Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology Fellowship

Our heart transplant program boasts a 96 percent one-year survival rate, ranking among the top 20 nationally and first in Illinois, with 30 to 35 transplants performed annually. Additionally, we implant over 60 durable ventricular assist devices each year and participate in cutting-edge clinical trials.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Medicare Destination Therapy Ventricular Assist Device Program is recognized as a Blue Distinction Center for Transplants and an Optum Health Center of Excellence, earning a Certificate of Distinction from The Joint Commission for our high procedure volume, exceptional patient care, specialist expertise and outstanding outcomes.

The Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute's Center for Heart Failure conducts over 3,000 outpatient visits annually and maintains a lower 30-day mortality rate for hospitalized heart failure patients compared to the national average.

A robust educational curriculum is provided to our fellows during their year of advanced training. In addition to daily, one-on-one bedside teaching by expert HF faculty (inpatient and outpatient), as well as in the cardiac catheterization laboratory, several educational initiatives serve to supplement the clinical experience:

• A dedicated lecture series, provided by our esteemed faculty, occurs weekly and is tailored to the educational needs of the advanced HF fellow
• A regular pathology conference to review select cases involving findings during endomyocardial biopsy in both the transplant and native heart
• A monthly, multidisciplinary advanced imaging conference, with an emphasis on key findings on cardiac MRI in patients with cardiomyopathy of varying etiologies
• Opportunities to formally present interesting, complex clinical cases
• Lead and participate in HF-specific journal clubs

Our fellows gain significant exposure to and achieve competency in the following areas:

• Outpatient heart failure management, including use of standard and novel pharmacological, electrical and surgical therapies
• Rotation through our world-class outpatient HFpEF and Pulmonary Hypertension clinics, respectively
• Advanced inpatient heart failure management using invasive hemodynamic monitoring, tailored therapy with vasodilators and use of inotropic agents
• Rapid assessment and management of patients in cardiogenic and/or mixed-shock as the point person on our formal Cardiogenic Shock Team service
• Management of patients with percutaneous mechanical circulatory support (including intra-aortic balloon counter pulsation, Tandem Heart, Impella 2.5L, CP, and 5.0L, Impella RP) and durable mechanical circulatory support with HeartMate II, Heartmate 3 and HVAD devices.
• Diagnostic cardiovascular studies, including cardiopulmonary exercise testing, right heart catheterization and endomyocardial biopsies
• Evaluation of potential heart transplant candidates, evaluation and management of donors, institution of immunosuppressive protocols for patients immediately post-transplant and management of chronic immunosuppressive therapy as outpatients
• Pathology reviews of endomyocardial biopsies performed; interpretation of antibody testing, cross-matching and principles of rejection
• Evaluation of patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators, implantable hemodynamic monitors and cardiac desynchronize therapy (including echo-guided optimization)
• Participation in clinical trials, including recruitment of patients into studies of novel drugs or devices for heart failure

A variety of research opportunities are available to the advanced fellow during their year of training. From the outset of the year, fellows are provided with dedicated, protected research time that continues throughout the year to maximize opportunities for research productivity. Most fellows will present their research at a major scientific meeting, often leading to a published manuscript. Support to attend a scientific meeting is provided.

By the end of the first month of the academic year, a mentor (or mentors) is identified and a research project is initiated. At the end of the year, the fellow will present their progress during HF grand rounds. The breadth of research opportunities at Northwestern is wide-ranging, reflective of the extensive faculty expertise and plentiful resources at the fellow’s disposal, including a multitude of highly enriched databases and many active, ongoing clinical trials.

Fellowship requirements:

• Completion of ACGME-accredited Cardiovascular Disease fellowship training, as per ABIM guidelines
• Illinois State Medical License
• ABIM board certification or board eligibility
• ECFMG Certificate

We accept applications via ERAS only. In order to be considered for the next Advanced Heart Failure & Transplantation Cardiology Fellowship Program, candidates must have the following documents available in ERAS by July 15:

• Photograph
• ERAS Application
• Curriculum Vitae
• Personal Statement (1 Page Max.)
• USMLE Steps I, II and III transcript copy
• ABIM Board Certificate copy
• ECFMG Certificate copy
• One letter of recommendation from Cardiovascular Disease Program director
• Two letters of recommendations from cardiologists familiar with candidate's work
• ACLS/BLS Certification expiration dates

View the Heart Failure team on the Northwestern Medicine website.

Faculty

• Faraz Ahmad, MD, MS
• Baljash Cheema, MD
• Sarah Chuzi, MD
• Elizabeth M. McNally, MD, PhD
• Ike S. Okwuosa, MD
• Jonathan D. Rich, MD
• Sanjiv J. Shah, MD
• Anjan Tibrewala, MD
• Esther Vorovich, MD
• Jane Wilcox, MD
• Clyde Yancy, MD