The Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) prepares doctors to be cardiologists skilled in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular disease. This program is a seamless integration of a robust clinical program that has grown incredibly over the past decade. WFUSM serves as the academic research core of the entire Advocate Health enterprise. The Department of Cardiovascular Medicine funds nationally renowned clinical and basic science investigators in Preventive Cardiology, Electrophysiology, and Heart Failure. WFUSM has been a major recruitment site for several landmark clinical trials (e.g., MESA, SPRINT). In addition to the impact on patient care, this comprehensive research enterprise has influenced several of its cardiovascular trainees. Both former and current Fellows who were part of the four-year T32 combined clinical/research scholar track and the three-year General Cardiovascular Medicine track have been prolific in research endeavors, achieving national recognition in the field of academic Cardiovascular Medicine.
Over the past five years, Wake Forest has vastly expanded the phenotype of Cardiovascular Medicine trainees to be versatile and well-rounded in all subspecialities of Cardiovascular Medicine. Within a three-year period, all General Cardiology Fellows—even those striving for Interventional or Electrophysiology Fellowship training—gain robust training in Multimodality Imaging with the ability to get Level 2 certification in all four modalities. In addition, almost all Fellows complete Echo and Nuclear certification before graduation.
Over the past five years, there has been a marked increase in new faculty within the Department. This parallels the increase in clinical volume and delivery of new services—for example, peripartum Heart Failure clinic, HFpEF clinic infiltrative cardiomyopathy, autonomic dysfunction, and genetic cardiomyopathies. In addition to robust clinical training, genetic arrhythmias clinic is also due to start shortly. These are areas where Wake Forest serves as the core of the enterprise.
Another indication of our Fellows’ development is the increased presence of our Fellows in new spaces of collaboration and learning. The following General Cardiology Fellows will be presenting at the following new meetings this academic year:
• Parag Chevli, MBBS, MS - MESA Spring Meeting (Rockville, Maryland)
• James McParland, MD, MS; Saeid Mirzai, DO, MS; and Uttsav Sandesara, DO, MS – Heart & Vascular Celebrate Research! (Charlotte, North Carolina)
• Zack Pruitt, MD - American Society of Echocardiography 2026 Scientific Sessions (Aurora, Colorado)
Furthermore, the following Fellows will attend the following new conferences and have opportunities to take part in the new courses:
• Uttsav Sandesara, DO, MS - Hawaii International Heart Failure Symposium
• Nisha Patel, MD - Vascular Medicine Course (Chicago)
• open to all EP Fellows
o IRCAD
o Southeastern EP Conference
• Open to all General Cardiology Fellows
o Heart dissection: Cardiac Anatomy and its relationship to arrhythmias, Mayo run conference.
o Physician Course for Echocardiography directed by Pam Burgess (Director of Education, Echocardiography) and Mayo Clinic in NC
The recent merger with Advocate Health (formed by the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health) has further expanded the reach of Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Advocate health is one of the largest non-profit, integrated health care systems in the United States, serving nearly six million patients annually.
Key Patient Volume and Enterprise Metrics
• Total Patients Served: Approximately 6 million.
• Locations: Over 1,000 care locations.
• Hospitals: 69 hospital campuses.
• Specialty Care: The system cares for more than 50,000 newly diagnosed cancer patients each year.
• Workforce: Roughly 155,000 teammates.
Geographic Reach: Operates across six states (Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin).
Several beneficial impacts of the merger include advancements in the imaging infrastructure for CT/MRI, the impact on clinical care, and the impact on the education of our cardiology fellows.
Imaging Infrastructure for CT and MRI
• CT: the addition of six new scanners across satellites, three at the main campus alone. The Alpha scanner is the first in the Triad.
• CMR: Approval of wide band for patients with devices per Universal Siemens research agreement
• Robust industry enterprise partnership with Siemens, resulting in a state-of-the art IRCAD facility (location for Electrophysiology conferences and symposiums)
Impact on Clinical Care
• QI initiatives translated across the enterprise led by Olivia Gilbert, MD, MSc
• Infiltrative Cardiomyopathies collaboration between Charlotte and Winston campuses
o Joint Review meetings
o Heart Failure, Electrophysiology, Sports Cardiology
Impact on Education
• Increased imaging exposure due to the CT First pathway at Atrium CLT and also increase use of CMR in Heart Failure patients.
• Invited, nationally renowned speakers and interactions with fellows
• Invited speakers from content-specific subspecialities (e.g, SCAD, Dr. Esther Kim/SCAD; Dr. Jorge Alegría and Dr. Andrew Shwartz, ACHD)
• Joint Imaging fellowship for those interested in Level 3.
Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship Program Overview
Program Director Dr. Suji Vasu and other Cardiology Section leaders provide an in-depth overview of the Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at Wake Forest.This is a three-year program that includes supervised training in:
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