Lowell Satler, MD, is Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Training and Educational Center and Director of Coronary Interventions at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. Dr. Satler was one of the key physicians in the launch of the Structural Heart Disease Program, which advocates the use of percutaneous techniques to treat valvular disorders when standard surgery is not recommended.
In collaboration with Children's National Medical Center, he developed the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program -- the only program in the region designed to follow patients with congenital heart defects from birth to adulthood. This program is fully staffed by congenital heart cardiologists to meet stringent requirements for multidisciplinary care.
In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Satler is an active investigator and serves as principal investigator for 21 interventional cardiology research protocols to improve patient outcomes in the treatment of coronary artery disease, congenital heart disease, carotid artery diseases, and other conditions.
In collaboration with AT&T, Dr. Satler developed CodeHeart, a wireless application that allows physicians to view ECGs and participate in real-time videoconferencing over a secure network. This technology was designed to improve heart attack diagnoses in the field, but can be used in all aspects of medical care to facilitate communication between experts and remote locations, thus enhancing treatment provided by first responders and shortening patient waiting time for treatment.
Dr. Satler writes and publishes extensively on the topic of invasive cardiology. His repertoire includes more than 300 scholarly publications in peer-reviewed journals and nearly 400 abstracts. In addition, he serves on the editorial boards of several cardiology journals, including the Journal of the American College of Cardiology,Catheterization and Cardiovascular Intervention, and the Journal of Invasive Cardiology. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the American College of Cardiology, the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Physicians.
Dr. Satler earned his medical degree from Albany Medical College in New York. He completed a residency in Medicine at Albany Medical Center and a Cardiology Fellowship at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, AL.
Research Interests
Dr. Satler's research interests include
Interventional cardiologyCongenital heart defectsCoronary artery diseaseCarotid artery diseaseTime to treatmentPercutaneous techniquesCardiovascular diseaseCardiac surgerySelected Research
Comparison of outcome of higher versus lower transvalvular gradients in patients with severe aortic stenosis and low (<40%) left ventricular ejection fraction
As part of a group of authors, Dr. Satler studied left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). The resulting article (Am J Cardiol. 2012 Jan 16.) described the clinical course of the patients. The authors found that patients with severe AS and low ejection fraction with low transvalvular gradients were at higher risk compared with patients with high transvalvular gradients. Surgery or transcatheter aortic valve implantation treatment and high baseline transvalvular gradient were associated with improved ejection fraction.
Fluoroscopy use and left anterior descending artery angiography to guide transapical access in patients with prior cardiac surgery
Patients with severe AS and prior cardiac surgery undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) are at high risk. Transapical AVR may reduce risk when the transfemoral approach is not suitable. A group of researchers, including Dr. Satler, described the fluoroscopy and left anterior descending artery angiography guidance technique for transapical AVR access and the initial results in an article published in Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine (2011 Dec 15). The authors concluded that the use of fluoroscopy and angiography for guidance of the transapical approach facilitates safe, rapid access to the apex.
Research Areas
- Cardiovascular