Ronald Witteles
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor - Med Center Line, Medicine - Cardiovascular Medicine
Key Documents
Contact Information
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Clinical Offices
Heart Failure Program - CV Medicine 300 Pasteur Drive Falk CVRC Stanford, CA 94305 Tel Work (650) 498-4343 Fax (650) 725-1599
- Academic Offices
Personal Information Email Tel (650) 498-4343Not for medical emergencies or patient use
Professional Overview
Clinical Focus
- Heart Failure
- Amyloidosis
- Cardiotoxicity of Cancer Therapies
- Cardiovascular Disease
Administrative Appointments
- Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Training Program (2011 - present)
- Co-Director, Stanford Amyloid Center (2008 - present)
- Sr. Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Training Program (2009 - 2011)
- Associate Director, Coronary Care Unit (CCU) (2008 - 2009)
Honors and Awards
- David W. Rytand Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching by a Department of Medicine faculty member, Stanford University Department of Internal Medicine (2009, 2010)
- First Author - Selected as one of 15 most important heart failure articles in 2007, Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2008)
- Clinical Research Award, Stanford Univ. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine (2007)
- Timothy F. Beckett, Jr. Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Medicine Fellow, Stanford Univ. Dept. of Internal Medicine (2006)
- Clinical Excellence Award, Stanford University Division of Cardiovascular Medicine (2006)
- National Research Fellowship Award, Heart Failure Society of America (2006)
Professional Education
| Fellowship: | Stanford University School of Medicine CA (2007) |
| Residency: | Stanford University School of Medicine CA (2004) |
| Residency: | Stanford University School of Medicine CA (2003) |
| Board Certification: | Cardiovascular Disease, American Board of Internal Medicine (2007) |
| Board Certification: | Nuclear Cardiology, Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology (2006) |
| Board Certification: | Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine (2003) |
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Internet Links
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
Dr. Witteles' research focuses on three major areas:
1) Cardiac toxicity of cancer therapies -- Studying optimal prevention and treatment strategies for patients who develop heart failure and other cardiac toxicity as a consequence of cancer therapies, as well as studies to better understand the mechanisms/patterns of toxicity for multiple chemotherapeutic agents.
2) Amyloidosis -- As Co-Director of the Stanford Amyloid Center, Dr. Witteles works with a team of investigators to explore novel therapies for amyloidosis and to better understand the mechanisms underlying the disease. This work ranges from clinical trials for multiple types of amyloidosis (AL, ATTR, AA), to defining the role of organ transplantation and pacemakers/defibrillators, to partnering with basic science labs to explore basic principles of pathogenesis.
3) Insulin resistant cardiomyopathy -- Translational research studies to better define the contribution that insulin resistant makes (as a primary contributor) to nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, including PET-imaging studies of myocardial glucose uptake.
Studies of physiology/mechanisms include:
1) Relationship of insulin resistance and nonischemic cardiomyopathy. Myocardial glucose metabolism is assessed with PET imaging before/after pharmacologic interventions.
2) Cardiac resynchronization: Exploration of optimal programming methods for timing intervals with biventricular pacing devices using echocardiography and thoracic impedance measurements.
Clinical trials/studies include:
1) Cancer-therapy related cardiotoxicity: Clinical trials to test novel screening and intervention methods to prevent cancer-therapy associated cardiotoxicity from multiple agents (anthracyclines, trastuzumab, tyrosine kinase inhibitors)
2) Cardiorenal syndrome: A large completed double-blind, randomized clinical trial evaluated the role of nesiritide in treating cardiorenal syndrome. Current ongoing trials include studies of a novel natriuretic-peptide (outpatient study) and an adenosine antagonist (inpatient study).
3) Amyloidosis: Clinical trials of novel therapies for amyloidosis
Publications
- Heart transplantation and cardiac amyloidosis: approach to screening and novel management strategies. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2012; (3): 325-31
- Underestimating cardiac toxicity in cancer trials: lessons learned? J Clin Oncol. 2012; (16): 1916-8
- Use and overuse of left ventriculography. Am Heart J. 2012; (4): 617-23.e1
- Chemotherapy-associated cardiotoxicity: how often does it really occur and how can it be prevented? Heart Fail Clin. 2011; (3): 333-44
- Radiation therapy for breast cancer: buyer beware. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2011; (4): 453-4
- Left ventricular dysfunction in patients receiving cardiotoxic cancer therapies are clinicians responding optimally? J Am Coll Cardiol. 2010; (20): 1644-50
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