Dr. Schwarz performs routine imaging and advanced imaging studies on patients with complex cardiac disease. He specializes in imaging of patients with mechanical assist devices. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease.

Certified Specialties

Cardiovascular Disease - American Board of Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine - American Board of Internal Medicine

Faculty Appointments

Professor (Part-Time) - Department of Medicine, Cardiology (SMD)

Professor (Part-Time) - Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (SMD) - Joint

Credentials

Residency & Fellowship

Fellowship, Cardiovascular Disease, University of Rochester Medical Center. 1986 - 1990

Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center. 1984 - 1986

Internship, Internal Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center. 1983 - 1984

Education

MD | University of Rochester School of Medicine/Dentistry (USA). 1983

Research

Dr. Schwarz is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center where he has been the director of the Echocardiography Laboratory since 1992.
Dr. Schwarz received his undergraduate degree in 1979 at Bowdoin College in Physics. Dr. Schwarz studied medicine at the University of Rochester, where he completed medical school, residency and cardiology fellowship. During his training years, he developed an interest in studying ways of improving the quality and efficiency of treating cardiovascular disease. Dr. Schwarz then joined the faculty at the University of Rochester Medical Center, where he is now Professor of Medicine. Dr. Schwarz also holds a position as a Research Professor in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

At Bowdoin College, Dr. Schwarz completed his research thesis in superconducting magnetometry. During his college years at Bowdoin College, Dr. Schwarz was fortunate enough to work for a time at Argonne National Laboratory, where he completed a research thesis on the electromechanical properties of Nitinol; a then novel memory metal made from an alloy of nickel and titanium.

Dr. Schwarz believes that the most effective way to improve medical care is through continuous medical education and continuous monitoring of medical outcomes. These two principles lead to the development of the Pronto cardiovascular system, a robust electronic medical record system that assists healthcare providers in the data collection process by pulling codified data directly from medical devices and then automatically creating robust text reports using a dynamic phrase generator. Dr. Schwarz is also known for his basic research into the behavior of small gas bubbles in a sound field. This work supports some of the principles that are now considered fundamental to the field of contrast echocardiography. More recently, Dr. Schwarz has been studying ways to better utilize and evaluate left ventricular assist devices (VADs), prosthetic heart valves, echo contrast agents, and cardiac transplantation. Some of this work is performed in conjunction with professors at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where Dr. Schwarz holds a position as a Research Professor in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering. His newest project is an on-line school for ultrasound education with the intended audience being sonographers.

Publications

Journal Articles

LEFT VENTRICULAR EJECTION FRACTION: COMPARISON BETWEEN TRUE VOLUME-BASED MEASUREMENTS AND AREA-BASED ESTIMATES.

Liu D, Peck I, Dangi S, Schwarz KQ, Linte CA

Proceedings.. 2018 October 2018 Epub 12/17/2018.

Nontraditional Electrocardiogram and Algorithms for Inconspicuous In-Home Monitoring: Comparative Study.

Conn NJ, Schwarz KQ, Borkholder DA

JMIR mHealth and uHealth.. 2018 May 286 (5):e120. Epub 05/28/2018.

Left Ventricular Systolic Function Assessed by Global Longitudinal Strain is Impaired in Atrial Fibrillation Compared to Sinus Rhythm.

Ross Agner BF, Katz MG, Williams ZR, Dixen U, Jensen GB, Schwarz KQ

Journal of atrial fibrillation.. 2017 December 10 (4):1437. Epub 12/31/2017.

Identification of Left Ventricle Failure on Pulmonary Artery CTA: Diagnostic Significance of Decreased Aortic & Left Ventricle Enhancement.

Chaturvedi A, Thompson JP, Kaproth-Joslin K, Hobbs SK, Schwarz KQ, Krishnamoorthy VK, Chaturvedi A, Baran T

Emergency radiology.. 2017 October 24 (5):487-496. Epub 03/29/2017.

Prevalence of Non-Left Anterior Descending Septal Perforator Culprit in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Undergoing Alcohol Septal Ablation.

Alkhouli M, Sajjad W, Lee J, Fernandez G, Waits B, Schwarz KQ, Cove CJ

The American journal of cardiology.. 2016 May 15117 (10):1655-1660. Epub 03/02/2016.

Long-term total cardiac support in a Fontan-type circulation with HeartMate II left ventricular assist device.

Tchantchaleishvili V, Hallinan W, Schwarz KQ, Massey HT

Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery.. 2016 May 22 (5):692-4. Epub 02/16/2016.

Pulse Wave Velocity Prediction and Compliance Assessment in Elastic Arterial Segments.

Lillie JS, Liberson AS, Mix D, Schwarz KQ, Chandra A, Phillips DB, Day SW, Borkholder DA

Cardiovascular engineering and technology.. 2015 March 6 (1):49-58. Epub 12/06/2014.

Predictors of mortality in patients hospitalized for congestive heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction ? 40.

Sherazi S, McNitt S, Choudhary N, Shah AH, Aktas MK, Asgher A, Schwarz KQ, Zareba W

Cardiology journal.. 2015 22 (4):382-90. Epub 01/15/2015.

Evaluation and treatment of pump thrombosis and hemolysis.

Tchantchaleishvili V, Sagebin F, Ross RE, Hallinan W, Schwarz KQ, Massey HT

Annals of cardiothoracic surgery.. 2014 September 3 (5):490-5. Epub 1900 01 01.

Ventricular assist device thrombosis following recovery of left ventricular function.

Sifain AR, Schwarz KQ, Hallinan W, Massey HT, Alexis JD

ASAIO journal : a peer-reviewed journal of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs.. 2014 60 (2):243-5. Epub 1900 01 01.

Predictive capability of left atrial size measured by CT, TEE, and TTE for recurrence of atrial fibrillation following radiofrequency catheter ablation.

Parikh SS, Jons C, McNitt S, Daubert JP, Schwarz KQ, Hall B

Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE.. 2010 May 33 (5):532-40. Epub 02/01/2010.

Non-invasive flow measurement of a rotary pump ventricular assist device using quantitative contrast echocardiography.

Schwarz KQ, Parikh SS, Chen X, Farrar DJ, Steinmetz S, Ramamurthi S, Hallinan W, Massey HT, Chen L

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography.. 2010 March 23 (3):324-9. Epub 1900 01 01.

Identification of a retained intravascular wire by three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography.

Tokarz SR, Aktas MK, Kroening D, Sawyer TJ, Daubert JP, Huang DT, Schwarz KQ

Echocardiography.. 2009 April 26 (4):463-4. Epub 12/02/2008.

Ranolazine shortens repolarization in patients with sustained inward sodium current due to type-3 long-QT syndrome.

Moss AJ, Zareba W, Schwarz KQ, Rosero S, McNitt S, Robinson JL

Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology.. 2008 December 19 (12):1289-93. Epub 07/25/2008.

Effects of pioglitazone on fasting and postprandial levels of lipid and hemostatic variables in overweight non-diabetic patients with coronary artery disease.

Mieszczanska H, Kaba NK, Francis CW, Gerich JE, Dodis R, Schwarz KQ, Phipps RP, Smith BH, Lee M, Messing S, Taubman MB

Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH.. 2007 May 5 (5):942-9. Epub 1900 01 01.

Improved assessment of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction by contrast enhanced harmonic color Doppler echocardiography.

Bezante GP, Rosa GM, Bruni R, Chen X, Villa G, Scopinaro A, Balbi M, Barsotti A, Schwarz KQ

The international journal of cardiovascular imaging.. 2005 December 21 (6):609-16. Epub 1900 01 01.

Left ventricular myocardial mass determination by contrast enhanced colour Doppler compared with magnetic resonance imaging.

Bezante GP, Chen X, Molinari G, Valbusa A, Deferrari L, Sebastiani V, Yokoyama N, Steinmetz S, Barsotti A, Schwarz KQ

Heart.. 2005 January 91 (1):38-43. Epub 1900 01 01.

Prognostic value of contrast stress echocardiography in patients with image quality too limited for traditional noncontrast harmonic echocardiography.

Yokoyama N, Schwarz KQ, Steinmetz SD, Li X, Chen X

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography.. 2004 January 17 (1):15-20. Epub 1900 01 01.

The effect of echo contrast agent on Doppler velocity measurements.

Yokoyama N, Schwarz KQ, Chen X, Steinmetz SD, Becher H, Schimpky C, Schlief R

Ultrasound in medicine & biology.. 2003 May 29 (5):765-70. Epub 1900 01 01.

Intrapulmonary arteriovenous shunt: diagnosis by saline contrast bubbles in the pulmonary veins.

Gudavalli A, Kalaria VG, Chen X, Schwarz KQ

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography.. 2002 September 15 (9):1012-4. Epub 1900 01 01.

Contrast harmonic color Doppler left ventriculography: machine-interpreted left ventricular ejection fraction compared with equilibrium-gated radionuclide ventriculography.

Schwarz KQ, Bezante GP, Chen X, Villa G, Brunelli C

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography.. 2000 May 13 (5):368-78. Epub 1900 01 01.

"Vegetation plop"--auscultatory findings in large mitral valve vegetation.

Kalaria VG, Schwarz KQ, Eichelberger JP, Allen M

Clinical cardiology.. 2000 April 23 (4):291-2. Epub 1900 01 01.

A mathematical model for the assessment of hemodynamic parameters using quantitative contrast echocardiography.

Chen X, Schwarz KQ, Phillips D, Steinmetz SD, Schlief R

IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering.. 1998 June 45 (6):754-65. Epub 1900 01 01.

Methods for quantifying ultrasound backscatter and two-dimensional video intensity: implications for contrast-enhanced sonography.

Schwarz KQ, Chen X, Steinmetz S

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography.. 1998 February 11 (2):155-68. Epub 1900 01 01.

Transcranial duplex ultrasound: experience with contrast enhancing agents.

Bauer A, Becker G, Henz P, Jachimczak P, Schwarz KQ, Haase A, Bogdahn U

International angiology : a journal of the International Union of Angiology.. 1997 December 16 (4):216-21. Epub 1900 01 01.

Harmonic imaging with Levovist.

Schwarz KQ, Chen X, Steinmetz S, Phillips D

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography.. 1997 10 (1):1-10. Epub 1900 01 01.

The measurement of backscatter coefficient from a broadband pulse-echo system: a new formulation.

Chen X, Phillips D, Schwarz KQ, Mottley JG, Parker KJ

IEEE transactions on ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control.. 1997 44 (2):515-25. Epub 1900 01 01.

The Doppler kinetics of microbubble echo contrast.

Schwarz KQ, Chen X, Bezante GP, Phillips D, Schlief R

Ultrasound in medicine & biology.. 1996 22 (4):453-62. Epub 1900 01 01.

Hemodynamic effects of microbubble echo contrast.

Schwarz KQ, Bezante GP, Chen X, Phillips D, Schlief R

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography.. 1996 9 (6):795-804. Epub 1900 01 01.

When can Doppler be used in place of integrated backscatter as a measure of scattered ultrasound intensity?

Schwarz KQ, Bezante GP, Chen X

Ultrasound in medicine & biology.. 1995 21 (2):231-42. Epub 1900 01 01.

Doppler enhancement with SH U 508A in multiple vascular regions.

Schwarz KQ, Becher H, Schimpfky C, Vorwerk D, Bogdahn U, Schlief R

Radiology.. 1994 October 193 (1):195-201. Epub 1900 01 01.

Transesophageal echocardiographic identification of persistent left superior vena cava: retrograde administration of cardioplegia during cardiac surgery.

Roberts WA, Risher WH, Schwarz KQ

Anesthesiology.. 1994 September 81 (3):760-2. Epub 1900 01 01.

Acoustic coupling from a focused transducer to a flat plate and back to the transducer.

Chen X, Schwarz KQ, Parker KJ

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.. 1994 June 95 (6):3049-54. Epub 1900 01 01.

Efficacy SH U 508 A (Levovist) as blood pool enhancer in the Doppler evaluation of multiple vascular regions.

Schwarz KQ, Bezante GP, Becher H, Schimpfky C, Vorwerk D, Bogdahn U, Schlief R

La Radiologia medica.. 1994 May 87 (5 Suppl 1):3-14. Epub 1900 01 01.

Radiation pattern of a focused transducer: a numerically convergent solution.

Chen X, Schwarz KQ, Parker KJ

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.. 1993 November 94 (5):2979-91. Epub 1900 01 01.

Predictive value of dobutamine echocardiography just before noncardiac vascular surgery.

Eichelberger JP, Schwarz KQ, Black ER, Green RM, Ouriel K

The American journal of cardiology.. 1993 September 172 (7):602-7. Epub 1900 01 01.

Transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis of acquired aneurysms of the left atrial appendage.

Culver DL, Bezante GP, Schwarz KQ, Meltzer RS

Clinical cardiology.. 1993 February 16 (2):149-51. Epub 1900 01 01.

Volumetric arterial flow quantification using echo contrast. An in vitro comparison of three ultrasonic intensity methods: radio frequency, video and Doppler.

Schwarz KQ, Bezante GP, Chen X, Mottley JG, Schlief R

Ultrasound in medicine & biology.. 1993 19 (6):447-60. Epub 1900 01 01.

Quantitative echo contrast concentration measurement by Doppler sonography.

Schwarz KQ, Bezante GP, Chen X, Schlief R

Ultrasound in medicine & biology.. 1993 19 (4):289-97. Epub 1900 01 01.

The acoustic filter: an ultrasonic blood filter for the heart-lung machine.

Schwarz KQ, Church CC, Serrino P, Meltzer RS

The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.. 1992 December 104 (6):1647-53. Epub 1900 01 01.

Bioeffects in echocardiography.

Carstensen EL, Duck FA, Meltzer RS, Schwarz KQ, Keller B

Echocardiography.. 1992 November 9 (6):605-23. Epub 1900 01 01.

Therapeutic cardiac ultrasound.

Meltzer RS, Schwarz KQ, Mottley JG, Everbach EC

The American journal of cardiology.. 1991 February 1567 (5):422-4. Epub 1900 01 01.

Exercise Doppler echocardiography in patients with mitral prosthetic valves.

Reisner SA, Lichtenberg GS, Shapiro JR, Schwarz KQ, Meltzer RS

American heart journal.. 1989 October 118 (4):755-9. Epub 1900 01 01.

Experience rounding with a hand-held two-dimensional cardiac ultrasound device.

Schwarz KQ, Meltzer RS

The American journal of cardiology.. 1988 July 162 (1):157-9. Epub 1900 01 01.

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