About
Titles
Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
Director CME, Section of Cardiology, Internal Medicine; Co-Director Limb Preservation Program, Yale New Haven Health System; Co-Director Vascular Outcomes Program, Internal Medicine; Primary Member, Yale Institutional Review Board; Member, Yale School of Medicine Progress Committee; Medical Director Vascular Medicine - YNHH, Internal Medicine
Positions outside Yale
Consultant, Center For Devices and Radiological Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Honorary Clinical Reader in Centre, Clinical Pharmacology in the William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University; Interventional Cardiology Item-Writing Task Force, Task Force, American Board Of Internal Medicine
Appointments
Cardiovascular Medicine
Associate Professor on TermPrimaryPsychiatry
Associate Professor on TermSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Accelerating Leadership Potential Program
- Yale New Haven Health System (2022)
- Master Mentor Training Program
- Yale University (2022)
- Advanced Interventional Cardiology fellowship: Coronary and Peripheral Vascular Interventions
- Yale- New Haven Hospital / Yale University (2010)
- Cardiology Fellowship
- Yale-New Haven Hospital / Yale University (2008)
- Chief Medical Resident
- Yale-New Haven Hospital / Yale University (2006)
- Residency
- Yale-New Haven Hospital / Yale University (2005)
- Internship
- Yale-New Haven Hospital / Yale University (2003)
- MD
- University of Antioquia Medical School (1999)
Research
Overview
Research interest is centered around closing the knowledge gap that exist in the management of patients with vascular disease. Specific focus in patients with carotid disease, lower extremity PAD, patient reported outcomes. Participated in large device RCT's looking to determine safety and efficacy. Have been national and regional PI. Also have published extensively on the topic.
Medical Research Interests
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Carlos Mena, MD, is an interventional cardiologist, Director of the Peripheral Vascular Disease Program, and the Co-director of the Vascular Medicine Outcomes Program (VAMOS) at Yale Medicine. He specializes in using minimally invasive procedures to treat conditions in the heart and peripheral vascular system.
Minimally invasive procedures allow doctors to deliver therapies to patients through a catheter threaded through a specific artery, rather than opening the patient’s chest and performing open heart surgery. These procedures allow patients to recover faster and return to their normal lives more quickly. “It’s very gratifying that we’re able to completely change someone’s outcomes within minutes,” says Dr. Mena.
Dr. Mena arrived at Yale for his medical internship in 2001 and stayed on as a resident. He continued at Yale as a fellow, and was recruited to run the vascular medicine program in 2010. Over the years, Dr. Mena has built up the program’s clinical and research programs to be one of the best in the country.
In order to treat his patients effectively, Dr. Mena believes in developing strong relationships with them so that they can feel comfortable telling him about their conditions and asking him questions. “I want them to know that I genuinely care,” he says. “It also allows patients to really get to what is bothering them, what the real issues are, and how best to fix them.”
Dr. Mena also believes in explaining conditions and treatments in easy-to-understand language. As an example, a metaphor that Dr. Mena likes to use for himself is that of a plumber. “That’s something patients can relate to,” he says. “There is a blockage, and I’m going to do it like a plumber would—we’ll go in and fix it.”
In addition to treating patients, Dr. Mena and his colleagues at the peripheral vascular disease program conduct research on treatments for carotid stenosis, a condition that narrows the blood vessels in the neck that carry blood from the heart to the brain, and limb ischemia, a condition that causes severe blockage in the arteries of the lower extremities.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)
Learn More on Yale MedicinePeripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
Learn More on Yale MedicineAtherosclerosis
Learn More on Yale MedicineCarotid Artery Disease Imaging
Learn More on Yale Medicine
Board Certifications
Interventional Cardiology
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Latest Certification Date
- 2020
- Original Certification Date
- 2010
Cardiovascular Disease
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Latest Certification Date
- 2019
- Original Certification Date
- 2009
Yale Medicine News
News
News
- November 05, 2024
Yale Researchers at American Heart Association Scientific Session 2024
- September 10, 2024
Microvasculature Imaging Shows Promise for Peripheral Artery Disease Management
- August 14, 2024
Peripheral Artery Disease Treatment: Changing the Status Quo
- August 05, 2024
AHA Says Renal Denervation Is an Effective Hypertension Treatment