Ever since the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center was founded in 1962, we have been committed to clinical research and to improving our understanding of the most effective treatments for cardiovascular disease.

Today, our department has over 30 active clinical research studies covering conditions as diverse as prevention of heart attacks to innovative devices used for the invasive treatment of atrial arrhythmias.

Nearly 75% of our faculty participate in these important clinical studies, which we believe offers our patients access to the cutting-edge therapies for nearly all cardiovascular conditions. In addition, our faculty includes multiple grant-funded researchers as well as medical device designers, holding innovative patents that have led to significant improvements in cardiovascular care throughout the U.S.

Key Clinical Research

Several of our faculty members are leading efforts to better understand specific cardiovascular conditions and therapies.

  • Drs. Sachin Shah, Richard Patten and David Venesy have established a first-of-its-kind clinical registry for patients with a rare infiltration of heart muscle caused by sarcoidosis, more commonly known to affect the lungs. Their efforts have resulted in a substantial multiyear grant to establish the registry and expand it to other clinical centers.
  • Dr. Christopher Pyne has been one of the pioneers in the transition of cardiac catheterization procedures to radial artery access and approach, with a dramatic reduction in the post-procedural bed rest, discomfort, and bleeding risk as compared with traditional femoral artery procedures.
  • Dr. Sergio Waxman, our director of Interventional Cardiology, has made important contributions to understanding the mechanisms of coronary atherosclerosis, stenting, and balloon injury through his research in the application of intra-coronary imaging techniques, including intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography, allowing interventional cardiologists to see to the single cell layer level of details.

In addition to bedside clinical and translational research, the department has several additional areas of research focus.

  • Dr. Matthew Reynolds, an electrophysiologist, is a world leader in the evaluation of the cost-effectiveness and overall impact of cardiovascular devices and therapies. He has led the investigations into the cost-effectiveness of the transcatheter aortic valve treatments and continues to explore the utility of atrial fibrillation ablation procedures, as compared with traditional medical treatments.
  • Dr. Frederic S. Resnic, in addition to serving as Chairman of the Department, is the co-director of the Lahey Health Comparative Effectiveness Research Institute (CERI). Dr. Resnic directs CERI’s efforts in utilizing real-world clinical data to evaluate the impact of alternative treatments used in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. His particular research focus is on the safety of medical devices, and has been the recipient of numerous Federal grants to study the performance of implantable medical devices, and their safety over time.