Divsion of Cardiology

The Division of Cardiology continues to grow rapidly, adding new faculty and programs, while maintaining the commitments to outstanding patient care, education and research. The Division recently recruited Eric R. Powers, M.D., to head the Acute Coronary Syndrome center. This program is dedicated to providing rapid access and treatment of acute myocardial infarction and other unstable coronary conditions, development of innovative technology and research of new therapies. Last year the Society of Chest Pain Centers granted accreditation to the MUSC Chest Pain Center. The Women’s Heart Program is a comprehensive clinical program based out of the MUSC Cardiology office in West Ashley. This program is being developed under the leadership of Drs. Marian Taylor and Pamela Morris. In addition to noninvasive diagnostic services and cardiac care, comprehensive medical care for women will be provided, including cholesterol and hypertension management, treatment of diabetes and other endocrinology disorders, and gynecologic services. The Prevention and Cardiac Rehabilitation Program continues to grow rapidly. David Gregg, M.D. was recently recruited to establish the Adult Congenital Heart Program, which is a multidisciplinary program with Adult Cardiology, Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.

Division faculty members have unique expertise in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, including the use of ablation, pacemakers and defibrillators. A comprehensive program for research and treatment of atrial fibrillation is being developed by Dr. J. Marcus Wharton. Interventional cardiologists in the Division are expanding their reputation as South Carolina leaders in several innovative procedures, such as valvuloplasty, alcohol septal ablation for hypertrophic cardiomyoapthy, and PFO and ASD closures. MUSC has the only advanced heart failure and cardiac transplant program in the state, under the leadership of Adrian Van Bakel, M.D.

Under the direction of Bruce W. Usher, Sr., M.D., the Division of Cardiology fellowship programs continue to grow. A position in the program is highly competitive, with over 300 applications annually for the four available slots. In 2008, the program will expand to six fellows annually. Graduates of the three-year General Cardiology Fellowship Program have a greater than 90 percent pass rate on their Cardiology Boards.

Formal subspecialty training is also available in an interventional cardiology or electrophysiology. All three fellowship programs recently were unconditionally accredited for an additional five years. The Electrophysiology Fellowship Program was accredited and has four fellows this year. Under the leadership of Christopher D. Nielsen, M.D., the one-year Interventional Fellowship Program began in 2003, and will expand to three fellows next year. A fourth fellowship program, a combined Congestive Heart and Electrophysiology Fellowship, accepted its first trainee last year. The program is one of the first five of its kind in the United States. Division faculty members provide extensive teaching services and hold leadership positions across the MUSC campus. Peter C. Gazes, M.D., Distinguished University Professor, serves as Associate Dean of Alumni Affairs for the College of Medicine.

The Division of Cardiology operates a flourishing basic research program led by George Cooper, IV, M.D., professor in the Division of Cardiology and director of the Gazes Cardiac Research Institute. In recognition of his research achievements he recently received the Carl Wiggers Award from the Cardiovascular Section of the American Physiological Society. The Division of Cardiology's Basic Research Program receives $2.4 million per year from the NIH, $800 thousand from the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as additional funding from the American Heart Association and other sponsors. Recently, a $10 million grant was received from the State of South Carolina, with Michael R. Zile, M.D. as Principal Investigator. This grant is designed to establish a Center of Economic Excellence for the early detection of congestive heart failure. This year, increased basic research support and opportunities have led to the recruitment of five basic researchers. Basic research focus areas include cardiac growth regulation in the adult heart, with a specific focus on maladaptive growth that causes heart failure. Basic Science education is also an important mission in Cardiology. Donald R. Menick, Ph.D., one of six full-time basic scientists in the Division, serves as director of the Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pathobiology Program (MCBP), and director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Summer Research Program for Minority Medical Students.

In addition to basic research, the Division supports a successful clinical research program with 38 on-going trials in the areas of cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, coronary intervention and cardiac transplantation. Division faculty members currently serve as national or worldwide principal investigators on six multi-center clinical trials. Total clinical grant funding exceeds $1 million annually. In the past year, faculty members published 31 peer reviewed articles in such publications as the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, American Journal of Physiology, Circulation, Biochemistry Journal, and Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Two cardiology faculty members hold positions supported in part by Endowed Chairs: Michael R. Gold, M.D., Ph.D., as the Michael E. Assey Professor of Medicine, and Michael R. Zile, M.D., as the Ezra Daniels Professor of Medicine. Philanthropic efforts have increased dramatically, and with the help of an active Heart & Vascular Board comprised of prominent community leaders, completion of three more endowed chairs is expected in the next two years.

Physicians in the Division of Cardiology care for patients in a variety of settings. Inpatient services are offered at Medical University Hospital (MUH) and the VA Medical Center. Outpatient care is provided at Rutledge Tower, the VA Medical Center, and the Heart & Vascular Center. Full time offices are maintained in Mount Pleasant and West Ashley for consultative and noninvasive diagnostic services. An additional outpatient office is opening in 2007 in North Charleston under the leadership of Dr. Joe Gaddy. Division faculty members have a strong statewide reputation. They see patients at more than a dozen off-campus sites beyond the Charleston area, from Myrtle Beach to Greenville, S.C. Cardiologists on rotations at the VA Medical Center also serve patients referred from cardiologists at other VA medical facilities in the state and Georgia.

Despite increasing competition, referrals to MUSC have increased dramatically over the past five years. Clinical services provided include general cardiology, electrophysiology, cardiac catheterization, imaging, congestive heart failure and cardiac transplant. A Stereotaxis Laboratory in the Heart & Vascular Center allows for magnetic navigation of catheters for arrhythmia and interventional applications. MUSC was one of the first five centers in the world to use a 64-slice CT machine for cardiac imaging and remains a leader in this field.