Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute

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

When Jessica Biggs first met Esther Kim, M.D., associate professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt, the 33-year-old burst into tears.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is the first in the state to enroll patients in a clinical trial testing the effectiveness of the newest implantable device used to reduce stroke risk in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common form of arrhythmia.

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.

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.

In 2011, doctors at the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute performed the state’s first transcatheter valve-replacement (TAVR) procedure for high-risk patients suffering from aortic stenosis, the most common valvular heart disease in the United States.

Peggy Tubb doesn’t recall her exact reaction when she was told she could stop taking blood thinners to treat atrial fibrillation (AF), but the news changed her life.