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Lavanya Bellumkonda, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine)
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About

Titles

Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine)

Biography

Dr. Bellumkonda specializes in heart failure and heart transplantation. She has particular expertise in evaluating and managing patients with advanced heart failure. Her research interests encompass risk stratification and evaluating predictors of cardiac recovery and improving long term post-transplant outcomes.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Fellowship
University of Minnesota (2008)
Residency
University of Connecticut (2005)
MD
Kakatiya Medical College (1998)

Research

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Lavanya Bellumkonda's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

Clinical Trials

Current Trials

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    American Society of Transplantation

  • activity

    Community Education Subcommittee- American Society of Transplantation

  • activity

    Junior Faculty and Trainee Clinical Case Dilemmas

  • activity

    Role of Class I and Class II Panel Reactive Antibodies in Predicting Post-Heart Transplant Rejection and Survival in the Current Era

  • activity

    Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Management of Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction

Clinical Care

Overview

As a cardiologist who specializes in advanced heart failure and transplantation, Lavanya Bellumkonda, MD, says offering hope is key when she first meets a patient.

“When someone hears the term ‘heart failure,’ they may think they are dying imminently. I first review the severity of their disease and try to set realistic expectations. A number of patients with heart failure will have improvement in their cardiac function with appropriate medical therapy,” she explains. “If their disease is advanced, they may need a mechanical pump to assist the heart or a heart transplantation, and we discuss the success rates and risks associated with each of these strategies.”

Heart failure describes any kind of dysfunction in the heart that causes a build-up of fluids, resulting in shortness of breath, fatigue, and swelling in the legs. Dr. Bellumkonda says she was drawn to her field because of her fascination with the physiology of the heart and the acuity of cardiac illnesses.

“What I also like about transplant cardiology is that you get to apply all that you learnt in medicine and cardiology,” she says. “Post-transplant, patients often rely on me to manage their medical conditions as well.”

Additionally, Dr. Bellumkonda treats patients with valve disease. “The most common valves affected are the mitral or aortic valves, where these valves get either too tight or too leaky, causing symptoms similar to heart failure,” she says. “At Yale, we treat these patients in a multidisciplinary fashion and provide appropriate recommendations regarding catheter-based interventions and surgery.”

Her research interests include cardiac recovery and cardio-renal reactions in patients with valve disease. “What makes me most happy in my work is when I have cardiac recovery in my patients, meaning they have an improvement in their heart function,” she says. “That makes me feel like I have done my job.”

Clinical Specialties

Cardiovascular Medicine; Heart Failure

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Get In Touch

Contacts

Academic Office Number
Appointment Number
Clinic Fax Number
Mailing Address

Cardiovascular Medicine

333 Cedar St., PO Box 20817

New Haven, CT 06520

United States

Locations

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