Dr. Willie Sessions

I am an interventional cardiologist and researcher who has been at Duke for nearly 20 years. I enjoy being at Duke because of the “family” I get to work with every day. When we are able to make a patient feel better through teamwork; it’s a great feeling. I chose cardiology as my specialty because of the chance to make a difference in someone’s life in real time. When someone is having a heart attack, they are relying on you to come to their aid quickly. At that moment, I get to apply science to save a life, while learning more about what we can do to help improve people’s lives in the future. In that way, medicine also gives me the chance to learn from my patients and apply what I find to benefit the greater good. I find that whole process is exciting. When I am not at work, I enjoy spending time with my school-aged children. Dr. Patel is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Coronary Heart Disease. His top areas of expertise are Peripheral Artery Disease, Atherosclerosis, Coronary Heart Disease, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), and Angioplasty.

I see patients who have heart disease, and I work to prevent them from having any bad consequences of that disease. I also see patients who are having symptoms and do diagnostic work to see what cardiovascular condition they may have to explain their symptoms. I also take care of patients who either have known or suspected genetic cardiovascular disorders. Our genetics clinic is one of the only adult cardiovascular clinics in the Southeast. We take care of patients who have a variety of cardiovascular genetic disorders or who have strong family histories of heart disease and want to come in for testing. Duke has a strong collaborative approach to patient care. We provide excellent care for patients who need routine care for more common medical disorders, but we also provide a high level of subspecialty care for those who may have rarer disorders. Dr. Shah is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Coronary Heart Disease. Her top areas of expertise are Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Failure, Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF), Heart Transplant, and Heart Bypass Surgery.

I am a cardiologist trained and experienced in preventive cardiology. I have served as the medical director of the Duke Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (formerly DUPAC) since 1994. I specialize in the prevention and treatment of heart disease risk factors before and after cardiac disease develops. I direct a program that uses the principles of balancing energy intake and expenditure to treat heart disease and metabolic diseases, such as diabetes. I also have an active practice for assessment and advice for the older athlete who wants to improve performance – whether he or she has heart disease or not. My research is directed at defining the best exercise regimen for the most benefit. Dr. Kraus is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Coronary Heart Disease. His top areas of expertise are Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Failure, Metabolic Syndrome, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), and Heart Bypass Surgery.