Alexandra Lansky, MD, FACC, FAHA, FESC
Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)Cards
About
Titles
Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
Director, Yale Cardiovascular Research Group (YCRG); Director, Heart and Vascular Center Clinical Research Program
Biography
Alexandra J. Lansky, MD, is Professor of Medicine in the section of Cardiology at the Yale School of Medicine and a practicing cardiologist at Yale-New Haven Hospital, in New Haven, CT. Dr. Lansky joined Yale in 2010 as Director of the Yale Heart and Vascular Clinical Research Program and the Cardiovascular Research Center (YCRC), which specializes in the conduct of national and international cardiovascular clinical trials with specific expertise in the evaluation of interventional devices. She most recently received a dual appointment as Chair of Cardiovascular Research at Queen Mary University in London as part of the Yale and London based Barts Heart Center transatlantic research collaboration. From 2004 to 2010 Dr. Lansky was Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Director of Clinical Services at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy, a practicing cardiologist at New York-Presbyterian, and Chief Scientific Officer of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation Clinical Trials Center.Prior to that she was an interventional cardiologist on faculty at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, NY.
She has dedicated her career to leading clinical and angiographic evaluations of more than 500 clinical trials in a broad range of ischemic cardiovascular therapeutic areas, including pharmacologic and interventional device trials, many of which are landmark trials in the field and/or leading to FDA approval in the United States. She has served as the principal investigator on numerous national and international imaging studies, device, DES and neuroprotection trials. Dr. Lansky has authored and coauthored over 500 academic peer-reviewed manuscripts in the fields of interventional cardiology, angiography, and women’s cardiovascular health. She chaired the American Heart Association Statement on Interventions in Women and most recently the Academic Research Consortium defining Neurologic Endpoints in clinical cardiovascular trials.
Dr. Lansky has been recognized for her outstanding clinical research contributions with several prestigious awards including: Masters of Arts Privatim from Yale University in 2017; Thompson Reuter’s 2014 and 2016 “Most influential Scientific Minds for Clinical Medicine”; 2012 Wenger Award of Clinical Excellence in Women’s health, Visiting Professor at Fu Wai Hospital, Bejing, China and Honorary Professor, University College London.
Dr. Lansky is board certified in cardiovascular diseases. A graduate of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA, she received her residency training in internal medicine, cardiology, and interventional cardiology at Washington Hospital Center, Washington DC. Dr. Lansky is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology,the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the Society of Cardiac Angiography and Interventions.
Appointments
Cardiovascular Medicine
ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Fellowship
- Washington Hospital Center (1997)
- Fellowship
- Washington Hospital Center (1997)
- Residency
- Washington Hospital Center (1993)
- MD
- Medical College of Virginia (1990)
- BS
- College of William and Mary (1986)
Research
Overview
My most recent contributions have been to establish the prevalence and clinical implications of ischemic brain injury after endovascular procedures and the need for neuro protection. Through a series of prospective clinical trials (registry and randomized) I established the high prevalence of cerebral embolic complications after trans-aortic valve replacement (>95%) and their neurocognitive and neurologic clinical correlates. I have been investigating several neuroprotection devices to reduce this complication as an adjunct to TAVR. I have served as the principle investigator in all these studies and led an international consensus including FDA for definitions and data standards of neurologic endpoints in clinical trials.
I have also made significant scientific contributions to our understanding of sex-based outcomes in the treatment of coronary artery disease. I led the first AHA sex-specific statement on revascularization in 2004 and last year led a position statements “Sex Disparities in Cardiovascular Device Evaluations: Strategies for Recruitment and Retention of Female Patients in Clinical Device Trials,” proposing strategies to increase the enrollment of women in cardiovascular device trials. I have made numerous original contributions to our understanding of sex-based outcome differences and emphasized the necessity for more enrollment of women in clinical trials.
In addition, I have investigated the role of diabetes in the outcomes of patients with coronary artery disease and plaque vulnerability. I was a lead co-investigator in the landmark Strategies for multivessel revascularization in patients with diabetes FREEDOM Trial, establishing the benefit of bypass surgery in diabetic patients.
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Alexandra Lansky, MD, is a cardiologist who cares for patients both in and out of the hospital, including those in the coronary intensive care unit at Yale New Haven Hospital. She has special expertise in complex coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and valve disease, as well as in women’s heart disease.
Dr. Lansky is the director of the Yale Heart and Vascular Clinical Research Program and the Cardiovascular Research Group, which specializes in national and international cardiovascular clinical trials with specific expertise in the evaluation of interventional devices.
“The decision to be a doctor was inherent in me. No one in my family is a doctor. It was just something that I wanted to do,” Dr. Lansky says. She began her career two decades ago, training in interventional cardiology right around the time doctors were starting to learn about how the technique could help many patients avoid open heart surgery. The minimally invasive approach inserts a catheter, usually in the groin, and threads it up to the heart to replace a defective valve, or to use a balloon to open a blocked artery and place a stent. “Catheterization has completely transformed the way we approach and take care of these patients,” Dr. Lansky says.
As options for catheterization began to improve, she decided to stop performing the procedures and put more time into studying them. “I believe research and clinical care are complementary, so I do both. I think the balance is critical,” she says. Recently comparative studies of surgery versus these new technologies are showing that catheterization is outstanding—even better than surgery in many instances, she says.
Other parts of being a doctor haven’t changed, says Dr. Lansky, adding that one of the best parts of her day as a clinician is getting to know her patients, sometimes over a period of years. She counsels them on lifestyle modifications to help them maintain their heart health. “You develop very good, long-term relationships with patients and you get to know them in wonderful ways,” Dr. Lansky says.
A professor of cardiology at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Lansky holds a dual appointment as chair of cardiovascular research at Queen Mary University in London as part of a Yale and London-based Barts Heart Centre transatlantic research collaboration. She also chaired the American Heart Association Statement on Interventions in Women. In addition, she has served as principal investigator on many national and international studies.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Heart Disease in Women
Learn More on Yale MedicineCoronary Artery Disease (CAD)
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Yale Medicine News
News
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Yale Faculty Present Groundbreaking Clinical Research at the 2024 American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions