Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Fellowship

The Advanced Heart Failure Fellowship at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute and the University of Missouri–Kansas City is a university-based ACGME-accredited program that offers a complete spectrum of clinical experiences in heart failure, cardiac transplantation, and mechanical circulatory support.  Fellows rotate in both the inpatient and ambulatory settings at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, a 450-bed tertiary care referral center.

Over the past three decades, we have been the largest volume cardiac transplantation and ventricular assist device (VAD) center in the region and have performed more than 1,000 cardiac transplants.

Program overview

One advanced fellow is accepted into the program each year and works with 12 sub-subspecialty trained advanced heart failure cardiologists, three cardiac transplantation surgeons, 13 pre- and post-transplant nurse coordinators, three VAD coordinators, four heart failure research nurses, along with a full multidisciplinary team focused on the management of advanced heart failure patients.  Given the breadth and depth of cardiovascular services provided at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, it is our goal to work with the fellow to focus on their career goals, whether it be transplant cardiology, mechanical circulatory support, critical care, or cardiomyopathies. Above all else, our goal is to train compassionate heart failure physicians who have the skills to become national leaders in advanced heart failure.  At the end of the program, the fellow will be eligible to sit for the ABIM subspecialty boards in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology.

Our fellows act as the primary decision maker in the care of a large number of critically ill patients. The care of these patients is multidisciplinary in nature, and the fellow is the patient’s main advocate and leads the discussion in the decision-making process. 

Program training

Fellows will be exposed to the inpatient advanced heart failure service, outpatient advanced heart failure clinic, outpatient subspecialty clinics, catheterization lab, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, cardiothoracic operating room, post-operative intensive care unit, cardiovascular research, and electives. Subspecialty clinics are typically half-day clinics dedicated to cardiac amyloidosis, cardio-oncology, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, cardio-metabolic health, CRT non-responders, pulmonary hypertension, and adult congenital heart disease. The catheterization lab will focus on right heart catheterization, endomyocardial biopsy, exercise hemodynamics, pulmonary hypertension assessment, and pulmonary artery pressure monitor implantation. There is ample elective and research time that will be geared towards the fellow’s area of interest. Prior fellows have spent elective time focused on critical care; interventional cardiology; cardiovascular research; advanced echo and TEE; and heart transplantation and immunology.

A broad didactic curriculum has been generated for the advanced heart failure fellow and includes focused didactic lectures in advanced heart failure, weekly cardiology grand rounds, daily cardiology noon conference, and bedside teaching from heart failure and surgical staff.

Weekends and overnight call is not required in this fellowship.

Achievements and accolades

• First of 40 programs accredited for heart failure and transplantation in 2012
• Volume of 60 to 80 combined heart transplants and VADs per year
• Experienced team with more than 1,000 heart transplants to date
• Recognized in more than 100 publications and presentations (local, national, and international) annually
• Robust heart failure research program with multiple active clinical trials for patients with cardiomyopathies, heart transplant, and mechanical circulatory support
• Earned American Heart Association's highest level award, Get With the Guidelines Gold Plus Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll Quality Achievement, for several consecutive years

Saint Luke's faculty

Program leadership

Anthony Magalski, MD 
Program Director

Brett Sperry, MD 
Associate Program Director

James Webb  
GME Coordinator

Additional faculty

• Bethany Austin, MD
• Mark Everley, MD
• Timothy J. Fendler, MD 
• Andrew Kao, MD
• Taiyeb M. Khumri, MD
• Stephanie Lawhorn, MD
• Michael E. Nassif, MD
• Andrew Sauer, MD
• Ahmad Turk, MD
• Deepthi Vodnala, MD

Eligibility

• U.S. citizen or J1 visa sponsorship only
• Completion of a three-year ACGME-approved Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship

Application process 

Applications are accepted only through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) from July 1 to Sept. 1.  Interviews will be during the months of September and October. The fellowship program participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).

A complete application will include the following documents:

• ERAS common application form
• Photograph
• Personal statement
• Curriculum vitae
• Copy of USMLE or COMLEX transcript
• Copy of ECFMG certificate (if applicable)
• MSPE (Dean’s letter)
• Medical school transcript
• Three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from your current or prior cardiology program director

More information

We welcome your interest in the Advanced Heart Failure Transplant Cardiology Fellowship.  For more information, contact James Webb, GME Coordinator, Cardiovascular Fellowship Programs at jrwebb@saintlukeskc.org or 816-932-4575.

About Kansas City

Saint Luke’s is proud to call Kansas City home. With locations on both sides of the state line, the health system serves more than 2.1 million people and 240 neighborhoods in Kansas and Missouri. USA Today has regularly named Kansas City a top area for affordability, high-quality schools, and low traffic. Learn more at visitkc.com.