Chief: John Windle, M.D.
Number of people in the Division:
- UNMC employees: 19 faculty + 13 fellows + 10 staff
- UNMC physician employees: 31
New Faculty:
- Shane Tsai, M.D. – assistant professor, specializing in adult congenital heart disease and cardiac electrophysiology
- Gregory Pavlides, M.D. – professor and medical director of cardiac catheterization lab, specializing in interventional cardiology and structural heart disease.
New Programs:
- Adult Congenital Heart Disease: With improvements in the management of congenital heart defects, more and more patients are growing into adulthood with these defects. This joint program with Children’s Hospital & Medical Center gives these adults the expertise to keep them healthy.
- Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR): The Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedure offers a new solution for heart patients with inoperable aortic stenosis (failing heart valves). With this procedure, the artificial heart valve is inserted through an artery in the leg into the heart without requiring open heart surgery.
- Lariat Device: This procedure “lassos” the left atrial appendage (a major source for blood clots that can cause strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation) and successfully isolates the appendage from the rest of the heart.
- The Nebraska Cardiovascular Biobank and Nebraska Cardiovascular Registry: This computer application links tissue to patients with heart disease through a secure, web-based database. It will allow UNMC investigators to study everything from a person’s DNA to a population of patients with heart disease.
Significant Research:
- The division produces 18 original manuscripts. Researchers in the division generated $965,064 in research monies including Dr. Tom Porter’s R-21 to investigate the therapeutic use of cardiac ultrasound.
Other Highlights:
- Thomas Porter, M.D., received the system-wide Nebraska Outstanding Research and Creative Active (ORCA) Award.
- Arthur R. Easley, Jr., M.D., was awarded the “Outstanding Teacher” in the division of cardiology.
- John Windle, M.D., represents UNMC on national committees through the American College of Cardiology: the ACC Health Information Taskforce, the ACC Best Practices Quality Initiative, the Quality Steering Committee and the ACC/NCDR clinical registries Pinnacle Registry and Science and Quality Oversight Committee.
- John Scherschel, M.D., was elected a governor for Nebraska in the American College of Cardiology.