By Merin C. MacDonald
As a teenager, Shruti Hegde, MD, FACC, was interested in understanding the underlying reasons for her family’s history of sudden cardiac arrest at a young age. Her grandfather had died when he was 45 and when she was in high school, her uncle passed away—both as a result of cardiac arrest. “I wanted to know more about why this was happening in my family,” said Dr. Hegde, advanced imaging cardiologist, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, and director of Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiovascular Computer Tomography. “These deaths were so sudden and made me wonder what could have been done to prevent them.”
After graduating from medical school in India, Dr. Hegde moved to Boston, where she completed her internal medicine residency and a cardiovascular fellowship at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine. Driven by her family’s experiences with heart disease, Dr. Hegde was determined to deepen her understanding of the heart. “The heart is unlike any other organ,” she explained. “It has muscle and valves, an intricate electrical system, and its own blood supply—there are so many facets to it. The complexity of this unique organ fascinated me, ultimately leading me to specialize in cardiac CT and MRI to study it in greater depth.”
Advanced imaging such as cardiac CT and cardiac MRI allows physicians to look at the heart arteries without an invasive angiogram. Invasive procedures carry a risk of bleeding and dissection which can lead to cardiac arrest. Cardiac CT is a noninvasive imaging test that allows for accurate diagnosis of coronary artery disease, which is particularly valuable for younger patients. “We’re seeing an increase in younger patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease,” said Dr. Hegde. “Cardiac CT is an excellent tool not only for identifying obstructive disease that may lead to heart attacks but also for assessing early plaque buildup, which can drive plaque progression." She continued, "When treating patients in their forties, preventive therapies become essential for their long-term prognosis. CT enables us to visualize plaque early and initiate timely preventive measures, which is crucial for their future health.”
One of Dr. Hegde’s primary interests is cardiac amyloidosis, an underdiagnosed disease that causes abnormal proteins to build up in the heart which can lead to cardiomyopathy and heart failure if untreated. In a recently funded grant from Pfizer, she aims to enhance screening and early detection of cardiac amyloidosis, particularly the Transthyretin (TTR) type. “We can diagnose cardiac amyloidosis accurately with noninvasive nuclear testing, which includes a simple scan and a blood test,” said Dr. Hegde. “Over the past decade, the field has advanced rapidly—from having no means of diagnosis without a biopsy and no effective treatments to now offering noninvasive testing and therapies that significantly slow disease progression.” She added that treatments are relatively new and more education and awareness are needed to be able to diagnose and treat patients early enough in their disease process. “If a patient has a build-up of these abnormal proteins in their heart muscle and you diagnose them late, the current FDA-approved treatment will not be effective,” she said. To address this, Dr. Hegde is building a multi-disciplinary program in collaboration with nephrology, oncology, neurology, and genetics to help educate physicians. She is particularly focused on engaging primary care providers, hospitalists, and family physicians, aiming to equip them with the knowledge to recognize this condition early and make timely referrals for diagnosis.
Dr. Hegde is also committed to working with trainees so that they receive the training and skills that are necessary for early detection and diagnosis. She has started a nuclear cardiology curriculum for fellows in the Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at UMass Chan Medical School that includes restructured rotations and new didactics. She is also working toward offering advanced cardiac CT and cardiac MRI for the fellows and hopes to create a new fellowship for advanced imaging in the future. Additionally, Dr. Hegde was recently selected to participate in the Women as One CLIMB – Cardio-oncology and ATTR amyloid program which aims to diversify the field of cardiovascular medicine by helping to advance the careers of women cardiologists through various professional opportunities. Through her participation, she aims to bring greater awareness to cardiac amyloidosis to drive innovative clinical care and research.
Dr. Hegde joined the faculty at UMass Chan and UMass Memorial Health in the spring of 2024, after serving as a faculty member, associate program director, and director of the Cardio-oncology and Cardiac Amyloidosis Program at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine since 2020. At UMass Chan/UMMH, she seeks to continue developing her skills as a physician-investigator as she approaches mid-career. “I want to be at an institution that fosters strong inter-departmental collaboration and is supportive of my research and academic interests,” she said. “UMass is a perfect fit for my goals.”
We are delighted that Dr. Hegde has joined us in the Department of Medicine!