Under the direction of Murali Chakinala, MD, the Pulmonary Vascular Service provides inpatient and outpatient management for patients with pulmonary vascular diseases. This service consists of attending physicians (Murali Chakinala, MD, Colleen McEvoy, MD, and Maanasi Samant, MD), a dedicated nurse practitioner, nurse coordinators as well as pulmonary and/or cardiology fellows. We collaborate with numerous other specialists and partner with many vital areas of the medical center, including cardiac catheterization lab, cardiac diagnostics lab, pulmonary rehabilitation unit, vascular interventional radiology, clinical trials unit, and others to provide comprehensive care of patients.
As an accredited Comprehensive Care Center in the national network of Pulmonary Hypertension Care Centers, we provide comprehensive management for patients with pulmonary hypertension. The center currently follows 300+ pulmonary hypertension patients throughout the region. We manage hospitalized patients on designated units in Barnes-Jewish Hospital that are qualified to meet our inpatients’ unique needs. All FDA-approved medications are utilized, including oral, inhaled, and parenteral agents; and numerous investigational protocols are available as part of the service’s focus on clinical research.
The pulmonary vascular service also provides leadership to the Washington University Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Center of Excellence. Working with designated colleagues in Radiology, Otorhinolaryngology, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Hematology, Neurosurgery, and Pediatrics, the service coordinates the comprehensive evaluation and management of patients with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia, including the evaluation of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. The center evaluates up to 100 new HHT patients every year.