Elisa C Taffe, MD, FSVM, CWSP

Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Cardiovascular Disease and Advanced Heart Failure, Dr. Alpert provides care and treatment to people with pulmonary hypertension and heart failure, including cardiac transplantation and mechanical support, such as left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). He completed additional training in advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation as well as in adult echocardiography. A Pittsburgh native, Dr. Alpert earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, and completed his internal medicine residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He completed both his general cardiology fellowship and subspecialty training in advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, where he also served as chief fellow. During his training, Dr. Alpert authored more than 20 abstracts and publications with a particular focus on symptom burden in heart failure. He organized two education-themed national meetings for the American College of Cardiology (ACC), was the principal investigator for a grant from the University of Michigan’s Department of Graduate Medical Education, and served as a consultant for the ACC’s Advance Care Planning smartphone app. Dr. Alpert is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. He is also a member of the Heart Failure Society of America and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Dr. Alpert has medical privileges at Allegheny General, Forbes, and West Penn hospitals.

Rachel A Hughes-Doichev, MD, is a medical professional based in Pittsburgh, PA, affiliated with the Allegheny Health Network. The provider directory offers a comprehensive search for healthcare services, ensuring patients have access to the necessary care. Committed to patient privacy and security, the practice adheres to strict privacy policies and maintains compliance with relevant regulations. All rights to the information and services are reserved by Allegheny Health Network as of 2025. Generated from the website

Dr. Tsukashita has particular clinical interest in aortic root replacement, aortic, atrial fibrillation, cardiac, coronary artery bypass graft, and heart valve repair, reconstruction and replacement surgeries, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), heart transplant, left ventricular assist device (LVAD), mechanical structural heart disease, and minimally invasive heart surgery. He received his medical degree from Kyoto University in Kyoto City, Japan. He earned his doctor of philosophy degree at Kyoto University’s Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine where he also completed his residency. He received fellowship training in cardiovascular surgery as a clinical fellow at New York University Hospital Medical Center. He received training in heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Tsukashita has published many articles in medical journals on his clinical research.