FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2005
Contact: Bill Seiler bseiler@umm.edu
Ellen Beth Levitt eblevitt@umm.edu 410-328-8919

RENOWNED HEART FAILURE AND CARDIAC TRANSPLANT EXPERT APPOINTED HEAD OF CARDIOLOGY AT UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

Mandeep R. Mehra, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.C.P., a nationally recognized cardiologist with expertise in the treatment of heart failure and heart muscle damage, cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory devices, has become head of cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and head of the Division of Cardiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Dr. Mehra, who has also been named the Herbert Berger Professor of Medicine, comes to Baltimore from the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, La., where he was vice-chair for clinical and academic affairs in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and chief of cardiomyopathy and heart transplantation at the Ochsner Multi-Organ Transplant Center. He was also an associate professor of medicine at Louisiana State University School of Medicine.

“Dr. Mehra has built a distinguished career in clinical investigation and, at the same time, he developed a superb heart failure and heart transplant program at the Ochsner Clinic,” says William L. Henrich, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and chief of medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

For More Information

Read Q&A with Dr. Mehra, in which he discusses his plans and vision for the future.
See Dr. Mehra's major research accomplishments.

“Dr. Mehra is a charismatic, thoughtful leader who understands all of the elements of a complex cardiology division within a large academic medical center. He works well with cardiac surgeons and other faculty, community physicians and administrators,” adds Dr. Henrich. “I am pleased we were able to recruit such a great leader and I am confident that, in partnership with his colleagues in cardiac surgery, he will enhance the prominence of the Heart Center at the University of Maryland.”

Dr. Mehra says his vision for the University of Maryland Heart Center includes developing advances in basic and clinical cardiovascular science, coupled with excellence in clinical care serving the larger Maryland community. “We want to be the best, the most innovative, the most open-minded academic cardiology program in the nation,” says Dr. Mehra.

As part of his vision for clinical care, Dr. Mehra says he will work on amplifying the strengths of the Maryland Heart Center by introducing new interventional techniques to treat heart failure. Those innovations include performing non-surgical heart valve repair and placing ventricular assist devices through the skin during simple catheterization procedures, rather than open-heart surgery.

“We plan to develop a state-of-the-art vascular and endovascular therapeutics program in conjunction with vascular surgery and interventional radiology,” adds Dr. Mehra. “That’s a very important component of my vision for the future.” He also plans to refine techniques now available at the Heart Center to correct heart rhythm abnormalities, including a focus on the treatment of atrial fibrillation, responsible for more than 70,000 strokes each year in the United States.

Dr. Mehra obtained his cardiovascular training at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation, where he sub-specialized in the field of advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation. He is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases.

He has published more than 300 articles on advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation, including various treatment modalities and alternatives to transplantation. His specific research interests in cardiac transplantation focus on post-transplant coronary arterial disease, new immunosuppressive therapy to improve heart transplant outcomes, especially in minority populations, and bringing genomic and proteomic science (the study of protein interactions in the body) to the bedside. In the field of heart failure, his research has focused on the role of new devices and novel serum markers to guide diagnosis and therapy.

Dr. Mehra has lectured at national and international professional meetings and has received numerous honors and awards. He serves on the board of directors of the International Society of Transplantation and is a member of the education and practice guidelines committees for the Heart Failure Society of America.

The University of Maryland Heart Center is a regional referral center for the most difficult cardiac cases, and is respected locally and nationally for its leadership in the medical and surgical treatment of all forms of heart disease. One indicator of the Heart Center’s expertise is reflected in the number of heart transplantations, 37, performed since 2002. The wide-ranging experience of Heart Center physicians, together with the resources of the University of Maryland Medical Center, distinguishes the Maryland Heart Center as a first-rate, comprehensive center of excellence.

###

For patient inquiries, call 1-800-492-5538 or click here to make an appointment.

This page was last updated on: June 17, 2008.