Clinical Department

Section of Cardiovascular Medicine Department of Internal Medicine

The Section of Cardiovascular Medicine offers the latest in cardiology care for our patients and outstanding training programs for clinicians and researchers.

Cardiovascular Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine has 34 cardiologists focused on caring for heart patients, leading their field in research and teaching the cardiologists of tomorrow.

Our physicians are nationally renowned leaders, researchers and educators with extensive experience in advanced cardiac care, including:

Heart transplants
Heart valve replacements
Treatment of cardiovascular disease
Heart attacks
Congestive heart failure
Congenital heart problems

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center serves 2.3 million people in its 24-county referral area. Cardiovascular Services supports 80 cardiology beds, including 22 cardiovascular intensive care unit (ICU) beds, and offers five inpatient cardiology services. The department provides collaborative services with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center critical care and works in collaboration with the W. G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center at their Salisbury and Kernersville campuses.

Our Research

With more than $6 million of funding in the past academic year our research focuses on heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, advanced cardiac imaging and cardiac genetic epidemiology.

The faculty also participate in clinical studies of therapies and devices. New devices implanted in the Cardiac Lab and the EP Lab are studied to improve patient outcomes and treatment, speed of recovery, and provide alternatives to long-term use of medications. Therapies are studied for treatment of advanced heart failure, improving exercise tolerance as people age, lowering blood pressure to reduce risk of heart attack without increasing risk of fall, and drug therapies after procedures to optimize clinical outcomes. All faculty subspecialty groups have ongoing clinical trials, while some faculty focus on NIH funded research.

Enhancing Undergraduate Education and Research in Aging to Eliminate Health Disparities (ENGAGED) Summer and Academic Year Research Internship Program

A summer and academic year program providing research internships and mentoring in aging and health disparities in aging by faculty at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University for underrepresented undergraduate students during the academic year (for WFU and WSSU students only) and during the summer (for students at any U.S. college/university).

Enhancing Undergraduate Education and Research in Aging to Eliminate Health Disparities (ENGAGED) Summer and Academic Year Research Internship Program

Technology Transfer and Commercialization

Research Focus Areas

Translation to Care

More Resources

Section of Cardiovascular Medicine Department of Internal Medicine

Leadership

David X. Zhao, MD

Our Research

Education and Training

Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship Program

Cardiovascular Research Fellowship Program

Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship Program

Excellence in Cardiovascular Sciences (EICS) Summer Research Program

Enhancing Undergraduate Education and Research in Aging to Eliminate Health Disparities (ENGAGED) Summer and Academic Year Research Internship Program

Training in Research Affecting Child Health (TRAC)

Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship Program

Cardiovascular Research Fellowship Program

Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship Program

Excellence in Cardiovascular Sciences (EICS) Summer Research Program

Enhancing Undergraduate Education and Research in Aging to Eliminate Health Disparities (ENGAGED) Summer and Academic Year Research Internship Program

Training in Research Affecting Child Health (TRAC)