Joshua Spencer, MD

Zachary Garrett, MD, located in Southport, NC, is a medical practice that prioritizes patient care and well-being. Specializing in a wide array of medical services, this facility offers both primary and specialty care to cater to diverse healthcare needs. With a focus on delivering comprehensive and advanced treatments, Zachary Garrett, MD, ensures that patients receive top-notch medical care in a welcoming environment. Committed to promoting health and wellness, Zachary Garrett, MD, goes beyond just treating illnesses by emphasizing preventive care and community health education. By integrating innovative medical technologies into their services, this practice stays at the forefront of healthcare advancements. Serving the Southport community with compassion and inclusivity, Zachary Garrett, MD, stands out for its dedication to providing accessible and reliable medical care to all individuals. Generated using this brand's available information

I've been enamored with medicine for as long as I can remember. My grandfather, for whom I was named, was a general practitioner in my hometown of Reidsville, North Carolina and took care of nearly the entire town. \n Within a few hours of my premature birth, my grandfather suspected I had pneumonia. He had me transferred to Moses Cone Hospital, where I spent three weeks in the ICU. A few weeks after I was discharged, I went into septic shock. Again, my grandfather recognized the signs. He coded me during the ambulance ride, which saved my life. \n I was always driven to succeed academically and wanted to attend a top college to improve my chances of following in my grandfather's footsteps. At Wake Forest University, I majored in chemistry and volunteered at healthcare clinics in Winston-Salem. I was thrilled to attend Wake Forest for medical school, which is where my passion for cardiology began to blossom. \n I did my internal medicine residency at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas because the program director's pitch included that the school is known for training cardiologists and sending them all over the world. I knew I wanted to live in North Carolina, so the all over the world part didn't attract me. The cardiology training program did. \n During my cardiology fellowship at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, I fell in love with the city and with a New Orleans girl named Alex. \n During my second year in fellowship, I interviewed for a job with a Wilmington practice with incredible doctors, advanced practitioners and administrators. Accepting the job was one of the easiest decisions of my life. (Marrying Alex was the easiest.) \n My specialties include general cardiology; advanced imaging, including transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography; stress testing and coronary CTA. I also perform cardioversions and implant loop recorders. I love my job, my patients, this community and the people with whom I have the pleasure of working. \n In my free time, I love running and spending time with Alex and our young son. A wonderful golden retriever and calico cat complete our family. We are in love with the city and enjoy days on the beach, diving into new restaurants and bars, walking the loop and exploring all the water sports the area makes possible.

As the daughter of a cardiologist, I've wanted to be a heart doctor since age 10, when I figured out how the heart performed as a pump and how vital the organ is for the whole human body. \n Growing up in Washington, D.C., I thought anything was possible. But attending Georgetown University for both college and medical school made me realize how challenging my aspiration was - especially for a woman. \n Seeking to move to a city far from my hometown, I chose the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for my internship and residency. My love for cardiology was kindled further there and led me to a cardiology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, where I researched hypertensive heart disease and coronary artery disease. It was there that I found my greatest passion was in patient care. I also found that I missed North Carolina. \n When the opportunity arose in 1992, my husband and I moved to Wilmington, where I've been practicing cardiology ever since. I started Wilmington's first outpatient nuclear medicine lab and fueled the evolution of the echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography program, which has been a critical resource in treating stroke, endocarditis, valvular heart disease and atrial fibrillation. \n In addition, I helped develop: \n - Wilmington's first Chest Pain Center \n - Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute's Heart Failure Clinic \n - Coronary CT angiography program \n - Structural heart program \n As each patient is unique in their response to treatments, I tailor a treatment plan to an individual patient's needs and goals. I strongly believe prevention of heart disease is preferable to treatment for heart disease complications. I work with patients on optimizing their lifestyle and addressing risk factors to avoid disease progression and complications such as heart attacks, heart failure, strokes and need for revascularization. \n I continue to do clinical research and always enjoy teaching residents, medical students, and physician assistant and nurse practitioner students. \n My clinical interests include preventive cardiology, coronary heart disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, cardiac imaging and heart disease in women. There are important differences in how heart disease presents in women and in how we help them manage their cardiac issues.