Program Overview
The Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology (AHFTC) program at the University of North Carolina Hospitals provides a broad exposure to acute and chronic heart failure, emphasizing appropriate utilization of diagnostic studies and therapeutic interventions including mechanical circulatory support and cardiac transplantation. The training experience in AHFTC is fundamental to the development of the specialist in advanced heart failure and transplantation. Opportunities for active participation in research projects provide further experience in critical thinking and evaluation of the heart failure and transplant literature.
The 12-month training period will include clinical experiences and protected time for research. The fellow will have clinical experience in:
- Caring for patients in the context of a multidisciplinary disease management program, through all stages of disease
- Evaluating patients for advanced heart failure therapies (cardiac transplant or mechanical assist devices)
- Managing diagnostic and therapeutic devices used for the evaluation and management of heart failure in the acute and chronic setting
Outpatient Care in the Ambulatory Setting
As an AHFTC Fellow, you will provide care to wide variety of patients with heart failure, transplants, and mechanical circulatory support.
Inpatient Care
Fellows will monitor, treat, and assess hospitalized patients with heart failure, transplants, and mechanical circulatory support on the inpatient heart failure service and as a consultant.
Specialized Features
The fellow will either participate as an operator (e.g., invasive hemodynamics, endomyocardial biopsies) or as an observer (e.g., heart transplant surgery, organ procurement, and donor management, mechanical circulatory support implantation). Faculty will have direct supervision of procedures performed by the fellow. The fellow will document all procedures in a record, which includes indications, outcomes, diagnoses, and supervisor.
Scholarly Activities
The fellow will have an opportunity to participate in scholarly activities, which may include a research project (with faculty mentorship), participation with faculty in the initiation and conduct of clinical trials within the department, and participation in quality assurance/quality improvement or process improvement projects.
Curriculum
- Clinical Education
- Clinical case conferences
- Journal clubs
- Research conferences
- Morbidity and mortality (M&M) conferences
- Quality improvement conferences
- Didactic programs based upon the core knowledge content in the specialty area
Faculty
- Patricia Chang, MD MHS (Program Director)
- Kirkwood Adams, Jr., MD
- Mirnela Byku, MD PhD
- Brian Jensen, MD
- Lisa Rose-Jones, MD
- Elizabeth Volz, MD
- Sudha Jaganathan, MD
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jennifer De La Cruz by email at Jennifer.Delacruz@unchealth.unc.edu.