Mission Statement
The Transplant Research department focuses on new medical and surgical approaches to therapies for congestive heart failure and heart transplantation. We study the basic mechanisms involved in how and why congestive heart failure develops in individuals and the potential medical and surgical therapies for patients who are already burdened with congestive heart failure. These studies help define new therapies both medically and surgically that can become standard practice in the clinical setting in the future. We research new drugs, new uses for current drugs on the market, new devices for circulatory support, and new tests that enable us to determine how to better care for heart failure and transplant patients.
Education is an integral part of our department, and we host weekly conferences for the transplant team members. We discuss current relevant topics in heart failure, mechanical circulatory support devices and transplantation and we debate the issues in the hope of optimizing our therapeutic approaches and patient care. We also offer quarterly transplant care conferences for the cardiology staff, inviting experts from around the world to address specific topics related to patient care and therapies within the heart failure, mechanical circulatory support and transplant populations. Participation of fellows, nurses, and physicians in these educational forums helps define and hone their medical expertise for application in daily clinical practice. An annual conference that we host here in Houston allows our department to invite world-renowned cardiologists and surgeons to meet with us to debate standard practices nationwide in heart failure, mechanical support, and transplant so that we can develop and fine tune our current therapies to offer the best heart health care to our patients.
Department Staff
O. H. Frazier, MD
Chief, Center for Cardiac Support;
Director, Cardiovascular Surgery Research;
Co-Director, Cullen Cardiovascular Research Laboratories, THI
Chief, Transplant Service, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
Clinical Associate Professor, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Professor, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Roberta C. Bogaev, MD, FACC, FACP
Kathy Vershave, RN, BSN
Manager, Clinical Research
Rajko Radovancevic, MD
Research Scientist
Jennifer M. LaBleu, RN, BSN
Research Coordinator
Felicia Frank
Clinical Research Technician
Francine Johnson
Administrative Assistant
Physician Investigators
Reynolds M. Delgado III, MD, FACC
Medical Director, Mechanical Support Devices for Heart Failure, THI
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Guillermo Torre-Amione, MD, PhD, FACC
Medical Director, Transplant Service, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
Medical Director Heart Transplant Program, DeBakey Heart Center at The Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine
Associate Professor of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
Recent Publications and Presentions
Abstracts and Manuscripts for Branislav Radovancevic, MD; Rajko Radovancevic, MD
Vrtovec B, Yazdanbakhsh AP, Stojanovic I, Thomas CD, Radovancevic R, Radovancevic B, Frazier OH: Statin treatment decreases QTc interval duration and improves survival in heart transplant recipients. J Heart Lung Transplant 2003; 22(1S):S173
Kadipasaoglu KA, Ferrari M, Croitoru M, Myers TJ, Gregoric ID, Radovancevic B, Frazier OH: A new technique for assessing myocardial improvement using pressure-volume loops during mechanical circulatory assistance. J Heart Lung Transplant 2003; 22(1S):S199
Radovancevic B, Vrtovec B, Yazdanbakhsh AP, Odegaard PA, Thomas CD, Delgado RM, Frazier OH: Perioperative use of nesiritide in heart failure patients undergoing implantation of left ventricular assist device. J Heart Lung Transplant 2003; 22(1S):201
Vrtovec B, Radovancevic B, Yazdanbakhsh AP, Radovancevic R, Thomas CD, Frazier OH: QTc interval prolongation predicts mortality in patients with transplant coronary artery disease. J Heart Lung Transplant 2003; 22(1S):208
Mohacsi P, Bartus K, Carrel T, Djukanovic B, Fruhwald F, Gradinac S, Kapelak B, Klein W, Radovancevic B, Sadowski J, Tripolt M, Tscheliessnigg K, Wasler A, Pitt B, Remme WJ, Konstam MA: Initial clinical experience with the Cancion™ Cardiac Recovery System. Proceedings, 7th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America, 2003; pS45
Price JF, Fraser CD, McKenzie ED, Radovancevic B, Towbin JA, Denfield SW, Mott AR, Chang AC, Clunie S, Dreyer WJ: Ventricular assist device as bridge to transplant or recovery in children: A single center experience. Proceedings, 7th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America, 2003; pS50
Wasler A, Radovancevic B, Fruhwald F, Tripolt M, Klein W, Tscheliessnigg K: First use of the Cancion Cardiac Recovery System in a human. ASAIO J 2003; 49:136-8
Khan T, Delgado RM, Radovancevic B, Torre-Amione G, Abrams J, Miller K, Myers T, Okerberg K, Stetson SJ, Gregoric I, Hernandez A, Frazier OH: Dobutamine stress echocardiography predicts myocardial improvement in patients supported by left ventricular assist devices (LVADs): Hemodynamic and histologic evidence of improvement before LVAD explantation. J Heart Lung Transplant 2003; 22(2):137-46
Vrtovec B, Delgado R, Zewail A, Thomas CD, Richartz BM, Radovancevic B: Prolonged QTc Interval and high B-type natriuretic peptide levels together predict mortality in patients with advanced heart failure. Circulation 2003; 107(13):1764-9.
Rosenstrauch D, Akay H, Bölükoglu H, Behrens L, Bryant L, Herrera P, Eya K, Tuzun E, Clubb F, Radovancevic B, Frazier OH, Kadipasaoglu KA: Ex vivo resuscitation of adult pig hearts. Tex Heart Inst J 2003; 30(2):121-7
Radovancevic B, Vrtovec B: Sirolimus therapy in cardiac transplantation. Transplant Proc 2003; 35(3 Suppl):S171-6
Radovancevic B, Radovancevic R, Vrtovec B, Thomas CD, Frazier OH: Outcomes in patients with low left ventricular ejection fraction after heart transplantation. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2003;23(5):743-7
Radovancevic B, Vrtovec B, Frazier OH: Left ventricular assist devices: an alternative to medical therapy for end-stage heart failure. Curr Opin Cardiol 2003; 18(3):210-4
Radovancevic B, McGiffin DC, Kobashigawa JA, Cintron DB, Mullen GM, Pitts DE, O'Donnell J, Thomas C, Bourge RC, Naftel DC: Retransplantation in 7,290 primary transplant patients: a 10-year multi-institutional study. J Heart Lung Transplant 2003; 22(8):862-8
Kertesz NJ, Towbin JA, Clunie S, Fenrich AL, Friedman RA, Kearney DL, Dreyer WJ, Price JF, Radovancevic B, Denfield SW: Long-term follow-up of arrhythmias in pediatric orthotopic heart transplant recipients: incidence and correlation with rejection. J Heart Lung Transplant 2003; 22(8):889-93
Radovancevic B, Eichstaedt HC, Tamez D, Patel V, Eya K, Nolden LK, Byler D, Cohen D, Frazier OH: Prolonged controlled hemorrhagic shock in a swine model: is there a role for mechanical circulatory assistance? ASAIO J 2003; 49(6):721-6
Letsou GV, Myers TJ, Gregoric ID, Delgado R, Shah N, Robertson K, Radovancevic B, Frazier OH: Continuous axial –flow left ventricular assist device (Jarvik 2000) maintains kidney and liver perfusion for up to 6 months. Ann Thorac Surg 2003; 76(4):1167-70
Radovancevic B, Gregoric ID, Tamez D, Vrtovec B, Tuzun E. Chee HK, Moore S, Jarvik RK, Frazier OH: Biventricular support with the Jarvik 2000 axial flow pump: a feasibility study. 2003; ASAIO J 49(5):604-7.
Boccalando F, Velasco A, Thomas C, Richards B, Radovancevic B: Relations among heart failure severity, left ventricular loading conditions, and repolarization length in advanced heart failure secondary to ischemic or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Am J Cardiol 2003; 92(5):544-7
Abstracts and Manuscripts for Collaborating Investigator Reynolds M. Delgado III, MD
Frazier OH, Delgado III RM, Gregoric ID, Myers T, Moser R, Wadia Y, Kar B, Letsou G, Messner G, Harting MT, Radovancevic B: Ascending versus descending aorta anastamosis with the Jarvik 2000 LVAS. ASAIO J. 2003; 49(2):166.
Delgado III RM, Radovancevic B, Thomas CD, Kar B, Radovancevic R, Torre-Amione G, Frazier OH: Evaluation of reversibility of pulmonary hypertension in heart transplant candidates.Circulation 2003; 108(17):IV-426.
Delgado III RM, Eastwood C: Heart failure management: multidisciplinary care has intrinsic benefit above the optimization of medical care. Journal of Cardiac Failure, publication pending.
Delgado III RM, Frazier OH, Myers TJ, Pool T, Scroggins N, Gregoric ID, Khan T, Kar B, Radovancevic B: Serum levels of B-type naturetic peptide after cardiectomy and implantation of a total artificial heart. Journal of Cardiac Failure, publication pending
Zewail AM, Eastwood C, Li Q, Kar B, Donaho EK, Morgenstern TT, Delgado III RM: Relationship between plasma B-type naturetic peptide levels and renal function. Journal of Cardiac Failure, publication pending.
Delgado III RM, Kar B, Myers T, Letsou G, Riaz I, Metcalfe R, Harting MT, Frazier OH: Vascular thrombosis in patients with long-term Jarvik 2000 VAD support. ISHLT, publication pending.
Delgado III RM, Poulin GV, Vrtovec B, Eastwood C, Radovancevic B, Franklin W, Kar B, Schlegel TT: The utility of high frequency QRS electrocardiogram in the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy. Accepted by ACC 2004, publication pending.
Kar B, Frazier OH, Myers TJ, Delgado III RM, Wadia Y, Scroggins N, Gregoric ID, Radovancevic B: Effect of nesiritide on renal function after implantation of the AbioCor Total Artificial Heart. Accepted byACC 2004, publication pending.
Kar B, Civitello A, Gregoric ID, Radovancevic B, Gemmato C, Myers TJ, Delgado III RM, Frazier OH: High-risk coronary interventions involving percutaneous left ventricular support. Accepted by ISHLT 2004, publication pending.
Khan T, Delgado III RM, Radovancevic B, Torre-Amione G, Abrams J, Miller K, Myers T, Frazier OH: Dobutamine stress echocardiography predicts myocardial improvement in patients supported by left ventricular assist devices (LVADS): hemodynamic and histologic evidence of improvement before LVAD explantation. J Heart Lung Trans 2003 Feb;22(2):137-46.
Vrtovec B, Delgado III RM, Zewail A, Thomas CD, Richartz BM, Radovancevic B: Prolonged QTc interval and high B-type natriuretic peptide levels together predict mortality in patients with advanced heart failure. Circulation 2003 Apr 8;107(13):1764-9. Epub 2003 Mar 24.
Delgado III RM: The future of mechanical circulatory support. Curr Opin Cardiol. 2003 May;18(3):199-209. Review.
Zewail AM, Nawar M, Vrtovec B, Eastwood C, Kar MN, Delgado III RM: Intravenous milrinone in treatment of advanced congestive heart failure. Tex Heart Inst J 2003;30(2):109-13.
Letsou GV, Myers TJ, Gregoric ID, Delgado III RM, Shah N, Robertson K, Radovancevic B, Frazier OH:. Continuous axial-flow left ventricular assist device (Jarvik 2000) maintains kidney and liver perfusion for up to 6 months. Ann Thorac Surg 2003 Oct;76(4):1167-70.
Letsou GV, Carter JE, Shenaq S, Gregoric ID, Delgado III RM, Frazier OH: Orthotopic cardiac transplantation 30 months after successful dynamic cardiomyoplasty. Ann Thorac Surg 2003 Oct;76(4):1289-91.
Frazier OH, Delgado III RM: Mechanical circulatory support for advanced heart failure: where does it stand in 2003? Circulation 2003 Dec 23;108(25):3064-8.
Contact Information and Location
Transplant Research
Phone: 832-355-4898
E-mail: txresearch@heart.thi.tmc.edu
Mailing Address:
MC 2-114A PO Box 20345
Houston, TX 77225-0345
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Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital—the Denton A. Cooley Building is located at 6770 Bertner Avenue. The Institute is adjacent to 
