Overview
Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston offers a fully accredited three-year fellowship in Cardiology for physicians who are board-eligible/certified in internal medicine. The program provides deep exposure to all major subspecialty fields of cardiology including cardiovascular imaging, arrhythmia and electrophysiology, invasive/interventional/structural cardiology, advanced heart failure, heart transplantation and LVAD/mechanical support, clinical cardiology, cardiac intensive care, preventive cardiology and vascular medicine. At the completion of the three-year program, fellows become board-eligible in Cardiovascular Disease.
Cleveland Clinic Florida is a continuum of the long tradition of innovation in cardiac care and research at Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. Distinguished faculty members of the Department of Cardiology are well-published and featured speakers at local and national cardiac meetings. Joint research trials and educational efforts, including elective and mandatory rotations, are shared with Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland.
The facility in Weston, Florida provides state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities including Nuclear Cardiology, PET CT, cardiac computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, a 24-hour Med-Alert acute myocardial infarction program, all contemporary electrophysiological procedures, as well as unique programs in cardiac amyloidosis, cardio-oncology, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The Heart Failure Section is at the forefront of the busiest heart transplant center in the region. A robust structural heart disease program is also available, as well as surgical procedures including minimally invasive and robotic-assisted cardiac surgery.
As a primary and tertiary referral hospital in South Florida, Cleveland Clinic Florida has a diverse mix of patients including many patients of international origin. This provides for a busy and interesting clinical practice and opportunities for research and education. The Department of Cardiology is interested in applicants of all backgrounds for consideration for fellowship training.
The Program
The Cardiology Department at the Cleveland Clinic Florida is a multi-specialty group (currently 21 faculty members) committed to educating and mentoring Cardiology fellows to achieve excellence in patient care, teaching and research and fulfill the requirements for board certification in Adult Cardiology.
Training of Cardiology fellows is done over the course of 3 years at the Cleveland Clinic Florida with the exception of 1 month at Miami Children’s Hospital for Congenital Heart Disease. Fellows participate in the care of acute and chronic cardiac conditions. In the outpatient setting, clinical care in continuity clinics and various subspecialty services focuses on electrocardiography, echocardiography, nuclear stress testing, computed tomography, and pacemaker clinic. Fellows rotate on inpatient hospital services including the general cardiology service (which includes ICU care) and electrophysiology service and participate in a performance of cardiac catheterization and invasive cardiac procedures. In all settings, fellows are exposed to a broad spectrum of cardiac disease states and function independently with supervision in the interpretation and performance of both noninvasive and invasive cardiac procedures. Fellows are also encouraged to participate in research endeavors during the course of their training with support provided for presentations at national meetings or for manuscript submissions.
Education
In addition to education which centers around patient care interactions, the program offers a comprehensive core curriculum of didactic conferences. The fellows are required to attend weekly meetings including Grand Rounds, Board Reviews, EP/ECG conference, In-Training and Echo conferences, as well as bimonthly catheterization and nuclear meetings.
Board Accreditation
Upon satisfactory completion of fellowship training, the fellows apply and must pass the ABIM Cardiovascular Disease Certification Exam. Our Cardiology program holds a nine year (2012-2021) rolling program pass rate of 100%.
Rotations
Consults; Echocardiogram/TEE; Nuclear Cardiology; Electrophysiology; Cardiac CT/MRI; Coronary Catheterization and Peripheral Vascular Disease Interventions; Heart Failure & Transplant; Vascular Medicine; Research; Pediatric Cardiology.
Evaluations
Evaluation of fellow with feedback to fellow at least twice per year.
Evaluation of staff and program at least twice per year.
Goals & Objectives
- Provide fellows with the necessary skills to assess and manage acutely ill patients admitted through the emergency room or in the ICU with a wide range of cardiovascular conditions (including acute MI, aortic syndromes and valve disease and decompensated CHF or arrhythmias).
- Provide fellows with the skills required for assessment of inpatient cardiac conditions and effective communicative skills for interacting with referring health care personnel.
- Provide fellows with the skills needed to perform effective, efficient and compassionate care to patients in the inpatient setting and outpatient clinic.
- Develop proficiency in the interpretation of electrocardiography, echocardiography, nuclear imaging, computed tomography, and cardiac catheterization.
- Develop proficiency in the performance of echocardiography, transesophageal echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, and additional procedures including temporary pacing, IABP, and pericardiocentesis depending on fellow interest.
- Provide opportunities for clinical investigation with mentoring and assistance with presentation and abstract or manuscript submission.
- Facilitate career development plans for each fellow through mentoring or adapting schedules to allow for fulfillment of specific interests.
Benefits
Benefits information including salaries, insurance information and more, can be found by visiting the Graduate Medical Education Benefits page.Staff
Program Director
Staff
- Gian Novaro, MD, Assistant Program Director
- Craig Asher, MD
- David Baran, MD
- Howard Bush, MD
- Mauricio Cohen, MD
- Dan Deac, MD
- Jerry Estep, MD
- Kenneth Fromkin, MD
- Kushal Handa, MD
- Marcelo Helguera, MD
- David Lopez, MD
- Darryl Miller, MD
- Jenny Placido, MD
- Nina Rivera, DO
- Diego Sadler, MD
- David Snipelisky, MD
- Stephen Tobias, MD
- Mauricio Velez, MD
- David Wolinsky, MD
- Li Zhang, MD
Program Coordinator
Gloria Hernandez, BCS
Senior Coordinator
2950 Cleveland Clinic Blvd.
Weston, Florida 33331
Phone: 786.509.0856
Email: hernang1@ccf.org
Current Fellows
Class of 2025
Lawson McDonald, MD
*Chief Cardiology Fellow
Residency: Emory University
Mileydis Alonso, DO
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Florida
Yelenis Seijo De Armas, MD
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Florida
Class of 2026
Feras Alkhalaileh, MD
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Fairview
Gustavo Duarto, MD
Residency: Albert Einstein College of Medicine – Jacobi Medical Center
Vuha Reddi, MD
Residency: Yale School of Medicine – Danbury Hospital
Class of 2027
Bahaa Abdelghaffar, MD
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Fairview
Ryan Geffin, MD
Residency: Baylor College of Medicine
Ari Hadar, MD
Residency: University of South Florida
Radhika Khanna Neicheril, MD
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Florida
Alumni
Class of 2020
- Hardik Bhansali, MD
- Nicholas Ghiloni, DO
Class of 2021
- Nader Hanna, MD
- Luis Hernandez, MD
- Kevin Leung, MD
Class of 2022
- Eduardo Perez, MD
- Jose Sleiman, MD
- Diana Miranda Ruiz, MD
Class of 2023
- Abdullah Sarkar, MD
- Manojna Nimmagadda, MD
Class of 2024
- Antonio Lewis, MD
- Alejandro Sanchez, MD
- Dipan Uppal, MD
