Home to the first successful heart transplant in the U.S. in 1968, Stanford has a long history of defining the standard of care in heart and vascular medicine. We later performed the first placement of mechanical support for someone awaiting a transplant.

Our dedication to discovery and innovation attracts some of the nation’s top doctors and drives our continued excellence today.  

Current areas of focus include:

• Finding safe and effective ways to make minimally invasive treatments available for more patients with heart and vascular disease
• Identifying the root causes of heart disease, including its genetic determinants
• Exploring how stem cells can not only treat heart disease but help with individual diagnosis, such as generating heart cells for evaluation from your skin or gums
• Advancing heart-pump technology including the development of a wireless, rechargeable battery and new pump materials with higher blood compatibility
• Developing new cardiovascular revascularization options for patients with multiple prior bypasses, failed angioplasty/stents, or other complications
• Advancing aorta repair and replacement, including non-surgical procedures and hybrid procedures that combine surgical and catheter-based techniques. Our program performs the highest volume of ascending and descending aorta surgeries, with or without stent grafting, in California