Katherine Clark, MD, MBA, is a cardiologist who specializes in advanced heart failure and transplant. She takes care of patients with heart failure as well as those who have received or are being considered for heart transplantation and left ventricular assist devices (LVADs).
Dr. Clark says she was drawn to her field from the time she was a child. When her grandmother was diagnosed with heart failure in the 1990s, she was initially told she was a ticking time bomb and there was little to do; but once she found a heart failure specialist, she was treated with multiple new medications for that time, which ultimately gave her another 20 years.
“I would help her manage her medicines and go on frequent walks between her cardiac rehab sessions,” Dr. Clark says. “I was fortunate to grow up with her, and I’d often attend her heart failure appointments. She, as well as my entire family, greatly valued our relationship with her heart failure physician, and that made a strong impression on me.”
As a result of growing up being exposed to life with heart failure, Dr. Clark says the best part of my job is the ability to make a difference by improving a patient’s quality of life, while developing relationships with patients and their families.
“I explain to patients that with heart failure, the pump function of their heart has weakened, and by working together as a team, we have a great toolbox of medicines and devices to make the heart function stronger. And in looking forward, many exciting new developments are in the pipeline,” she says.
She also strongly values the team-oriented nature of caring for patients with heart failure, working together with nurses, pharmacists, transplant and LVAD coordinators, cardiac surgeons, and social workers to deliver comprehensive care.
Dr. Clark’s research interests include leveraging innovation through new therapies, technology such as advanced imaging modalities, and payment and care delivery models to improve treatment with heart failure. “We are at an exciting time in the field, as numerous innovations are happening along many avenues,” she says.
At Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Clark is an assistant professor of cardiology.
