Cara Pellegrini, MD
Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

Dr. Pellegrini is the Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at the San Francisco VA, with a focus in atrial fibrillation and atypical atrial arrhythmias. She is particularly interested in the impact of cardiovascular risk factor modification on atrial fibrillation, atrial fibrillation screening, and stroke prevention.

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She is currently the Co-Chair of CSP2037, Veterans Affairs Learning Health System Initiative to Assess Novel Screening vs. Usual Care and Treatment with Apixaban vs. Rivaroxaban in Veterans with Atrial Fibrillation (VALIANT-AF).

She is the Site Director for the Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship and previously served as the Associate Program Director for the Cardiology Fellowship for many years. She is active with the Heart Rhythm Society and American Heart Association, having served / currently serving on Guideline Committees, Scientific Sessions Planning Committees, and the Education Committee.

Awards

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• Emerging Faculty Leadership Academy Awardee, ACC, 2019
• Joel Karliner Cardiology Fellowship Teaching Award, UCSF, 2019
• CORO Leadership Collaborative Selectee, UCSF, 2017
• Best Oral Presentation by a Jr. Scientist, Bay Area Clinical Research Symposium, 2008
• Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Grant, AHA Western States, 2006-2007

Education & Training

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• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training University of California 2019
• CORO Leadership Collaborative UCSF 06/2017
• Fellowship Cardiac Electrophysiology UCSF 06/2009
• Fellowship Cardiology UCSF 06/2007
• ATCR Certificate Clinical Research UCSF 06/2007
• Residency Internal Medicine Hosp of the Univ of Pennsylvania 06/2004
• MD Medicine University of Pennsylvania 05/2001
• BA Ecology and Evolutionary Bio Princeton University 05/1997

Interests

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• medical education
• screening
• leadership
• stroke prevention
• atrial fibrillation
• POTS
• ablation

Publications (52)

Top publication keywords:
ElectrocardiographyFatty Acids, NonesterifiedDefibrillators, ImplantableTachycardia, SinusAtrioventricular BlockBradycardiaCardiac Conduction System DiseaseArrhythmias, CardiacTachycardia, VentricularSyncopeSick Sinus SyndromeAtrial FibrillationCardiologyPostural Orthostatic Tachycardia SyndromeAtrioventricular Node

• Loss of right ventricular capture: When it is not the lead’s fault.
  HeartRhythm Case Reports 2025 Albert Y. Liu, Gregory M. Marcus, Byron K. Lee, Joshua D. Moss, Cara N. Pellegrini
• Evaluating Pregnancy Safety During Cardiology Training.
  JAMA cardiology 2024 Haghighat L, Kalantarian S, DesJardin JT, Pellegrini CN
• Deep Learning of Electrocardiograms in Sinus Rhythm From US Veterans to Predict Atrial Fibrillation.
  JAMA cardiology 2023 Yuan N, Duffy G, Dhruva SS, Oesterle A, Pellegrini CN, Theurer J, Vali M, Heidenreich PA, Keyhani S, Ouyang D
• Systematic reprogramming of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators to match the 2019 consensus recommendations.
  Heart rhythm 2023 Oesterle A, Pellegrini CN, Dhruva SS, Kizer JR, Raitt MH, Liem LB
• Reply: The Challenge of Minimizing Unnecessary ICD Shocks While Also Preventing Syncope.
  JACC. Clinical electrophysiology 2023 Oesterle A, Liem LB, Dhruva SS, Friday G, Raitt MH, Pellegrini CN

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• Fasting and Post-Load Glucose and Non-Esterified Fatty Acids and Risk of Heart Failure and Its Subtypes in Older Adults.
  The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences 2023 Oesterle A, Buzkova P, Pellegrini CN, Hirsch C, Tracy RP, Siscovick DS, Djousse L, Mukamal KJ, Kizer JR
• Dysregulated carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and risk of atrial fibrillation in advanced old age.
  Heart (British Cardiac Society) 2023 Pellegrini CN, Buzkova P, Oesterle A, Heckbert SR, Tracy RP, Siscovick DS, Mukamal KJ, Djoussé L, Kizer JR
• Ventricular arrhythmia detection for contemporary Biotronik and Abbott implantable cardioverter defibrillators with markedly prolonged detection in Biotronik devices.
  Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing 2023 Oesterle A, Dhruva SS, Pellegrini CN, Liem B, Raitt MH
• Traumatic Syncope Caused by Prolonged Ventricular Arrhythmias With a Defibrillator Programmed to 2019 Consensus Recommendations.
  JACC. Clinical electrophysiology 2023 Oesterle A, Liem LB, Dhruva SS, Friday G, Raitt MH, Pellegrini CN
• The Value of Programmed Ventricular Extrastimuli From the Right Ventricular Basal Septum During Supraventricular Tachycardia.
  JACC. Clinical electrophysiology 2022 Higuchi S, Ito H, Gerstenfeld EP, Lee AC, Lee BK, Marcus GM, Hsia HH, Moss JD, Lee RJ, Dewland TA, Vedantham V, Tseng ZH, Patel AR, Tanel RE, Badhwar N, Pellegrini CN, Kawamura M, Shoda M, Hwang C, …
• CI-524-03 INAPPROPRIATELY DELAYED THERAPIES FOR VENTRICULAR ARRHYTHMIAS IN BIOTRONIK IMPLANTABLE CARDIOVERTER DEFIBRILLATORS.
  Heart Rhythm 2022 Adam Oesterle, Sanket Dhruva, Cara N. Pellegrini, L. Bing Liem
• EN-571-01 THE VALUE OF PROGRAMMED VENTRICULAR EXTRASTIMULI FROM THE RIGHT VENTRICULAR BASAL SEPTUM DURING SUPRAVENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA.
  Heart Rhythm 2022 Satoshi Higuchi, Hiroyuki Ito, Edward P. Gerstenfeld, Adam C. Lee, Byron K. Lee, Gregory M. Marcus, Henry H. Hsia, Joshua D. Moss, Randall J. Lee, Thomas A. Dewland, Vasanth Vedantham, Zian H. Tseng, …
• PO-652-01 TEMPORAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL TRENDS IN WOMEN OPERATORS OF ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY PROCEDURES IN THE UNITED STATES.
  Heart Rhythm 2022 Stacey Howell, Timothy Simpson, Tamara M. Atkinson, Cara N. Pellegrini, Babak Nazer
• Temporal and geographical trends in women operators of electrophysiology procedures in the United States.
  Heart rhythm 2022 Howell SJ, Simpson T, Atkinson T, Pellegrini CN, Nazer B
• Effects of Supervised Exercise Training on Atrial Fibrillation: A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS.
  Journal of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and prevention 2022 Oesterle A, Giancaterino S, Van Noord MG, Pellegrini CN, Fan D, Srivatsa UN, Amsterdam EA
• Efficacy and mortality of rotating sheaths versus laser sheaths for transvenous lead extraction: a meta-analysis.
  Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing 2021 Lee SY, Allen IE, Diaz C, Guo X, Pellegrini C, Beygui R, Cardona-Guarache R, Marcus GM, Lee BK
• Abstract 12796: Fasting and Post-Load Glucose and Non-Esterified Fatty Acids and Risk of Heart Failure and Its Subtypes in Older Adults.
  Circulation 2021 Adam Oesterle, Petra Buzkova, Cara Pellegrini, H IX Joachim, Calvin Hirsch, Russell Tracy, David S Siscovick, Luc Djousse, Ken J Mukamal, Jorge R Kizer
• Abstract 14355: Metabolic Dysregulation and Incident Atrial Fibrillation in Older Adults.
  Circulation 2021 Cara N Pellegrini, Petra Buzkova, Adam Oesterle, H IX Joachim, David S Siscovick, Susan R Heckbert, Russell Tracy, Calvin Hirsch, Ken J Mukamal, Luc Djousse, Jorge R Kizer
• B-PO02-141 EXERCISE TRAINING REDUCES ATRIAL FIBRILLATION RECURRENCE AND BURDEN: A META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS.
  Heart Rhythm 2021 Adam Oesterle, Shaun Giancaterino, Megan G. Van Noord, Cara N. Pellegrini, Dali Fan, Uma N. Srivatsa, Ezra Amsterdam
• Use of Adenosine to Release an Entrapped Catheter During Ablation of Premature Ventricular Complexes.
  JACC. Case reports 2021 Kim EJ, Gerstenfeld EP, Pellegrini CN
• Individual non-esterified fatty acids and incident atrial fibrillation late in life.
  Heart (British Cardiac Society) 2021 Pellegrini CN, Buzkova P, Lichtenstein AH, Matthan NR, Ix JH, Siscovick DS, Heckbert SR, Tracy RP, Mukamal KJ, Djoussé L, Kizer JR
• ASSOCIATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PLASMA NON-ESTERIFIED FATTY ACIDS WITH INCIDENT ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IN OLDER ADULTS: THE CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH STUDY.
  Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2020 Cara Pellegrini, Jorge Kizer, Petra Buzkova, Nirupa Matthan, Alice Lichtenstein, David Siscovick, Joachim Ix, Susan R. Heckbert, Kenneth Mukamal, Luc Djousse
• Reported mortality with rotating sheaths vs. laser sheaths for transvenous lead extraction.
  Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology 2019 Diaz CL, Guo X, Whitman IR, Marcus GM, Pellegrini CN, Beygui RE, Lee SY, Lee BK
• 2018 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline on the Evaluation and Management of Patients With Bradycardia and Cardiac Conduction Delay: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society.
  Circulation 2018 Kusumoto FM, Schoenfeld MH, Barrett C, Edgerton JR, Ellenbogen KA, Gold MR, Goldschlager NF, Hamilton RM, Joglar JA, Kim RJ, Lee R, Marine JE, McLeod CJ, Oken KR, Patton KK, Pellegrini CN, Selzman KA,…
• 2018 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline on the Evaluation and Management of Patients With Bradycardia and Cardiac Conduction Delay: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines, and the Heart Rhythm Society.
  Circulation 2018 Kusumoto FM, Schoenfeld MH, Barrett C, Edgerton JR, Ellenbogen KA, Gold MR, Goldschlager NF, Hamilton RM, Joglar JA, Kim RJ, Lee R, Marine JE, McLeod CJ, Oken KR, Patton KK, Pellegrini CN, Selzman KA,…
• 2018 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline on the Evaluation and Management of Patients With Bradycardia and Cardiac Conduction Delay: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines, and the Heart Rhythm Society.
  Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2018 Kusumoto FM, Schoenfeld MH, Barrett C, Edgerton JR, Ellenbogen KA, Gold MR, Goldschlager NF, Hamilton RM, Joglar JA, Kim RJ, Lee R, Marine JE, McLeod CJ, Oken KR, Patton KK, Pellegrini CN, Selzman KA,…
• 2018 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline on the Evaluation and Management of Patients With Bradycardia and Cardiac Conduction Delay: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society.
  Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2018 Kusumoto FM, Schoenfeld MH, Barrett C, Edgerton JR, Ellenbogen KA, Gold MR, Goldschlager NF, Hamilton RM, Joglar JA, Kim RJ, Lee R, Marine JE, McLeod CJ, Oken KR, Patton KK, Pellegrini CN, Selzman KA,…
• 2018 ACC/AHA/HRS guideline on the evaluation and management of patients with bradycardia and cardiac conduction delay: Executive summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines, and the Heart Rhythm Society.
  Heart rhythm 2018 Writing Committee Members, Kusumoto FM, Schoenfeld MH, Barrett C, Edgerton JR, Ellenbogen KA, Gold MR, Goldschlager NF, Hamilton RM, Joglar JA, Kim RJ, Lee R, Marine JE, McLeod CJ, Oken KR, Patton KK,…
• 2018 ACC/AHA/HRS guideline on the evaluation and management of patients with bradycardia and cardiac conduction delay: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society.
  Heart rhythm 2018 Writing Committee Members, Kusumoto FM, Schoenfeld MH, Barrett C, Edgerton JR, Ellenbogen KA, Gold MR, Goldschlager NF, Hamilton RM, Joglar JA, Kim RJ, Lee R, Marine JE, McLeod CJ, Oken KR, Patton KK,…
• Use of Programmed Ventricular Extrastimulus During Supraventricular Tachycardia to Differentiate Atrioventricular Nodal Re-Entrant Tachycardia From Atrioventricular Re-Entrant Tachycardia.
  JACC. Clinical electrophysiology 2018 Ito H, Badhwar N, Patel AR, Hoffmayer KS, Moss JD, Pellegrini CN, Vedantham V, Tseng ZH, Tanel RE, Hsia HH, Lee RJ, Marcus GM, Gerstenfeld EP, Scheinman MM
• European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)/Heart Rhythm Society (HRS)/Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS)/Latin American Heart Rhythm Society (LAHRS) expert consensus on arrhythmias and cognitive function: What is the best practice?
  Journal of arrhythmia 2018 Dagres N, Chao TF, Fenelon G, Aguinaga L, Benhayon D, Benjamin EJ, Bunch TJ, Chen LY, Chen SA, Darrieux F, de Paola A, Fauchier L, Goette A, Kalman J, Kalra L, Kim YH, Lane DA, Lip GYH, Lubitz SA, …
• EFFICACY AND MORTALITY USING ROTATING CUTTING SHEATHS VERSUS LASER SHEATHS FOR TRANSVENOUS LEAD EXTRACTION: A META-ANALYSIS.
  Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2018 Sun Yong Lee, Xiaofan Guo, Ricardo Cardona, Celso Diaz, Cara Pellegrini, Ramin Beygui, Gregory M. Marcus, Byron K. Lee
• Abstract 12996: Use of Premature Ventricular Extrastimuli During Supraventricular Tachycardia to Differentiate Atrioventricular Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia From Atrioventricular Reentrant Tachycardia.
  Circulation 2016 Hiroyuki Ito, Nitish Badhwar, Akash R Patel, Ronn E Tanel, Kurt S Hoffmayer, Cara N Pellegrini, Henry H Hsia, Vasanth Vedantham, Randall J Lee, Gregory M Marcus, Edward P Gerstenfeld, Melvin M …
• Longer Ambulatory ECG Monitoring Increases Identification of Clinically Significant Ectopy.
  Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE 2016 Loring Z, Hanna P, Pellegrini CN
• Abstract 18409: Longer Ambulatory Monitoring Increases Identification of Clinically Significant Ectopy.
  Circulation 2015 Zak Loring, Peter Hanna, Cara Pellegrini
• Epidemiology and definition of inappropriate sinus tachycardia.
  Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing 2015 Pellegrini CN, Scheinman MM
• Bradycardia: sinus and AV node dysfunction.
  Herzschrittmachertherapie & Elektrophysiologie 2015 Pellegrini CN, Scheinman MM
• Abstract 224: No Difference in Complications or Mortality by Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillator Type in Veterans Enrolled in The Outcomes Among Veterans with Implantable Devices (OVID) Registry.
  Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes 2015 Preston M Schneider, Cara N Pellegrini, Paul Heidenreich, Edmund Keung, Barry M Massie, Ryan G Aleong, Pamela N Peterson, Paul D Varosy
• How the Other Half Beats – Arrhythmias in Women: Diagnosis and Management, edited by Yong-Mei Cha, Margaret Lloyd, and Ulrika Birgersdotter-Green, Mayo Clinic Scientific Press, ISBN: 978-0-19-932197-1, 296 pages, $85.45.
  Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology 2015 Cara N. Pellegrini
• His overdrive pacing during supraventricular tachycardia: a novel maneuver for distinguishing atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia from atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia.
  Heart rhythm 2014 Singh DK, Viswanathan MN, Tanel RE, Lee RJ, Lee BK, Marcus GM, Olgin JE, Han F, Vedantham V, Tseng ZH, Pellegrini C, Kawamura M, Gerstenfeld EP, Badhwar N, Scheinman M
• Prevalence of guideline-directed medical therapy among patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator implantation in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry during the years 2006 to 2008.
  The American journal of cardiology 2014 Schneider PM, Pellegrini CN, Wang Y, Fein AS, Reynolds MR, Curtis JP, Masoudi FA, Varosy PD
• Depression and outcome among veterans with implantable cardioverter defibrillators with or without cardiac resynchronization therapy capability.
  Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE 2014 Shalaby AA, Brumberg GE, Pointer L, Bekelman DB, Rumsfeld JS, Yang Y, Pellegrini CN, Heidenreich PA, Keung E, Massie BM, Varosy PD
• Can AV node ablation help save AV conduction?
  Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE 2012 Pellegrini CN
• Dual-chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator selection is associated with increased complication rates and mortality among patients enrolled in the NCDR implantable cardioverter-defibrillator registry.
  Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2011 Dewland TA, Pellegrini CN, Wang Y, Marcus GM, Keung E, Varosy PD
• Idiopathic epicardial ventricular tachycardia with origin remote from vascular structures.
  Journal of electrocardiology 2011 Pellegrini CN, Scheinman MM, Badhwar N
• Clinical management of ventricular tachycardia.
  Current problems in cardiology 2010 Pellegrini CN, Scheinman MM
• Clinical Subtype of Atrial Fibrillation at the Time of Implantation and Subsequent Mortality among Veterans With Implantable Defibrillators.
  Journal of Cardiac Failure 2010 Ryan Aleong, William H. Sauer, Cara N. Pellegrini, Yanfei Yang, Edmund Keung, Paul Heidenreich, John S. Rumsfeld, Barry M. Massie, Paul D. Varosy
• History of Heart Failure and Mortality among Veterans With Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators.
  Journal of Cardiac Failure 2010 Paul D. Varosy, Cara N. Pellegrini, Yanfei Yang, Edmund Keung, Paul Heidenreich, John S. Rumsfeld, Barry M. Massie
• Statin use is associated with lower risk of atrial fibrillation in women with coronary disease: the HERS trial.
  Heart (British Cardiac Society) 2009 Pellegrini CN, Vittinghoff E, Lin F, Hulley SB, Marcus GM
• Abstract 4127: Dual Chamber ICD Selection is Associated with Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities and Increased Complication Rates Among Patients Enrolled in the NCDR ICD Registry.
  Circulation 2008 Thomas A Dewland, Cara N Pellegrini, Yongfei Wang, Gregory M Marcus, Paul D Varosy
• Impact of advanced age on survival in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.
  Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology 2008 Pellegrini CN, Lee K, Olgin JE, Turakhia MP, Tseng ZH, Lee R, Badhwar N, Lee B, Varosy PD
• Episodic ventricular pacing with intact atrioventricular nodal function in a DDDR device: what is the rhythm and how can it be prevented?
  Heart rhythm 2008 Pellegrini CN, Yeh RW, Olgin J, Lee BK