Cardiology

The Cedars-Sinai/VA Greater Los Angeles Fellowship Training Program in Cardiovascular Diseases is an ACGME-accredited program that is designed to prepare the trainee for a career of excellence in patient care, teaching and research. It is one of the largest training programs in the Western United States, with a total number of 21 fellows. The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center merged its training program with the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center beginning July 2008 and fully merged in July 2010.

The primary goal of the Training Program is to provide the trainee with the basic and clinical knowledge, procedural skills, clinical judgment, professionalism and interpersonal skills required as a specialist in cardiovascular disease. Specifically, we aim to a) teach the knowledge, skills, clinical judgment, attitudes, and values that are essential to cardiovascular medicine; b) foster humanistic and ethical attributes in our trainees; c) encourage an appropriate balance between academic and research endeavors and clinical service; and d) develop teaching skills by actively engaging our trainees in teaching activities with medical students, residents, and allied health professionals.

The program has a strong emphasis on balancing clinical training with investigative training. Fellows receive a broad experience in all facets of cardiovascular diseases and more specialized training using the latest therapeutic modalities under the guidance and supervision of a world-class team of faculty and mentors who have an outstanding track record in training fellows. One of the major strengths of the program is the large volume of clinical cases and procedures (one of the largest in the nation) available to the fellows for training. The integrated fellowship program offers an excellent, comprehensive training in a wide range of cultural and socioeconomic groups with a diversity of medical problems. It is currently designed as a three-year program with two years devoted to clinical training in general and critical care cardiology, cardiac catheterization, noninvasive cardiac imaging including echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, cardiac CT, PET and MRI, electrophysiology, heart failure and transplantation, and preventive cardiology, and up to one year of investigative training in basic sciences and clinical cardiology. These rotations comply with ACGME requirements and the COCATS guidelines for the clinical core experience of the American College of Cardiology. A core curriculum of over 75 lectures covers the basic and clinical fundamentals related to cardiovascular medicine. Advanced ACGME-accredited training programs in Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology (CCEP) and Interventional Cardiology and non-ACGME-certified advanced training in Heart Failure & Cardiac Transplantation and Cardiac Imaging is also available.

The level of psychological and backup support given to fellows is a major strength of the program. Frequent feedback between the fellow and faculty provides for opportunities to improve the performance of the fellows and the training program.

The competition for entry into the program (approximately 700 applicants for 7 positions each year) reflects the exceptional overall strength and excellent reputation of the program, as does the 100% board passage rate of our graduates.

The program consists of two training sites, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Hospital.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a tertiary care hospital ranked as one of the largest nonprofit academic medical centers in the Western United States with 958 beds. Cedars-Sinai has been consistently ranked as one of the country's top hospitals in Heart and Heart Surgery in the annual guide to the "America's Best Hospitals" edition of U.S. News & World Report. The Saperstein Towers offers state of the art intensive care facilities including 12 Cardiac Care Unit beds and 12 Cardiothoracic Surgical beds. The transplant program is among the nation’s best with a dedicated unit with invasive hemodynamic monitoring capabilities. There are seven cardiac catheterization laboratories that service Los Angeles as a STEMI receiving center. In addition, a comprehensive state of the art program in percutaneous valvular interventions and advanced structural heart disease treatments, as well as advanced peripheral interventions is offered. There are two cath labs dedicated to providing cutting-edge electrophysiology interventions including atrial fibrillation ablation, suprvaventricular and ventricular tachycardia therapy, and ICD/CRT/pacemaker device implantation. The noninvasive echocardiography lab provides comprehensive training in transthoracic echocardiography, stress echocardiography, transesophageal echocardiography, and 3D echocardiography. The world-class cardiac imaging department offers comprehensive training in Nuclear, PET, MRI, and CT modalities.  With Cedars-Sinai's state of the art facilities, high patient volume, and excellence in patient care, education and research, it is often the site of many clinical trials, including recently the COURAGE, PARTNER, and EVEREST trials.

The West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Hospital is one of the largest and most comprehensive health care facilities within the VA network with 832 beds. It serves as a tertiary care center in Southern California. The VA is unique among VA hospitals in that it offers a full array of cardiovascular services and technologies including interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, stress echocardiography, and cardiothoracic surgery. The imaging department offers comprehensive services in cardiovascular nuclear, and CT imaging. The ambulatory clinic program at the VA gives fellows a unique opportunity to serve a diverse group of patients as their primary cardiologists. In addition, subspecialty clinics in cardiomyopathy, electrophysiology, and preventive cardiology provide specialized training experience. The fellows benefit from the exposure to the busy cardiology clinic experience available at the VA sites where patients can be followed in continuity, thereby greatly enhancing the fellow’s education. The socioeconomic diversity of the patient population adds depth to training a compassionate and socially conscious physician.

Overall, between two world class tertiary care centers that have an excellent track record in providing a rich academic environment for medical training with strong educational and research opportunities, the Fellowship Training Program in Cardiovascular Diseases offers an unrivaled opportunity for clinical training and academic growth. The overriding goal is to train future leaders in the field of Cardiovascular Diseases.

Cardiology Fellowship Brochure

For more information, about the cardiology fellowship, please contact:

To learn more about cardiology at Cedars-Sinai, including Cardiology Policies and Procedures , clinical guidelines and grand rounds schedules, visit the Heart Center.