Cardiovascular disease is our nation’s leading cause of death. What’s more, nearly half of Americans have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or a history of smoking—the key factors that lead to heart disease. The need for lifesaving treatment and care is greater than ever before.
At the University of Rochester Medical Center, our team of heart and vascular experts is dedicated to altering the course of this devastating disease for patients in Rochester and beyond.
Stories of Impact
Meet our faculty
This September, we welcomed two new assistant professors to our team: Karina A. Newhall, MD, MS, and Grayson S. Pitcher, MD. Read about why they chose to pursue a career in vascular surgery and what brought them to URMC.
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Vascular surgery research highlights
Heart and vascular alumni continues to lead the field in basic, imaging, and clinical science, laying the foundation for even more groundbreaking discoveries that will drastically improve the lives of patients in our region, and beyond.
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“I don’t think thank you can even be enough.”
When Carrie Fisher started feeling short of breath, she thought she was experiencing typical end-of-pregnancy symptoms. She didn’t realize that she was experiencing heart failure—and that a transplant would soon become her only option.
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“He was able to dance at his daughter’s wedding”
Heart and vascular faculty talk about new innovations, the value of teamwork, and how they have changed the lives of patients.
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Pioneering minimally-invasive cardiac surgery.
Left ventricular assist devices, or LVADs, are mechanical pumps that are implanted inside a person's chest to help a weakened heart pump blood. Previously, the surgery required "cracking the chest," but Dr. Peter Knight has helped to develop minimally-invasive techniques that allow patients to recover faster and go home sooner.
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"We have so many things left to do."
On any given day, more than 3,000 people are waiting for a heart transplant. Only seven people will receive one. After a diagnostic test revealed that he had been near death more than a thousand times, Mike Froome was put on the waiting list for a heart transplant.
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A heart filled with gratitude.
March 11 was a typical day at the UR Medicine Urgent Care in Pittsford. Until it wasn’t. Late that afternoon, Brian Hickey was playing paddle tennis with friends at a nearby golf club when he began to feel what seemed initially like heartburn. The 66-year-old M&T Bank executive soon suspected he was having a heart attack.
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Patient returns home four days after lifesaving LVAD surgery 
It’s finally summer in Buffalo. The days are longer, the temperature is rising, and it’s time for another season of summer softball for Alex Staszczyk. It’s a simple pleasure for any 23-year old and his friends, especially for Staszczyk, who just three months ago was fighting an infection that nearly stopped his heart.
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Physician and father of 12 saved by Strong’s cardiovascular care 
On June 25, 2018, surrounded by members of his congregation, with his wife and 12 children by his side, 55 year-old Anthony Pivarunas celebrated his newly established “birthday.” This day was especially meaningful for Pivarunas and his family—it didn’t commemorate the day he was born, instead, it marked the day he should have died.
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For information on supporting heart and vascular programs at the University of Rochester Medical Center, please contact Jennifer Koehnlein, executive director of advancement, at
jennifer.koehnlein@rochester.edu or
585-273-5472.