SUMMARY
At Mayo Clinic, Andrew (Drew) N. Rosenbaum, M.D., studies treatments for patients with advanced heart failure, including mechanical heart pumps such as left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) and heart transplantation, to improve symptoms and longevity for patients with cardiovascular disease.
With respect to mechanical heart pumps, Dr. Rosenbaum conducts research focused on understanding how LVADs interact with the heart and circulation, outcomes after LVAD implantation, and therapies to treat issues with LVADs.
For patients who receive heart transplants, Dr. Rosenbaum explores ways to decrease the number of invasive tests and improve care through new methods of treatment. His additional research focuses on outcomes and treatment strategies for patients with cardiac sarcoidosis.
Focus areas
- Improving the physiological compatibility of LVADs. Through collaboration with Mayo Clinic partners and researchers outside the institution, Dr. Rosenbaum is focusing on understanding the interaction between LVADs and native circulation to facilitate improvement in device design and ultimately improve quality of life and outcomes after LVAD implantation.
- Screening modalities for rejection after heart transplantation. Dr. Rosenbaum and Atta Behfar, M.D., Ph.D., are exploring the expression of genes in transplanted hearts to provide a less invasive solution to monitoring for rejection after transplant compared with frequent biopsies.
- Outcomes of cardiac sarcoidosis. Dr. Rosenbaum, along with cardiologists and rheumatologists in Mayo Clinic's Cardiac Sarcoidosis Clinic, are using a large registry to explore risk factors and outcomes of various therapeutic approaches for treatment of cardiac sarcoidosis.
Significance to patient care
Although LVADs can improve longevity and quality of life, extensive work remains to be done to improve functional ability and decrease the rate of rehospitalization for issues that can develop after LVAD implantation. Enhancing the compatibility of the pump with the circulation through understanding of the mechanisms of interaction will improve long-term outcomes for patients who require LVADs. Also, new ways to treat issues after LVAD implantation are being explored to decrease the burdens of living with these devices.
Although receiving a heart transplant improves longevity and quality of life, there is a significant burden of testing, including invasive testing such as heart biopsy, that is required to monitor for signs of rejection. By developing novel approaches that are less invasive and monitoring expression of genes in the transplanted heart, Dr. Rosenbaum aims to decrease the frequency of invasive testing, thereby reducing the risk of complications and burden of care.
Cardiac sarcoid is a rare disorder for which knowledge of risk factors and treatment strategies are limited. By exploring existing experience with cardiac sarcoid and developing personalized approaches to treatment, Dr. Rosenbaum seeks to improve patient outcomes.
Professional highlights
- Recipient, Scholarly Award, Mayo Clinic Transplant Center, 2020-2022
- Recipient, Mihai Gheorghiade Research Award, Northwestern University, 2018