What if...
For generations, Emory Heart & Vascular has led the way in treatments, interventions, and research to better help people living with heart failure, arrhythmia, high blood pressure, vascular disease and many other serious conditions. Our teams embody a unique combination of deep compassion and limitless innovation, which weaves into everything we do – diagnostics, therapies, surgery, clinical trials, routine care. In fact, we think that the key to everything we do – and our long history of milestones in heart and vascular care – boils down to this simple, uniting factor: our amazing people.
To capture the humanity that makes this place so special, we decided to try something new. What would happen if we invited 12 accomplished team members to interview each other on camera in pairs – and just let the cameras roll, letting their back-and-forth go where it may?
What resulted is a collection of 16 free-flowing, fascinating, and substantive conversations between cardiothoracic surgeons, preventive cardiologists, sports medicine physicians and others. These in-depth dialogues covered more ground than we ever could have imagined, providing insight and more than a few laughs.
Discover, through the personal recollections below, why our doctors chose cardiology. What they’re proudest of. What they wish they’d known when they started. The best and worst advice they ever received, how they’ve learned to live with ambiguity, and how they connect with patients and families on a personal level.
So, sit back and immerse yourself in these heart-to-heart conversations between Emory Heart & Vascular physicians, and learn what makes these talented cardiovascular experts tick.
The Heart to Heart Series was created, directed & edited by Alexis Hauk
Videography by Damon Meharg
Design and photo editing by Greta High
Co-written by Leigh Wilkins and Alexis Hauk
What's On The Menu
(Simply click on a topic that interests you, or keep scrolling for more.)
The Power of Patient-Centered Care
Vasilis Babaliaros, MD • Peter Block, MD • Divya Gupta, MD • Puja Mehta, MD • Andy Smith, MD • Nanette Wenger, MD
Peter Block, MD, and Vasilis Babaliaros, MD; Interventional Cardiologists
Keeping Patients at the Heart of Their Practice
Longtime colleagues Peter Block, MD, and Vasilis Babaliaros, MD, explore the day-to-day challenges of their work as interventional cardiologists and reflect on the importance of keeping patients at the center of everything they do.
“I feel a very strong connection with patients and their families as if we’re one big community. This connection is the most important. When I am connected with the patient, I am at my best.”
As co-director of the Emory Healthcare Structural Heart & Valve Center, Babaliaros leads a team that is constantly developing and refining surgical procedures that save lives. He has more than 15 years of experience in interventional cardiology and was one of the first surgeons to perform transaortic valve replacement surgery.
“There’s something about caring for somebody—making them better, seeing them get better—that really makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something. And if, at the end of the day, the patient is able to say, ‘Thank you, you’ve helped me,’ that’s about all you can ask for in medicine.”
Cardiology Today credits Block with helping create the subspecialty of structural heart disease, which focuses on conditions affecting the heart’s valves, walls, chambers and muscles. Block helped pioneer early surgical techniques that led to today’s advanced, minimally invasive valve replacement surgeries. Now retired, he is a professor emeritus at Emory University School of Medicine.
Peter Block, MD, as an intern at Mass General in the 1960s.
Peter Block, MD, as an intern at Mass General in the 1960s.
Vasilis Babaliaros, MD, prepping for surgery
Vasilis Babaliaros, MD, prepping for surgery
“We’re always thankful to the patients that are courageous and willing to try some of these new techniques.”
Left: Andy Smith, MD, with his parents in 2004. Dr. Smith's father retired from cardiology this year at age 92. Right: Dr. Smith with his son Graham, a cardiology resident carrying on the family tradition.
Left: Andy Smith, MD, with his parents in 2004. Dr. Smith's father retired from cardiology this year at age 92. Right: Dr. Smith with his son Graham, a cardiology resident carrying on the family tradition.
Divya Gupta, MD, and Andy Smith, MD; Heart Failure and Transplantation Specialists
Caring for People Experiencing Their Darkest Moments
As physicians specializing in heart failure and transplantation, Divya Gupta, MD, and Andy Smith, MD, care for people who are sick and scared and often feel alone.
It’s letting them know that we’re going to do this together. They’re not alone on this journey. We’ll be with them every step of the way.”
Gupta is a dedicated researcher and clinician who has dedicated her career to treating patients with heart failure. She is developing novel strategies to help patients better understand and manage their disease and enjoy better, longer lives.
“It’s not that the patient is here, and we’re there, telling them what to do. It’s more like the problem is here, and we’re working through the barriers together.”
Smith is the clinical chief of cardiology at Emory University Hospital. In addition to providing exceptional patient care, he is a researcher focusing on the clinical management of patients with congestive heart failure, including the use of implanted devices to improve heart function and monitor patient status.
"Patients aren’t alone in this journey. We are there with them every step of the way."
Emory Healthcare is the only health care system in Georgia to perform 1,000 transplants.
Cardiologists Nanette Wenger, MD, and Puja Mehta, MD, on the Importance of Personal Touch
Nanette Wenger, MD, and Puja Mehta, MD, love taking advantage of all the bells and whistles of cardiology practice—the high-tech imaging, the biometric monitors, the genetic testing. But they know the real magic happens when talking to patients face to face. That conversation and a physical exam often can yield more meaningful information than the fanciest equipment in the room.
Wenger is a renowned cardiologist and leader in the field. She was one of the first doctors to focus on heart disease in women, a condition once thought to primarily affect men. In 2009, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology. Wenger is a professor emerita at Emory University School of Medicine.
Mehta provides outstanding care for people with heart disease and helps them improve their heart health with exercise, good nutrition, stress reduction and meditation. Her research interests include women and cardiovascular disease, along with the diagnosis and treatment of coronary microvascular dysfunction and ischemic heart disease.
Finding Our Calling
Divya Gupta, MD • Ijeoma Isiadinso, MD • Jonathan Kim, MD • Gina Lundberg, MD • Brandon Mines, MD • Andy Smith, MD
Two Heart Failure and Transplantation Specialists Reflect on the Forces That Shaped Their Careers
Divya Gupta, MD, started out as an engineering student before shifting gears to pursue a career in medicine.
Andy Smith, MD, was inspired by his dad, an Emory-trained cardiologist whose example led his son to follow in those generational footsteps.
When Safety Counts
Sports cardiologist Jonathan Kim, MD, collaborates with sports medicine specialist Brandon Mines, MD, and other Emory sports medicine physicians to get injured athletes back in the game.
Some physicians choose their specialty because they love the science behind it, others because of a family member’s personal experience with illness. Kim and Mines chose sports-related specialties because of a desire to care for athletes at every level of competition.
“Sports cardiology is a relatively new field. It began back in the 1980s when our country began to recognize the importance of preventing sudden cardiac death in young, otherwise healthy, athletes."
“In sports medicine, you have people with injuries who are committed to exercising and being healthy. They are motivated to heal and return to the sport they love.”
These dedicated physicians enjoy the challenge of diagnosing and treating complex injuries and getting athletes back to the sport they love. They’re also fans who cheer on those athletes, whether at a high school basketball game or from the sidelines at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Sports cardiologist Jonathan Kim, MD, plays many roles: Dad and husband (shown here doing the tourist thing in DC), media spokesperson, and of course, heart expert and care provider on playing fields far and wide.
Sports cardiologist Jonathan Kim, MD, plays many roles: Dad and husband (shown here doing the tourist thing in DC), media spokesperson, and of course, heart expert and care provider on playing fields far and wide.
Sports medicine physician Brandon Mines, MD, approaches his calling a lot like the postal service -- neither rain, nor slow, nor sleet, nor hail...
Sports medicine physician Brandon Mines, MD, approaches his calling a lot like the postal service -- neither rain, nor slow, nor sleet, nor hail...
In Praise of Parental and Academic Guidance
Ijeoma Isiadinso, MD, had two parents in health care. Her dad was a nephrologist and her mom was a nurse, and both encouraged her grade school aspirations of becoming a doctor. She began to consider cardiology in college while working in a telemetry unit—wisely ignoring an older physician’s advice to choose a specialty more suited to women.
During medical school, Isiadinso was drawn to the field of preventive cardiology as a way to impact health care outcomes and change lives.
“I’m happy now that there is a bigger focus on social determinants of health. That is sort of righting the ship to focus more on all the other factors that impact health care outcomes and hopefully can result in some change.”
Gina Lundberg, MD, grew up loving math and science and dreaming of working at Zoo Atlanta. Until one day, when a pre-med advisor suggested she become a medical doctor instead. That “far-off and crazy idea” led to a summer internship at what is now Emory Decatur Hospital—and the rest is history.
Lundberg was the first person in her family to graduate from college and the first to become a doctor.
“My summer internship in 1986 was in the dark ages of cardiology. We didn’t really have angioplasty. Patients were in bed for days and days and got lidocaine drips.”
Preventive cardiologists Ijeoma Isiadinso, MD, and Gina Lundberg, MD, have been colleagues and pals for years.
Preventive cardiologists Ijeoma Isiadinso, MD, and Gina Lundberg, MD, have been colleagues and pals for years.
Lights! Camera! Medicine!
What do our cardiologists like to do after a long day at work? Watch a great movie, of course.
Vasilis Babaliaros, MD • Peter Block, MD • Ijeoma Isiadinso, MD • Gina Lundberg, MD
Silver Screen Inspiration
Interventional Cardiologists by Day, Movie Critics by Night
Peter Block, MD, and Vasilis Babaliaros, MD, compare notes on their favorite flicks.
- Block encouraged his children to follow the advice of Col. Saito Yamashita in “Bridge on the River Kwai”: Be happy in your work.
- Babaliaros considers his career a calling—like Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) in “Men in Black.”
A Nod to Dr. Richard Kimble
Babaliaros and Block find inspiration in Harrison Ford’s character in “The Fugitive,” who was wrongly accused but never abandoned his humanity.
Primetime Heroes
What Do “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” and “Quincy, M.E.,” Have in Common?
Learn why cardiologists Gina Lundberg, MD, and Ijeoma Isiadinso, MD, find inspiration in these popular TV shows from yesteryear.
- Isiadinso joined Emory in 2010 and serves as medical director of the Emory Healthcare Center for Heart Disease Preventive.
- Lundberg helped establish the Emory Healthcare Women’s Heart Center, a program uniquely dedicated to screening, preventing and treating heart disease in women. She serves as the center’s clinical director.
"Frontier of Medicine," Indeed
Isiadinso has been known to binge-watch “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” She is also a crime podcast superfan. Lundberg wonders if, like Dr. Quinn, the lady doctor made famous by actress Jane Seymour, she could survive a bear attack.
So Many Sports Movies. Jonathan Kim, MD, and Brandon Mines, MD, Can’t Choose Just One
- Jonathan Kim, MD, has become a national leader in the fast-growing field of sports cardiology. In addition to treating athletes with heart issues in the clinical setting, he is the head cardiologist for many local sports teams, including the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons.
- Brandon Mines, MD, is a family medicine and sports medicine physician whose clinical interests include sports injuries, concussion management and ultrasound imaging. He is the lead physician for the Atlanta Dream and an associate team physician for the Atlanta Hawks.
Tune in as these colleagues rank their all-time favorite sports movies, from “Rudy” to “Bull Durham.” Find out which movie was filmed in Mines’ hometown (and features him as an extra) and which movie’s last scene still gives Kim all the feels.
Jonathan Kim, MD, gets goosebumps whenever he watches Kurt Russell’s inspirational speech in Miracle on Ice.
Brandon Mines, MD, has a soft spot for Kingpin, one of the world’s few bowling movies.
A Long Tradition of Care for Women
Puja Mehta, MD • Nanette Wenger, MD
Nanette Wenger, MD
Nanette Wenger, MD, was one of the first women to graduate from Harvard Medical School. That was almost 70 years ago when experts believed heart disease was virtually a non-issue for women. How times have changed. Today, we know that heart disease is the leading threat to women in the U.S. and is responsible for about one in every five female deaths.
“In about 2014, for the first time, fewer women in this country died every year from cardiovascular disease than men. And as I’ve said before, we are delighted to be in second place, and we hope to stay there.”
Wenger’s steadfast dedication to reducing women’s disability and death from cardiovascular disease has made her one of the country’s most respected experts on coronary heart disease in women.
Puja Mehta, MD
Mehta is the director of women’s translational cardiovascular research. One of her areas of interest is studying the relationship between mental stress and heart disease in women.
“Electronic medical records are a goldmine of data and information that could transform care. We just have to be able to figure out how to leverage it.”
About half of the patients seen in a cardiology practice are women.
Clockwise from top-left: Nanette Wenger, MD, at a teaching conference in 1977; participating in a TV interview in 1976; at her daughter's wedding in 2003; accepting the Distinguished Spirit of the Heart award at Association of Black Cardiologists Gala in 2017.
Clockwise from top-left: Nanette Wenger, MD, at a teaching conference in 1977; participating in a TV interview in 1976; at her daughter's wedding in 2003; accepting the Distinguished Spirit of the Heart award at Association of Black Cardiologists Gala in 2017.
This throwback group photo of the department of medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital demonstrates a glaring absence of women -- all except one, Nanette Wenger, MD, seen front and center.
This throwback group photo of the department of medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital demonstrates a glaring absence of women -- all except one, Nanette Wenger, MD, seen front and center.
Puja Mehta, MD, focuses her research on women and cardiovascular disease, along with the diagnosis and treatment of coronary microvascular dysfunction and ischemic heart disease.
Puja Mehta, MD, focuses her research on women and cardiovascular disease, along with the diagnosis and treatment of coronary microvascular dysfunction and ischemic heart disease.
The Care You Need, Where You Need It
Ijeoma Isiadinso, MD • Gina Lundberg, MD
Many Patients Would Drive Hours to Atlanta for a Cardiology Appointment. But They Shouldn’t Have To.
Gina Lundberg, MD, and Ijeoma Isiadinso, MD, are among the many Emory Healthcare cardiologists who see patients at multiple clinics throughout the state. Listen in as they discuss why (and it’s not because they love highway driving). And learn some of their ideas for easing the impending physician shortage.
Isiadinso joined Emory in 2010 and serves as medical director of the Emory Center for Heart Disease Prevention.
Gina Lundberg is renowned for her commitment to women’s heart health. But recently, she added a new passion to the list: rural medicine.
There’s Nothing Like an Aortic Emergency
Yazan Duwayri, MD • Brad Leshnower, MD
In this wide-ranging conversation between the two co-directors of the Emory Aortic Center, close colleagues—cardiothoracic surgeon Brad Leshnower, MD, and vascular surgeon Yazan Duwayri, MD—talk about how they make their multidisciplinary center work, how they bring together and motivate complex teams of professionals, and what got them here. They share some moving, personal stories along the way.
How do they manage stress and pressure, especially during emergency procedures? Duwayri says it’s all about building your team up.
And what kind of music does one listen to in the operating room? For Leshnower, it depends on the day. Sometimes it’s rock. Maybe country. And sometimes—on special occasions—a bit of heavy metal.
“I think what really brings me back to aortic surgery is the patients themselves and their families. It is very satisfying to see patients recover from an otherwise fatal problem.”
Duwayri is the interim chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy and co-director of the Emory Aortic Center.
"I enjoy caring for complex aortic patients together with Duwayri because we come at it from two different skill sets but are trying to achieve the same goal. So we can get out of our own fixed mindsets of how to treat the patient.”
Leshnower is director of thoracic aortic surgery for Emory Healthcare and co-director of the Emory Aortic Center.
Emory Aortic Center is one of the highest-volume aortic programs in the United States.
A Winning Combination
Jonathan Kim, MD • Brandon Mines, MD*
Caring for Injured Athletes is a Team Effort
When an athlete suffers an injury, an entire team of specialists is available to help—whether that athlete is a pro quarterback or a weekend pickleball player. Listen in as sports cardiologist Jonathan Kim, MD, and sports medicine physician Brandon Mines, MD*, discuss what it’s like to rally around injured athletes and get them back on the field of play.
These experts (and sports fans) touch on a variety of topics, from the importance of tending to mental health to a new emphasis on trusting that athletes can make informed decisions about their future.
“A multitude of people are heavily involved in the athlete’s care. We’re really putting the athlete at the top of the pyramid.”
Kim is part of the Emory Healthcare Sports Cardiology Program, which works with athletes at risk for or diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.
"When the athlete is right there in a room, you think, ‘Whoa, I know this guy, he’s a big deal.’ You might be freaking out inside just a little bit, but you’ve just got to stay calm—calm is contagious, as they say.”
Mines, a sports medicine physician, works in both professional and collegiate sports settings, serving in the role of Medical Director for the athletic department at Clark Atlanta University.
*Brandon Mines, MD is no longer employed at Emory Healthcare.
What’s the Most Important Thing to Remember When Treating an Injured Star Athlete? Hint: Remain Calm.
There’s no time to get starstruck when a top athlete passes out at practice or experiences chest pain. At moments like this, sports cardiologist Jonathan Kim, MD, reminds himself to treat the athlete as he would any other patient: with concern and professionalism.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m seeing the star of the team or the last person on the roster. That’s a human being, and they don’t want to be treated differently than anyone else.”
In this segment, sports cardiologist Jonathan Kim, MD, and sports medicine physician Brandon Mines, MD, discuss the importance of understanding the injured athlete’s needs and communicating with them and their team. They also share the No. 1 thing you can do to prevent sudden cardiac death.
Investing in Colleagues Through Mentorship
Vasilis Babaliaros, MD • Peter Block, MD • Divya Gupta, MD • Puja Mehta, MD • Andy Smith, MD • Nanette Wenger, MD
He Helped Her Find Her Life’s Work
Divya Gupta, MD, was planning to become an interventional cardiologist until she began working with Andy Smith, MD, and Raja Laskar, MD, during her cardiovascular disease fellowship at Emory Healthcare. Inspired by their expertise treating patients with heart failure, she soon realized this was the specialty for her.
“I realized I could take care of very sick people and give them an opportunity at life.”
Smith and Gupta work together at Emory Healthcare's Advanced Heart Failure Therapy Center.
“I think the great thing is we have people who train under us, and then they become our colleagues, and then they become the experts we go to.”
Here, Divya Gupta, MD, and Andy Smith, MD, reflect on over a decade of working together and encourage trainees to get comfortable with not knowing all the answers.
The first time she worked with Smith, Gupta passed out at a patient’s bedside.
A Warm Welcome
Puja Mehta, MD, remembers nervously emailing Nanette Wenger, MD, as a young medical resident—and the relief she felt when Wenger welcomed her to Emory with a warm smile.
“My first bit of advice for younger trainees is to value yourself because you’ve gotten to where you are because you are skilled, you have learned, and you have something to contribute.”
Almost 15 years later, Mehta describes Wenger as “an amazing mentor,” crediting her with inspiring many women to become cardiologists.
“What I love about academic medicine is the fact that you really have to stay on your toes to teach residents, interns and students.”
Here, the two colleagues discuss their early days in medicine and reflect on how far the field of cardiology has come in recognizing the unique needs of women with heart disease. They also impart advice to help young physicians become lifelong learners and build resilience.
A Years-Long Working Relationship
Long before he met Vasilis Babaliaros, MD, Peter Block, MD, was helping establish the subspecialty of structural heart disease. Throughout his career, he mentored countless colleagues, including Babaliaros. The two men worked side by side at the Structural Heart & Valve Center until Block retired.
“We had a lot of fun that first month working together because we realized we could do things efficiently and do them rather well.”
Block and Babaliaros came to Emory Healthcare in 2000 at different stages in their careers. Block was a seasoned interventional cardiologist recruited to build up the cardiology clinical research program; Babaliaros was a young interventional cardiology fellow. After just a few weeks of working together, Block realized they made a great team. Eventually, these two men helped establish what would later become Emory’s Structural Heart & Valve Center.
“What really struck me is that you took an interest in me, which I had not realized until later.”
In this clip, Babaliaros recalls Block’s resemblance to a favorite uncle, asks about his aversion to boredom and reflects on how their relationship helped guide his career. And Block, now professor emeritus at Emory University School of Medicine, reveals the quality that impressed him most about Babaliaros all those years ago.
Emory Healthcare Can Help.
Our Heart & Vascular Center is nationally recognized for treating complex heart conditions using the most advanced treatment options and therapies. Make an appointment with one of our experts by calling 404-778-7667.
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