cardiac surgery

March 8, 2018

First heart patients transplanted using novel transport device

The heart transplant team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center successfully transplanted two hearts using a novel preservation and transport technology allowing the heart to beat outside of the body for an extended amount of time.

By Jessica Pasley
January 25, 2018

Heart transplant program reaches new record

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) performed a record number of heart transplants in 2017, surpassing the 2016 milestone and securing its place as the second-busiest heart transplant program in the country.

By Jessica Pasley
January 17, 2018

HDL and kidney injury after surgery

Higher concentrations of high-density lipoproteins — HDL, the “good” cholesterol — may be protective against acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

By Jenelle Grewell
November 2, 2017

Tenacity, teamwork, love, drive heart patient’s treatment journey

Sixty-six year-old Frank Donatelli knew the $39 he spent to join eHarmony was worth it.

By Jessica Pasley
September 14, 2017

Teamwork key to saving heart patient and her baby

As people in Middle Tennessee were experiencing the remnants of Hurricane Harvey during the early hours of Sept. 1, Catherine Hurt was battling another storm of her own.

By Jessica Pasley
August 3, 2017

VUMC testing new system to keep donor hearts viable longer

For decades the miracle of organ donation has relied on an ice cooler. Until now.

By Jessica Pasley
July 20, 2017

Shah named to lead Department of Cardiac Surgery

Ashish Shah, M.D., director of Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support at Vanderbilt, has been named chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery.
By Jessica Pasley
April 6, 2017

Heart transplant program reaches major milestone

Surgeons at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) performed five heart transplants in four days to place the institution among an elite group of transplant centers in the country — reaching 1,000 heart transplantations.
By Jessica Pasley
February 2, 2017

Heart transplant program at VUMC reaches new milestone

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is home to the second busiest heart transplant program in the country, according to the most recent data released by the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN).
By Jessica Pasley
January 5, 2017

New center focuses on Marfan syndrome, aortic disease

With the recent opening of the Vanderbilt Marfan Syndrome and Aortic Disorders Center, the state’s only comprehensive clinic serving entire families, hundreds of patients with connective tissue disorders now have a one-stop shop for health care.
By Jessica Pasley
November 10, 2016

Ranking lauds VUMC’s Cardiac Surgery program

Vanderbilt University Medical Center was recognized as the No. 1 hospital in Tennessee for Medical Excellence in Major Cardiac Surgery by CareChex 2017 Hospital Quality Ratings Analysis.
By Jessica Pasley
June 23, 2016

Mississippi family finds joy in giving back to VUMC

When the Pharr family wears Vanderbilt regalia around their Mississippi town, people often say, “I thought you were Ole Miss people.”
By VUMC News and Communications
April 14, 2016

Heart Institute celebrates LVAD program milestone

On April 7, a 48-year-old man from Bethpage, Tennessee, became the 300th person to receive a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) at Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute (VHVI).
By Kathy Whitney