Heart Failure Fellowship Program

About the program

Program Director: Azam Hadi, MD
Associated Program Director: Craig Alpert, MD
Accreditation: ACGME
Program Length: 1 year (PGY-7)
Fellows per year: 2

Welcome to the Allegheny Health Network Advanced Heart Failure and
Cardiac Transplantation Fellowship program. Our one-year ACGME accredited
program's commitment, and the singular goal is to train our fellows to be
excellent clinicians, confident in his/her abilities and skills on day one
after graduation. This format is enabled to provide exposure to an integrated
multi-disciplinary system with a team-based approach at the very core of its
philosophy and mission.

I want to draw your attention to some of the highlights of our Advanced Heart Failure program:      

• Nationally acclaimed LVAD and Heart Transplant Programs with survival rates better than the national average at 30 days, one year, and three years after transplant (Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients report of January 2020)      
• Internationally acclaimed Pulmonary Hypertension Program managed exclusively by Advanced Heart Failure team and (also) incorporating medical and surgical management of Acute and Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension
• Cardiogenic Shock Program for the entire Allegheny Health System with Allegheny General Hospital serving as the central system hub for the 'hub and spoke' cardiogenic shock model for Western PA, including a high volume ECMO (both VV and VA) center.         
• Specialty clinics in Amyloidosis, HCM, and Cardiac Palliative Care.       
• Centralized management for heart failure monitoring, including
  placement /monitoring of CardioMEMS device and multiple noninvasive platforms.      
• Encompassing and leading multi-disciplinary
  programs, e.g., structural heart disease (TAVRs, Mitral clips, etc.).    
• Two weeks of inpatient service followed by two weeks of ambulatory; latter comprising of 2 days of catheterization lab and two days of clinic per week with Friday set aside for flexible, individualized, tailored curriculum and pursuit of interests including research,
  imaging, etc.
• Committed faculty dedicated to education, training, and mentorship with a very high faculty (8 faculty including the chairman of Cardiology) to fellow ratio and a 100% board passing and preferred job placement rate.     
• Option for the graduating fellow to consider Cardiac Critical Care PGY 8 ACGME accredited fellowship with Critical Care ABIM certification.     
• Option for weekend daytime moonlighting opportunities
  within the Advanced Heart Failure rounding service.

We welcome you to explore our website and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Mission statement

The mission of our Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Program is to set the standards of excellence by offering an outstanding experience that thoroughly prepares the trainees for leadership careers in any facet of
Cardiology-clinical or academic.  To accomplish this, our program draws on the expertise and strong teaching commitment of large, full-time and voluntary teaching facilities, a large stream of patients from western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, superb resources for tertiary-care cardiology, and extensive resources.

Program aims

To develop superior teaching skills amongst faculty and fellows

To promote continuous programmatic and faculty improvement through continuous self-assessment and evaluation

To advance the quality of fellow education and training

To promote advanced, innovative training in advanced heart failure and transplant, mechanical circulatory support, and pulmonary hypertension

To improve the fellows exposure to short term mechanical circulatory support devices

To enhance the outpatient experience of care for patients with Left Ventricular Assist Devices

To increase the fellows’ exposure to heart failure remote monitoring devices and pulmonary hypertension

To provide opportunities in scholarship (discovery, integration, application, and
dissemination) that will promote the development of life-long learning habits
and opportunities for professional growth.

View Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program

The Cardiovascular Institute at the Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium offers two positions for a one-year ACGME Accredited Fellowship Training Program in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology (AHFTC) at its flagship hospital, Allegheny General Hospital (AGH).

With 631 licensed beds, including separate 24-bed cardiac and CT surgical ICUs as well as a 24-bed step-down unit for advanced heart failure and pulmonary hypert