Heather M Giannini, MD

I joined the faculty at Penn in 2017, prior to which I was on faculty at the University of Colorado since 2015. There I completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine and a sub-fellowship in pulmonary vascular disease. During my fellowship and while on faculty at University of Colorado, I studied the role of macrophages in the development of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension with a clinical focus on pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary embolism.Since joining Penn, I’ve transitioned to a clinical role. I spend my time in the hospital as an intensive care unit physician, and I also attend on our inpatient Pulmonary Hypertension service and the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT). My outpatient focus is in the care of patients with all aspects of pulmonary vascular disease, including pulmonary hypertension, hepatopulmonary syndrome, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), and acute and chronic pulmonary embolism.I am the Director of PERT at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and I co-direct the Comprehensive Pulmonary Embolism Program at Penn with cardiothoracic surgeon Christian A. Bermudez. A large part of my outpatient practice is the follow-up care of patients who have suffered acute pulmonary embolism as well as patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). I work closely with a multidisciplinary team, including interventional cardiology, hematology, interventional radiology, diagnostic radiology, and cardiothoracic surgery.I am particularly interested in providing transition care for post-pulmonary embolism patients, as well as care for patients who experience ongoing shortness of breath following an acute pulmonary embolism and patients seeking a second opinion for unexplained shortness of breath. In addition to my clinical and administrator roles, I enjoy teaching about pulmonary vascular disease and cardio-pulmonary physiology.