Yoshifumi Naka



Yoshifumi Naka, MD, PhD is the Director of the Cardiac Transplantation Program and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center in New York, NY. Dr. Naka specializes in general adult cardiac surgery, adult cardiac surgery for coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, heart/lung transplantation, and mechanical circulatory support device implantation. Under his leadership, the Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program has earned international recognition for its contributions in developing and testing new cardiac devices and in training cardiothoracic surgeons (NYPH 2004).

Selected Publications

 * Dr. Naka was the principal investigator of "Vein Graft Preservation: Thrombosis & Neointimal Disease," a four-year study funded by the NIH, and the one-year study entitled "Recovery of the left ventricle during left ventricular assist device support," funded by the Foundation for Advancement in Cardiothoracic Surgery. The study won the 2001 K08 award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
 * Mechanical Circulatory Support Therapy In Advanced Heart Failure. Mario C. Deng and Yoshifumi Naka.  World Scientific Publishing. 2007.
 * Mastery of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Larry R. Kaiser, Irving L. Kron, Thomas L. Spray.  Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. October, 2006.
 * Yoshifumi Naka and Mehmet Oz are the authors of the book's chapter on LVADs.
 * Bridging to Transplant With the Heartmate Left Ventricular Assist Device: The Columbia Presbyterian Twelve-Year Experience.' Jeffrey A. Morgan, Vivek Rao, Yoshifumi Naka., et al. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2004.
 * Effect of Gender on Successful Bridging to Transplant and Post-transplant Survival. Jeffery A. Morgan, Weinberg AD, Yoshifumi Naka, et al. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2004

Press Coverage

 * A March 7, 2007 Daily News article reported on lifesaving efforts of multiple individuals whose actions saved heart attack victim FDNY Deputy Chief Patrick Savage during February 16-24. After Savage had suffered multiple cardiac arrests and been resuscitated many times, Dr. Yoshifumi Naka implanted a bi-ventricular assist device (BiVAD) to support Savage’s ailing heart temporarily, and four days later performed triple bypass surgery. Savage walked out of the Hospital on March 6, thanking staff for saving his life (NYMD 2007).
 * In May 2005, the book In The Grateful Heart, Diary of a Heart Transplant written by Candace Moose chronicles the author’s sudden illness and eventual heart transplant, performed by Yoshifumi Naka, MD, after travel vaccinations triggered a typically fatal autoimmune disease (CUMC 2007).