Summer 2013 WashU Alumni Newsletter (pdf) (Links to an external site)

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Physician Scientists – Not an Endangered Species at WU – In the past two years, Washington University’s Cardiovascular Division has lured eight physician scientists to join its faculty. The group is researching everything from the connection between diabetes and cardiovascular disease to the role immune cells play in helping cardiac tissue heal after injury. Complex […]

New Study from Washington University Investigators Shows that Black Patients Undergo Aortic Valve Replacement Less Frequently

In a study, published online in the American Journal of Cardiology, Drs. Michael Yeung (Division of Cardiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA) and Alan Zajarias (Division of Cardiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA) noted that although prior studies have shown that Black patients undergo interventions for acute myocardial infarction less frequently […]

Dr. Jeanne Nerbonne named as new Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research

Jeanne M. Nerbonne, PhD, the Alumni Endowed Professor of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology, has been named director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research. The Center for Cardiovascular Research within the School of Medicine’s Cardiovascular Division is focused on investigating the biological processes that lead to heart and vascular disease. Nerbonne is the third director of the […]

Winter 2013 WashU Alumni Newsletter (pdf) (Links to an external site)

Winter 2013 WashU Alumni Newsletter-thumbnail

Cardiovascular Division Establishes Smith-Oliver Alumni Society – In recognition of the 65th anniversary of the Cardiovascular Division, a new alumni society has been established to foster a sense of family and community among fellows who have completed their clinical and/or research training programs in our Division.

First Annual Cardiovascular Research Day

The Cardiovascular Division held its First Cardiovascular Research Day and Alumni Celebration on December 7, 2012. The event was the highlight of the division’s 65th anniversary year. Junior faculty presented on current research and both graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows offered poster presentations. The plenary session lecturer was Eugene Braunwald, MD, Distinguished Hersey Professor […]

Over-Use of Drug-Eluting Stents Found

A review of more than 1.5 million percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures documented in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry has found that cardiologists are “routinely over-using” drug-eluting stents versus bare-metal stents for patients at low risk for repeat blockages of arteries. The study, published online in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that DES use […]

Summer 2012 WashU Alumni Newsletter (pdf) (Links to an external site)

Summer 2012 WashU Alumni Newsletter-thumbnail

Honoring the Past: Cardiovascular Division Celebrates 65 Years – The Cardiovascular Division at Washington University has been at the forefront of advances in cardiologysince it was founded in 1947. From the development of cardiac positron emissiontomography (cPET) to the participation with the Division of Cardiac Surgery in the inventionand assessment of the Cox-MAZE procedure and […]

Noninvasive Imaging Technique May Help Kids with Heart Transplants

Washington University cardiologists have developed a noninvasive imaging technique that may help determine whether children who have had heart transplants are showing early signs of rejection. The technique could reduce the need for these patients to undergo invasive imaging tests every one to two years. The noninvasive technique, which involves the use of gadolinium contrast-enhanced […]

Heart Disease and Diabetes

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have received a $4.7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study heart disease in patients with diabetes. The study is led by Jean Schaffer, MD, the Virginia Minnich Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Director of the Diabetic Cardiovascular Disease Center and Diabetes Research […]

Calorie-restricted diet keeps heart young

A research team led by Dr. Phyllis Stein has found that a key measure of the heart’s ability to adapt to physical activity, stress, sleep and other factors that influence the rate at which the heart pumps blood, doesn’t decline nearly as rapidly in people who have significantly restricted their caloric intake for an average […]

Winter 2012 WashU Alumni Newsletter (pdf) (Links to an external site)

Winter 2012 WashU Alumni Newsletter-thumbnail

Complex Valvular Heart Disease: A Team Approach Brings Surgeons and Cardiologists Together in Clinic & in Surgery – In the rapidly evolving era of trans-catheter aortic valve replacements, Washington University heart specialists are working side by side, collaborating both in surgery and in multidisciplinary patient clinics. “The surgical and medical disciplines are no longer completely […]

Summer 2011 WashU Alumni Newsletter (pdf) (Links to an external site)

Summer 2011 WashU Alumni Newsletter-thumbnail

From Welcome to Farewell: New Queeny Lobby Supports Personalized Patient Care – The ample lobby in the Queeny Tower building has been transformed, befitting the space where patients and families are welcomed to the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Heart &Vascular Center. Ever since the lobby opened this summer, entering patients have been connecting immediately with […]

Winter 2011 WashU Alumni Newsletter (pdf) (Links to an external site)

Winter 2011 WashU Alumni Newsletter-thumbnail

The Heart & Vascular Center: Multidisciplinary Approach Offers Improved Patient Care – Washington University cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and vascular surgeons have partnered with Barnes-Jewish Hospital to provide a new, fully integrated approach to heart and vascular patient care, education and research. The Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Heart & Vascular Center is a collaborative effort to […]

Genetic Study Shows Racial Differences to be Factor in Mortality in Heart Attack Patients Receiving Anti-Platelet Therapy

Dr. Sharon Cresci and a team of Washington University researchers have identified the first genetic variations linked to race that begin to explain a higher risk of death among some African-American and Caucasian patients taking the clopidogrel (Plavix) after a heart attack. These variants increased patients’ risk of dying in the year following a first […]