in the spotlight John Cooke, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine), was recently awarded a multi-year grant from the National Heart Lung Blood Institute (NHLBI) to study the Genetic Determinants of Peripheral Arterial Disease.  This study is designed to elucidate genetic determinants which increase the propensity of an individual to develop hemodynamically significant atherosclerosis in the arteries of the lower extremity. The Cooke Laboratory's approach is to focus on genes that are known to play an important role in the function of blood vessels.  Common variants of these genes (called single nucleotide polymorphisms)  may alter vascular function.  The study will determine which of these gene variants are found more commonly in people with peripheral arterial disease.  More information about this study More information about the Vascular Medicine and Biology program

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine

The Cardiovascular Division is one of the largest academic and clinical units within the Department of Medicine.  The division provides clinical services to more than 250,000 patients annually through Stanford University Medical Center and the Palo Alto Veterans Affiars Health Care System.  We deliver compassionate and cutting-edge preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic services to patients in the coronary care unit, inpatient cardiology service, cardiovascular clinic, cardiac catherization and interventional laboratories, echocardiography laboratory, electrophysiology laboratory, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) service. As a result, cardiac services at Stanford is consistently ranked among the top ten in the the nation and number one in the West by U.S. News and World Report .

Members of the Cardiovascular Division are actively engaged in research activities in the basic, clinical, and translational sciences. A number of clinical trials are currently underway in such areas as interventional cardiology, heart failure, and clinical electrophysiology. In 2000, Stanford was awarded a $24 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to establish the Reynolds Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center at Stanford . The center is helping to enhance patient care by incorporating modern genetic approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of atherosclerotic heart disease.

We invite you to learn more about our clinical services, research activities, and training programs throughout the following pages.