Email

hamida@bcm.edu

Positions

Professor

Medicine-Cardiology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Associate Director

Electrophysiology Fellowship Progam
Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center

Director, Research and Innovation

Baylor College of Medicine

Addresses

Baylor Medicine - McNair Campus (Clinic)

7200 Cambridge Street
Suite 6C
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 798-2545

Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center (Hospital)

2002 Holcombe Blvd
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 791-1414

Education

MD from Tehran University Medical School

01/1988 - Tehran, Iran

Residency at Tehran University of Medical Sciences

08/1991 - Tehran, Iran

Fellowship at Tehran University of Medical Sciences

08/1994 - Tehran, Iran

Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital

07/1999 - Houston, Texas United States

Research Fellowship in Electrophysiology Services

Clinical Fellowship at Ochsner Clinic Foundation

07/2000 - New Orleans, Louisiana United States

Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship

Residency at Ochsner Clinic Foundation

07/2003 - New Orleans, Louisiana United States

Internal Medicine Residency

Fellowship at Ochsner Clinic Foundation

07/2006 - New Orleans, Louisiana United States

Cardiology Fellowship

Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Heart Institute

07/2007 - Houston, Texas United States

Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship

Certifications

Board Certified - Internal Medicine

American Board of Internal Medicine

Board Certified - Cardiovascular Disease

American Board of Internal Medicine

Board Certified - Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology

American Board of Internal Medicine

Honors & Awards

Principal Investigator - Multicenter Randomized SMART-CRT Study

Boston Scientific

STAR Award - Excellence in Patient Care (2021)

Baylor College of Medicine

Professional Interests

• Cardiac Electrophysiology
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Catheter Ablation of Complex Arrhythmias and Implantation of Cardiac Rhythm Devices
• Laser Lead Extraction
• Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion

Professional Statement

Dr. Afshar is a well-trained and experienced electrophysiologist with double training in Iran and the U.S. He joined the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and Ben Taub Hospital as a cardiac electrophysiologist in 2007. With expertise and clinical excellence in electrophysiology, he assumed the role of Associate Director of the Electrophysiology Services at the Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center in 2010.
Dr. Afshar devotes much of his time to clinical practice and the electrophysiology lab. He is engaged in utilizing cutting edge innovations in his practice for treatment of patients. He is the first physician in the VA health care system, nationwide, to: implant the WATCHMAN device for stroke prevention; implant the first S-ICD for prevention of sudden cardiac death; implant the Respicardia pacemaker for treatment of central sleep apnea; implant the first leadless pacemaker, AVEIR; implant CCM, cardiac modulation pacemaker for the treatment of heart failure.
Despite his busy schedule, he actively teaches fellows in Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine as well as Electrophysiology fellows at St. Luke’s Health.
Dr. Afshar participates in research as the principal investigator of the Multicenter SMART-CRT study at the Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center. He has also received funding from the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) to launch the first nationwide Electrophysiology telehealth service that provides consultations to rural VA clinics to deliver specialty and electrophysiology care to veterans living in rural and remote areas.

Websites

Selected Publications

• Nazir S, Ahuja KR, Ariss RW, Hassanein M, Schurmann P, Koneru S, Afshar H, Giorgberidze I, Moukarbel GV, Jneid H. "Association of acute kidney injury with outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous left atrial appendage closure." Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2021;98(6):E839-E846. Pubmed PMID: 33856101
• Basu-Ray I, Liu J, Jia X, Gold M, Ellenbogen K, DiNicolantonio J, Komócsi A, Vorobcsuk A, Kim J, Afshar H, Lam W, Mathuria N, Razavi M, Rasekh A, Saeed M. "Subcutaneous Versus Transvenous Implantable Defibrillator Therapy: A Meta-Analysis of Case-Control Studies." JACC Clin Electrophysiol. 2017;3(13):1475-1483. Pubmed PMID: 29759827
• Lador A, Peterson LE, Swarup V, Schurmann PA, Makkar A, Doshi RN, DeLurgio D, Athill CA, Ellenbogen KA, Natale A, Koneru J, Dave AS, Giorgberidze I, Afshar H, Guthrie ML, Bunge R, Morillo CA, Kleiman NS, Valderrábano M. "Determinants of outcome impact of vein of Marshall ethanol infusion when added to catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation: A secondary analysis of the VENUS randomized clinical trial.." Heart Rhythm. 2021;18(7):1045-1054. Pubmed PMID: 33482387
• Valderrábano M, Peterson LE, Swarup V, Schurmann PA, Makkar A, Doshi RN, DeLurgio D, Athill CA, Ellenbogen KA, Natale A, Koneru J, Dave AS, Giorgberidze I, Afshar H, Guthrie ML, Bunge R, Morillo CA, Kleiman NS. "Effect of Catheter Ablation With Vein of Marshall Ethanol Infusion vs Catheter Ablation Alone on Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: The VENUS Randomized Clinical Trial.." JAMA. 2020;324(16):1620-1628. Pubmed PMID: 33107945

Languages

Farsi