MD, MSc an associate professor of medicine and Co-Director of the Program in Global Cardiovascular Health published the research in JACC earlier this year.

When well-known St. Louis radio broadcaster John Carney, 61, experienced a sudden, life-threatening aortic dissection, WashU Medicine experts at Barnes-Jewish Hospital identified the hidden genetic condition behind it—and set out to save his life.

Research Nurse Coordinator Kendall Knobeloch, BSN, RN, and Research Nurse Practitioner Kristi Arnolds, RN, MSN, ANP-BC attended the AMBER HFpEF Investigator Meeting in Miami, Florida. Kendall and Kristi were asked to be on a panel to discuss their successful enrollment strategies. Dr. Hartupee is the PI for this trial and WashU is one of the […]

Obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure are fueling increases in cardiovascular disease, even among much younger women, the American Heart Association said. NBC News interviews WashU Medicine’s Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH.

February 2026 was the 10th consecutive year that faculty and staff from the WashU Medicine Cardiovascular Division have visited the Normandy School District to bring heart health education to middle school students. What began in 2016 as Dr. Linda Peterson’s vision to expand medical knowledge to students who might not otherwise have exposure to it has grown into a beloved annual tradition, known as Project Heartstrong. This educational community outreach effort is a meaningful investment in the health and futures of North St. Louis County youth.

WashU Medicine researchers including Cardiovascular Divison’s Kory Lavine, MD, PhD have received two grants from the NIH to study the roles of troponin — a critical protein in the heart — in various forms of heart failure.

For more than a decade, St. Louis Magazine has hosted its annual Excellence in Nursing Awards, spotlighting the remarkable efforts of nurses in a special print issue each year. Throughout the years, the magazine has recognized more than 500 outstanding nurses across a wide range of practice areas and levels of expertise, from emerging leaders to those with decades of experience. From the Cardiovascular Division, we are proud to recognize two of our outstanding nurses, Tonya Becker of Electrophysiology and Sharon Heuerman of Clinical Research, who are finalists.

February, a month traditionally associated with love, also brings attention to something equally vital: heart health. Recognized as Heart Health Awareness Month, February is dedicated to raising awareness about cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which continue to be the leading cause of death worldwide. Join us in highlighting the importance of heart health and taking steps to prevent CVD.

Scientists have designed an immunotherapy that reduces plaque in the arteries of mice, presenting a possible new treatment strategy against heart disease. The antibody-based therapy could complement traditional methods of managing coronary artery disease that focus on lowering cholesterol through diet or medications such as statins, according to the findings of a new study led by researchers at the Lavine Lab at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Layne Helmering and her family lost their son Nicholas last year to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A high school senior and captain of his debate team, Nicholas passed away suddenly in his sleep. In the wake of this tragic loss, Nicholas’s debate team held a fundraiser, coming together to raise awareness of HCM, a disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body.

Mass General Brigham researchers and collaborators from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health pooled data from 99 countries and 810,635 adults to determine how many people worldwide may benefit from GLP-1 use. They found more than one in four adults would be eligible for GLP-1s for weight management, with women, older individuals, and low- and middle-income countries among the most eligible. These critical metrics could be formative in policy development to deploy GLP-1s around the world to tackle obesity and its comorbidities. Their results are published in a research letter in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

When Marcy Lagarde, 42, of Raymore, Missouri, felt sudden excruciating pain in her left arm and had trouble lying down she

Headshot of 42-year-old Marcy Lagarde wearing sunglasses and white sleeveless top.
BJC patient, Marcy Lagarde, 42
knew something wasn’t right. Marcy has Marfan syndrome, a genetic condition that weakens the body’s connective tissue. Because she has been under the care of Alan Braverman, MD, a WashU Medicine cardiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and world-leading expert in Marfan syndrome, she knew that the condition put her at an increased risk for cardiovascular issues—but she never expected to face one so suddenly.

As we begin the new year, I am filled with gratitude for the enormous contributions our faculty, staff and trainees have made, providing outstanding care for patients, performing groundbreaking research and delivering exceptional educational programs. This has not been an easy year. We have dealt with many challenges including a tornado that impacted many in our community, policy changes negatively impacting research funding and healthcare, budget restrictions and threats to our cherished values of diversity, equity and inclusive excellence.

At 82 years old, Lois Miles was one of the first patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital to receive a transcatheter tricuspid valve implant, a groundbreaking procedure performed in 2024. It’s one more way the hospital and its academic physician partner, WashU Medicine, are helping patients with valve disease.

For years, Lois’ leaky tricuspid valve caused blood to flow backward in her heart. She also had atrial fibrillation, a condition that caused her heart to beat too fast, adding even more complexity to her case. She often felt short of breath, became full quickly when eating, and just didn’t feel right.

Third-Year Cardiovascular Fellow Aishwarya Vijay, MD, was chosen to participate in the 2025 World Heart Federation Salim Yusuf Emerging Leaders Cohort. Applicants to this program represented 25 countries across 5 continents. The program was held in November in Florence, Italy.

TCTMD spoke with Thomas Maddox, MD (Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO), who serves on the US Food and Drug Administration’s digital health advisory committee, to get his thoughts on the biggest AI-related news from the past year and what the field can expect moving forward.