Meena Rao, MD

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.

My father was a cardiologist, and I grew up in Ormond Beach, Florida rounding at the hospital with him after he'd pick me up after school. I knew from an early age that I didn't just want to go into medicine; I wanted to study and treat heart disease. \n I learned a lot from watching my dad. He built a strong rapport with his patients, and I strive to do the same. I treat every patient as if they're a member of my family. \n I'm honored to serve as director of the Coastal HVI Structural Heart Program for Novant Health. In addition, I'm chairman of the pharmacy and therapeutics committee at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center and a board member of the Coastal Heart and Vascular Institute. \n Clinical trials are an important research tool, and I've served as principal investigator on a trial investigating treatments for high-risk pulmonary embolism and was co-principal investigator for an investigation into treatment for acute decompensated heart failure. \n My family - including my wife and three children - and I have lived in the Wilmington area since 2004. I enjoy everything this area has to offer, including fishing, spending time on the water and playing golf. I also enjoy travel and reading historical nonfiction.