INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Vijay U. Rao, MD, PhD, has been elected a Fellow of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) – the first and only cardiologist to receive such recognition in Indiana.
The Fellowship designation is based on outstanding credentials, achievements, and contributions to heart failure clinical practice, research, publications, and educational expertise. HFSA promotes research related to all aspects of heart failure and provides a forum for presentation of basic, clinical and population-based research.
A member of Franciscan Physician Network Indiana Heart Physicians (IHP), Dr. Rao practices at Franciscan Health Indianapolis and Decatur County Memorial Hospital. He is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, and advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology.
Dr. Rao received his undergraduate degree in biology from DePauw University and earned his medical degree at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He completed an internal medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center and later completed fellowships in cardiology and echocardiography at the University of California (San Francisco), where he also was a clinical instructor in cardiology. Dr. Rao also has a PhD in molecular and cellular biology and pathobiology from the University of South Carolina.
He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography
Dr. Rao is widely published in professional journals and continues to perform cutting-edge research as the Director of Cardiovascular Research at Franciscan Health Indianapolis.
He was instrumental in helping to establish an inpatient heart failure unit and coordinating heart failure care to reduce heart failure readmissions. Dr. Rao also played a key role in launching a cardio-oncology clinic that promotes collaboration between oncologists and cardiologists to help cancer patients successfully complete their cancer treatment with the goal of minimizing potential cardio-toxic effects of certain chemotherapy drugs.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Rao or another cardiologist at Decatur County Memorial Hospital, call 800-992-2081.