Cardiology and Heart Surgery

The staff at our nationally ranked heart hospital includes heart doctors with advanced training and experience in specific types of heart disease and work only with those patient populations. Depending on your heart condition and circumstances, you may see one or more of these heart specialists.

Cardiologist
Recommends medicines, lifestyle changes, and procedures to help you control high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other factors that put you at risk for a heart attack. Your cardiologist will also coordinate your care with other specialists -- for example, if you need surgery or have a medical condition such as diabetes or a genetic concern that increases your risk for heart disease.

Heart Surgeon, Thoracic Surgeon
Performs cardiac surgery to treat coronary artery disease and heart valve disease, implants ventricular assist devices (VADs), and replaces damaged hearts through transplant. 

Interventional Cardiologist
Cardiologist specially trained in catheter-based procedures to diagnose and treat cardiovascular conditions such as coronary artery disease, vascular disease, and valve disease.

Electrophysiologist
A specially trained cardiologist who focuses on diagnosing and treating electrical and conduction problems that may cause arrhythmias. Electrophysiologists perform procedures such as cardiac ablation and pacemaker and defibrillator implantation.

Advanced Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Cardiologist
Works with people who have heart failure and need long-term care or advanced surgical intervention, such as a ventricular assist device (VAD) or heart transplant. 

Adult Congenital Heart Disease Expert
Treats adults born with congenital heart defects that involve heart chambers, heart valves, or major blood vessels.

Genetic Heart Disease Expert
Diagnoses and manages inherited heart disease and coordinates your care with genetic counselors if you carry a gene that may increase your risk for heart disease.

Heart Disease Prevention and Rehabilitation Specialists
Our heart disease prevention cardiologists evaluate your risk for heart disease and work with you to establish lasting, heart-healthy lifestyle changes to lower or eliminate that risk. For those who have recently experienced a cardiac event, such as a heart attack, or are recovering from heart surgery, our rehabilitation team helps you rebuild your health and well-being through medically supervised exercise and lifestyle management programs.

Having a Duke heart specialist manage your care gives you access to the latest technology and treatments. Our ongoing collaboration to set nationally accepted treatment guidelines ensures you benefit from heart care that is backed by research. 

Superior Heart Care Outcomes
Studies show that major medical centers like ours that treat high volumes of patients achieve better results -- including fewer complications, faster recovery, and better long-term survival rates.

Lifesaving Initiatives for Heart Attack
Our efforts to improve cardiac care include an emergency response protocol for heart attack that ensures patients receive lifesaving treatment to restore blood flow as quickly as possible. As a result, we’ve helped increase survival rates across the state of North Carolina for the most serious form of heart attack.

High-Tech Heart Imaging
Imaging tests and minimally invasive procedures such as cardiac catheterization are the best way for you to get the right treatment at the right time and the best possible outcome. Only large heart centers like Duke have the most up-to-date technology and credentialed, certified heart specialists who make treatment recommendations based on what they see.

Treatment Advances and Clinical Trials
As a Duke patient, you may be eligible to participate in clinical trials that range from testing new therapies not available elsewhere to studying new ways to manage lifestyle changes that reduce your heart disease risk or help you live comfortably. We are also able to treat many people who are not considered candidates for treatment elsewhere.

Among the Best and Largest VAD and Transplant Programs
We are consistently recognized among the best and largest ventricular assist device (VAD) and heart transplant programs in the country. Transplant recognition is based on the number of transplants we perform, our transplant rates, and post-transplant survival rates. 

Expanded Access to Heart Care in Wake County
Heart Care Plus+ brings together Duke’s recognized specialty and sub-specialty services and doctors with WakeMed’s legacy of excellence in heart care. Heart Care Plus+ creates a county-wide distribution of exceptional providers, outpatient practices and facilities, and hospitals to seamlessly provide the highest-quality care across the entire spectrum of heart disease.