Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute

For patients with heart failure, changes in pulmonary artery (PA) pressures are an early indication that their condition is worsening, even before they notice symptoms such as shortness of breath or weight gain.

The American College of Cardiology has recognized Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) for its commitment to and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients.

Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute now offers patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) an alternative treatment to reduce their risk of stroke, potentially avoiding the long-term use of blood thinners such as warfarin.

Two vastly different causes of heart failure, both of which can devastate a patient’s life, are being studied at Vanderbilt University Medical Center thanks, in part, to the generosity of a grateful patient whose own damaged heart was repaired at Vanderbilt more than five years ago.

Despite prior epidemiologic and experimental data to the contrary, new research shows that vitamin D supplementation does not reduce blood pressure in individuals with prehypertension or stage I hypertension and vitamin D deficiency.

Vanderbilt is embarking on an observational study to define and understand how a promising treatment for multiple myeloma affects the heart.

Carrie Romero of Columbia, Tennessee, is running for her life. In 1997, when she was 28, Romero was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy — a heart muscle disease that puts her at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).