Faris Araj, M.D.

Internal Medicine - Cardiology
Heart Failure
Mechanical Circulatory Support

Biography

Dr. Araj received his M.D. degree from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern. Prior to his general cardiology fellowship at UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, he completed two years of training in Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation at UT Southwestern. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, Advanced Heart Failure, and Adult Echocardiography. Dr. Araj’s main focus is the comprehensive inpatient and outpatient evaluation and clinical care of patient’s with advanced heart failure, recipients of cardiac transplants, and recipients of ventricular assist devices.

Education & Training

Fellowship - UT Southwestern Medical Center (2008-2010), Heart Failure/cardiac Transplant
Fellowship - The University of Texas Health Science Center (2010-2013), Cardiology
Residency - UT Southwestern Medical Center (2005-2008), Internal Medicine
Medical School - American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine, Lebanon (2000-2004)

Professional Associations & Affiliations

International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (2013), Member
Heart Failure Society of America (2013), Member
American Society of Echocardiography

Books & Publications

Publications
- Percutaneous Treatment of Symptomatic Left Ventricular Assist Device Outflow Graft Obstruction.
  Araj FG, Morlend RM, Peltz M, Bavry AA, Kumbhani DJ, The Journal of invasive cardiology 2022 Jun 34 6 E484-E485
- Predicting Post-Heart Transplant Composite Renal Outcome Risk in Adults: A Machine Learning Decision Tool.
  Mete M, Ayvaci MUS, Ariyamuthu VK, Amin A, Peltz M, Thibodeau JT, Grodin JL, Mammen PPA, Garg S, Araj F, Morlend R, Drazner MH, AbdulRahim N, Kim Y, Salam Y, Gungor AB, Delibasi B, Kotla SK, MacConmara MP, Mohan Anand P, Gupta G, Tanriover B, Kidney international reports 2022 Jun 7 6 1410-1415
- Sleeping prone with a left ventricular assist device: Dream or reality?
  Tsang DC, Kellner M, Thomas M, Araj FG, Heart & lung : the journal of critical care 2022 Jun 56 57-61
- Letter by Araj and Hackmann Regarding Article, "Liberation From Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Review".
  Araj FG, Hackmann AE, Circulation. Heart failure 2022 Jan CIRCHEARTFAILURE121009079
- Identifying Discordance of Right- and Left-Ventricular Filling Pressures in Patients with Heart Failure by the Clinical Examination.
  Pham D, Drazner MH, Ayers CR, Grodin JL, Hardin EA, Garg S, Mammen PPA, Amin A, Araj FG, Morlend RM, Thibodeau JT, Circulation. Heart failure 2021 Sep
- A novel phonetic approach to continuous flow left ventricular assist device auscultation.
  Araj FG, Cox J, Amin AA, Mammen PPA, Heart & lung : the journal of critical care 2021 Jul 50 6 780-783
- Alternans of the pulse is rarely an alternans of prognosis.
  Araj FG, Mammen PPA, Journal of cardiac failure 2021 Jul
- Ascites and Edema After Bicaval Orthotopic Heart Transplant.
  Araj FG, Balani JP, Amin AA, Mammen PPA, Garg S, Luna M, The Journal of invasive cardiology 2021 Jul 33 7 E581-E583
- Letter by Hardin and Araj Regarding Article, "Role of Pulmonary Artery Wedge Pressure Saturation During Right Heart Catheterization: A Prospective Study".
  Hardin EA, Araj FG, Circulation. Heart failure 2021 Mar 14 3 e008158
- Invasive Hemodynamic Red Flags to Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation.
  Araj FG, Amin AA, Garg S, Hardin EA, The Journal of invasive cardiology 2020 Dec 32 12 E375-E376
- Heterozygous Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator Gene Missense Variants Are Associated With Worse Cardiac Function in Patients With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
  Jiang X, Shao Y, Araj FG, Amin AA, Greenberg BM, Drazner MH, Xing C, Mammen PPA, Journal of the American Heart Association 2020 Oct 9 19 e016799
- Small Vein Pulsations: An Overlooked Sign of Poor Prognosis.
  Metzinger MP, Amin AA, Mammen PPA, Hardin EA, Araj FG, The American journal of medicine 2020 10 133 10 e597-e598
- Bone pain in a heart transplant recipient.
  Michelis KC, La Hoz RM, Araj FG, American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons 2020 05 20 5 1458-1460
- When a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Yes, it does.
  Araj FG, Journal of cardiac failure 2020 May 26 5 446
- Acute Isolated Coronary Artery Dissection Causing Massive Acute Myocardial Infarction and Leading to Unsuccessful Coronary Bypass, Extracorporeal Life Support, and Successful Cardiac Transplantation.
  Cox J, Roberts WC, Araj FG, Jarzembowski J, Guerrero-Miranda CY, Cooley A, Roberts CS, Meyer DM, The American journal of cardiology 2020 05 125 9 1446-1448
- Infective endocarditis: Don't forget the ICE.
  Araj FG, Luna M, Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine 2020 04 87 4 191
- Conduction Abnormalities and Tricuspid Regurgitation after Cardiac Transplant: Is a Leadless Pacemaker Part of the Solution?
  Araj FG, ASAIO journal (American Society for Artificial Internal Organs : 1992) 2020 03 66 3 e56
- Cutaneous Vasculitis and Central Nervous System Infarctions due to Varicella Zoster Virus Vasculopathy in an Immunocompromised Patient.
  Flores Rosario K, Michelis KC, Bjorkman C, Araj FG, Case reports in transplantation 2020 2020 5049627
- Pulseless Paradoxus: A Unique Sign of Cardiac Tamponade in the Era of Continuous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices.
  Araj FG, Sasaki JD, Mayo Clinic proceedings 2020 Jan 95 1 199-200
- Saved by the VAC: Minimally Invasive Removal of a Surely Fatal Right Heart Thrombus in a Patient with Advanced Heart Failure.
  Keeton J, Gonzalez PE, Cox J, Morlend RM, Amin AA, Mammen PPA, Huffman LC, Araj FG, Case reports in cardiology 2020 2020 7579262
- Temporary mechanical circulatory support devices and post-transplant outcome: Not all devices are created equal.
  Araj FG, The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2019 Sep
- Aim For the Bubbles: Agitated Saline Injection as an Adjunct Technique to Ultrasound-Guided Subclavian Vein Cannulation.
  Araj FG, Pena J, Cox J, The Journal of invasive cardiology 2019 Jul 31 7 E232
- The Digital Stethoscope-Two Senses Are Better Than One.
  Araj FG, Cox J, The American journal of cardiology 2019 Jun
- Impact of Induction Immunosuppression on Patient Survival in Heart Transplant Recipients Treated with Tacrolimus and Mycophenolic Acid in the Current Allocation Era.
  Amin AA, Araj FG, Ariyamuthu VK, Drazner MH, Ayvaci MUS, Mammen PPA, Mete M, Urey MA, Tanriover B, Clinical transplantation 2019 Jun e13651
- Leadless Pacemaker Implant After Heart Transplant.
  Araj FG, Morlend RM, Daniels JD, The American journal of cardiology 2019 May
- Delayed febrile response with bloodstream infections in patients with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices.
  Wrobel CA, Drazner MH, Ayers CR, Pham DD, La Hoz RM, Grodin JL, Garg S, Mammen PPA, Morlend RM, Araj F, Amin AA, Cornwell WK, Thibodeau JT Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research 2019 Mar 67 3 653-658
- Induction regimen and survival in simultaneous heart-kidney transplant recipients.
  Ariyamuthu VK, Amin AA, Drazner MH, Araj F, Mammen PPA, Ayvaci M, Mete M, Ozay F, Ghanta M, Mohan S, Mohan P, Tanriover B The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2017 Nov
- Predictors of Death in Adults With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy-Associated Cardiomyopathy.
  Cheeran D, Khan S, Khera R, Bhatt A, Garg S, Grodin JL, Morlend R, Araj FG, Amin AA, Thibodeau JT, Das S, Drazner MH, Mammen PPA Journal of the American Heart Association 2017 Oct 6 10
- Implantation of a left ventricular assist device to provide long-term support for end-stage Duchenne muscular dystrophy-associated cardiomyopathy.
  Stoller D, Araj F, Amin A, Fitzsimmons C, Morlend R, Thibodeau JT, Ramaciotti C, Drazner MH, Meyer DM, Mammen PPA ESC heart failure 2017 Aug 4 3 379-383
- Bendopnea and risk of adverse clinical outcomes in ambulatory patients with systolic heart failure.
  Thibodeau JT, Jenny BE, Maduka JO, Divanji PH, Ayers CR, Araj F, Amin AA, Morlend RM, Mammen PP, Drazner MH American heart journal 2017 Jan 183 102-107
- In-hospital cardiopulmonary arrests in patients with left ventricular assist devices.
  Garg S, Ayers CR, Fitzsimmons C, Meyer D, Peltz M, Bethea B, Cornwell W, Araj F, Thibodeau J, Drazner MH Journal of cardiac failure 2014 Dec 20 12 899-904
- Hypoglycemia From a Cardiologist's Perspective.
  Sanon VP, Sanon S, Kanakia R, Yu H, Araj F, Oliveros R, Chilton R Clinical cardiology 2014 Jun
- Concentric left ventricular hypertrophy as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and risk of death in cardiac transplant recipients.
  Patel PC, Reimold SC, Araj FG, Ayers CR, Kaiser PA, Peshock RM, Yancy CW, Ring WS, Gupta S, Mishkin JD, Mammen PP, Markham DW, Drazner MH The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation 2010 Dec 29 12 1369-79

Clinical Focus

Heart Failure
Mechanical Circulatory Support
Heart Transplant
Cardiomyopathies