Bio

Dr. Pizula is a quadruple board-certified, fellowship-trained cardiologist with Stanford Health Care Cardiovascular Health. She is also a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. She completed a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine.

Dr. Pizula specializes in cardio-obstetrics. She works with women before, during, and after pregnancy to determine their risk of heart-related pregnancy complications and improve their cardiovascular health. She has experience managing complex cardiovascular conditions, including congenital heart disease, arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, valvular disease, and cardiomyopathy. Dr. Pizula develops a customized care plan for each patient she treats. As a leader in cardio-obstetrics, she’s at the forefront of the latest advances in women’s cardiovascular care.

Her research interests include the intersection of cardiovascular disease and pregnancy. She focuses on how pre-existing conditions like congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, or hypertension affect pregnancy. She has also explored how physiological changes during pregnancy affect existing heart disease and long-term cardiovascular risk. She uses her unique dual background in internal medicine and pediatrics to study how adult manifestations of cardiovascular disease impact pregnancy outcomes.

Dr. Pizula is active in teaching medical students, internal medicine and obstetrical residents, and cardiology fellows. She teaches them strategies to improve how they assess and manage risk and deliver postpartum care to people with high-risk cardiac pregnancies. Dr. Pizula is the director of the Finishing School for Future Cardiologists for the California chapter of the American College of Cardiology, which offers leadership development to cardiology fellows.

Dr. Pizula’s research has been published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics. She has authored three book chapters on cardio-obstetrics and global emergency medicine.

Dr. Pizula has presented her research at conferences in the United States and internationally. As an expert in cardiovascular disease and pregnancy, she is frequently invited to speak to cardiologists, obstetricians, and anesthesiologists at the International Congress on Cardiac Problems in Pregnancy. She currently serves as a reviewer for the European Journal of Heart Failure and Heart Failure Reviews.

Dr. Pizula is a member of the American College of Cardiology, Stanford Medicine Cardiovascular Institute, and Stanford Medicine Maternal & Child Health Research Institute.

Clinical Focus

  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Cardiac disease in pregnancy
  • Womens cardiovascular medicine

Academic Appointments

Honors & Awards

  • Department of Pediatrics Teaching Award, Keck School of Medicine of USC and Los Angeles General Medical Center
  • Fellow of the Year, Keck School of Medicine of USC and Los Angeles General Medical Center
  • Physician of the Year, USC and Los Angeles General Hospital Committee of Interns and Residents

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Member, American College of Cardiology (2020 - Present)
  • Member, Stanford Medicine Cardiovascular Institute (2023 - Present)
  • Member, Stanford Medicine Maternal & Child Health Research Institute (2023 - Present)
  • Director, Finishing School for Future Cardiologists, California Chapter of the American College of Cardiology (2024 - Present)
  • Reviewer, European Journal of Heart Failure (2023 - Present)
  • Reviewer, Heart Failure Reviews (2024 - Present)

Professional Education

  • Board Certification, National Board of Echocardiography, Echocardiography (2023)
  • Board Certification, American Board of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine (2023)
  • Board Certification, American Board of Pediatrics, Pediatric Medicine (2021)
  • Board Certification, American Board of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine (2020)
  • Fellowship, University of Southern California, Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship (2023)
  • Residency, University of Southern California, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics combined Residency (2020)
  • Medical Education, University of Southern California, Medical Doctor (2016)

Contact

  • Academic
    University - Academic staff Department: Medicine - Med/Cardiovascular Medicine Position: Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Clinical (Primary)  Stanford Hospital 300 Pasteur Dr Stanford, CA 94305 (650) 724-1444 (fax)

Additional Clinical Info

Additional Info

All Publications

  • Outcome of Pregnancy in Women With D-Transposition of the Great Arteries: A Systematic Review. Journal of the American Heart Association Pizula, J., Devera, J., Ng, T. M., Yeung, S. L., Thangathurai, J., Herrick, N., Chatfield, A. J., Mehra, A., Elkayam, U. 2022; 11 (23): e026862

    Abstract

    Background Information on maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnancy in women with D-transposition of the great arteries is limited. We conducted a systematic literature review on pregnancies in women with transposition of the great arteries after atrial and arterial switch operations to better define maternal and fetal risk. Methods and Results A systematic review was performed on studies between 2000 and 2021 that identified 676 pregnancies in 444 women with transposition of the great arteries. A total of 556 pregnancies in women with atrial switch operation were tolerated by most cases with low mortality (0.6%). Most common maternal complications, however, were arrhythmias (9%) and heart failure (8%) associated with serious morbidity in some patients. Worsening functional capacity, right ventricular function, and tricuspid regurgitation occurred in ≈20% of the cases. Rate of fetal and neonatal mortality was 1.4% and 0.8%, respectively, and rate of prematurity was 32%. A total of 120 pregnancies in women with arterial switch operation were associated with no maternal mortality, numerically lower rates of arrhythmias and heart failure (6% and 5%, respectively), significantly lower rate of prematurity (11%; P<0.001), and only 1 fetal loss. Conclusions Pregnancy is tolerated by most women with transposition of the great arteries and atrial switch operation with low mortality but important morbidity. Most common maternal complications were arrhythmias, heart failure, worsening of right ventricular function, and tricuspid regurgitation. There was also a high incidence of prematurity and increased rate of fetal loss and neonatal mortality. Outcome of pregnancy in women after arterial switch operations is more favorable, with reduced incidence of maternal complications and fetal outcomes similar to women without underlying cardiac disease.

    View details for DOI 10.1161/JAHA.122.026862

    View details for PubMedID 36444833

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9851445

  • ADULT PRESENTATION OF TRANSPOSITION OF GREAT ARTERIES AND SUBSEQUENT DYSPNEA MANAGEMENT Kan, C., Pizula, J., DePasquale, E. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2022: 3164

    View details for Web of Science ID 000781026603465

  • STRAIN IMAGING AS AN EARLY PROGNOSTIC INDICATOR FOR LATE COMPLICATIONS IN COVID-19 PATIENTS Devera, J., Sohn, J., Wee, C., Lin, B. A., Abouzeid, C., Latz, M., Pizula, J., Shah, S. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2022: 2071

    View details for Web of Science ID 000781026602272

  • Peripartum Cardiomyopathy. In V. Fuster and Hurst's The Heart Elkayam, U., Pizula, J. McGraw-Hill Educatio. 2022: 15e
  • Knowledge Is Power: Outreach Efforts To Protect People Experiencing Homelessness During The Covid19 Pandemic Nkansah, M., Huang, A., Pan, T., Obasi, H., Soliman, S., Gwin, H., Pizula, J., Dahodwala, A. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2022 S580-S580
  • MANAGEMENT OF CARDIOGENIC SHOCK IN A PATIENT WITH THYROID STORM AND METHAMPHETAMINE ASSOCIATED CARDIOMYOPATHY Patel, S., Gong, A. O., Shah, S., Rodrigues, S., Barajas, S., Pizula, J., LoPresti, J., Garg, P. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2021: 2322

    View details for Web of Science ID 000647487502336

  • Outcomes in Heart Transplant (HT) in Patients Receiving Inotropes Following UNOS Heart Allocation Policy Changes Abarca, P., Li, J. P., Saffarian, M. M., Patel, S. V., Hashmi, S., Nattiv, J., Fong, M., Pizula, J., Banankhah, P., Vaidya, A. S., Wolfson, A. M., DePasquale, E. C. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2021: S221-S222

    View details for Web of Science ID 000631254400513

  • One-year before and after UNOS Status Change Effect on ECMO as a Bridge to Heart Transplant Li, J. P., Kingsford, P., Hashmi, S., Onwuzurike, J., Genyk, P., Liu, G., Saffarian, M., Yang, K., Abarca, P., Singhal, P., Sharma, A., Miller, S., Patel, S., Miklin, D., Lum, C., Salimbangon, A., Lee, R., Lee, A., Nattiv, J., Pizula, J., Fong, M., Grazette, L., Rahman, J., Pandya, K., Wolfson, A., DePasquale, E. C., Vaidya, A. S. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2021: S83-S84

    View details for Web of Science ID 000631254400177

  • Post-Heart Transplant Outcomes in Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) before and after the 2018 UNOS Heart Allocation Policy Change Abarca, P., Patel, S. V., Li, J. P., Saffarian, M. M., Singhal, P., Liu, G., Grazette, L., Pizula, J., Banankhah, P., Vaidya, A. S., Wolfson, A. M., DePasquale, E. C. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2021: S223

    View details for Web of Science ID 000631254400516

  • A Case for Advancing Pediatric Addiction Medicine: Methamphetamine-associated Congestive Heart Failure in a 27 year old patient Nkansah, M. M., Pizula, J., Nattiv, J., Shavelle, D. AMER ACAD PEDIATRICS. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1542/peds.147.3MA6.612a

    View details for Web of Science ID 000758945800665

  • CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION FOR OUT OF HOSPITAL VENTRICULAR FIBRILLATION ARREST LEADS TO HYPERTROPHIC OBSTRUCTIVE CARDIOMYOPATHY DIAGNOSIS INFLUENCING OPTIMAL VASOPRESSOR CHOICE Lee, R., Pizula, J., Tran, J., Yousaf, H., Mehra, A. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2020: 2566

    View details for Web of Science ID 000522979102351

  • NEW ONSET ISCHEMIC CARDIOMYOPATHY FROM CORONARY DISSECTION AS THE PRESENTING SIGN OF ASCENDING AORTIC DISSECTION IN A PATIENT WITH BICUSPID AORTOPATHY Pizula, J., Nattiv, J., Vaidya, A. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2020: 2493

    View details for Web of Science ID 000522979102278

  • Choking on air: First presentation of restrictive cardiomyopathy in an adolescent male Pizula (nee Sussex), J., Uzunyan, M., Miller, L. Pediatrics. 2019 144, 591-591

    Abstract

    doi:10.1542/peds.144.2MA6.591

  • Global Medicine for Medical Students The Nuts and Bolts of Global Emergency Medicine Sussex, J., Wagner, J. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2016
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3567-4543