People with the most common irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation (AF) are at greater risk for stroke due to the formation of clots in the left atrial appendage (LAA), a small pouch which empties blood into the left atrium.

Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute physicians are taking advantage of new technology in critical care that allows them to quickly visualize the patient’s heart at the bedside.

Peggi Angel, Ph.D., research instructor in Biochemistry, studies congenital aortic valve stenosis in children. It’s a disease where the heart valve, which is normally very thin, becomes bloated with extracellular matrix. This occurs rapidly in some children but not in others.

During Cardiovascular Research Day, keynote speaker Sekar Kathiresan, M.D., second from left, associate professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, visits with Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute’s Sergio Fazio, M.D., Ph.D., left, MacRae Linton, M.D., Thomas Wang, M.D., David Harrison, M.D., and Dan Roden, M.D.

Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute is participating in a clinical study to further evaluate the safety and feasibility of rapidly lowering the body’s temperature to significantly reduce the amount of damage caused by a heart attack.

Thomas Wang, M.D., has joined Vanderbilt as director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the physician-in-chief of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute.

The state of Michael Stanbery’s health was shocking.