Kara A. Thompson, MD, FACC
Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine
About Dr. Thompson
Dr. Kara A. Thompson graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in 1993, completed her internal medicine training at The University of Virginia in 1996, and completed subspecialty training in cardiology at The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, in 1999. After her cardiology fellowship, she practiced invasive, non-interventional cardiology in a private practice setting in Austin, Texas, for thirteen years. Dr. Thompson was also a member of the Seton Heart Failure and Transplant team. In 2012, Dr. Thompson joined the Department of Cardiology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She continues to practice general cardiology and is board certified in cardiovascular disease, echocardiography, and nuclear cardiology. She has developed an academic interest in cardiac outcomes of childhood cancer survivors and published a research letter in the Journal of American College of Cardiology titled “Cardiac Outcomes with Pregnancy after Cardiotoxic Therapy for Childhood Cancer.” She is also interested in cardiac tumors and has published two chapters titled “Managing Benign Cardiac Tumors” and “Managing Malignant Cardiac Tumors” in the 2016 MD Anderson Practices in Onco-Cardiology Manual.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
Cardiac outcomes of childhood cancer survivors
Cardiac outcomes of pregnancy after cardiotoxic therapy for cancer
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1993 | Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA, MD, Medicine |
| 1989 | Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA, BA, History |
Postgraduate Training
| 2008-2008 | Level ll, Cardiac CT, Texas Cardiovascular, Austin, TX |
| 1996-1999 | Clinical Fellowship, Cardiovascular disease, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX |
| 1996-1999 | Level II, Echocardiography, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX |
| 1996-1999 | Level II, Nuclear Cardiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX |
| 1996-1999 | Level II, Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX |
| 1993-1996 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Virginia Health Science Center, Charlottesville, VA |
Board Certifications
| 2017 | Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology |
| 2014 | National Board of Echocardiography |
| 1999 | Cardiovascular Disease |
| 1996 | American Board of Internal Medicine |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2012 - 2019
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Cardiologist, Austin Diagnostic Clinic, Austin, TX, 2008 - 2012
Cardiologist, Texas Cardiovascular Consultants, Austin, TX, 1999 - 2008
Cardiologist, Seton Heart Failure and Transplant Program, Austin, TX, 1999 - 2008
Institutional Committee Activities
Member, Clinical Effectiveness Subcommittee for the Department of Cardiology, 2013 - 2016
Honors & Awards
| 2017 | Research Award for the 2017 Cancer Survivorship Symposium (Co-Author on poster "Relationships Among Hypertension (HTN) Susceptibility Loci, Hypertension, and Late Anthracycline-Related Cardiotoxicity in Childhood Cancer Survivors (CCS)"), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2016 | Finalist for Faculty Excellence in Research Poster Award for "Cardiac Outcomes with Pregnancy after Cardiotoxic Therapy for Childhood Cancer" presented at the Cancer Survivorship Research Symposium, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2012 | Good Pick- Up Award, Austin Diagnostic Clinic |
| 2011 | Best Doctors 2011 |
| 1998 | AHA/ Wyeth- Ayerst Women in Cardiology, AHA |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Hui D, Mahler DA, Larsson L, Wu J, Thomas S, Harrison CA, Hess K, Lopez-Mattei J, Thompson K, Gomez D, Jeter M, Lin S, Basen-Engquist K, Bruera E. High Flow Nasal Cannula Therapy for Exertional Dyspnea in Cancer Patients: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial. Oncologist 26(8):e1470-e1479, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33289280.
- Nolan M, Oikonomou EK, Silversides CK, Hines MR, Thompson KA, Campbell BA, Amir E, Maxwell C, Thavendiranathan P. Impact of Cancer Therapy-Related Cardiac Dysfunction on Risk of Heart Failure in Pregnancy. JACC CardioOncol 2(2):153-162, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 34396225.
- Palaskas N, Morgan J, Daigle T, Banchs J, Durand JB, Hong D, Naing A, Le H, Hassan SA, Karimzad K, Mouhayar E, Kim P, Lopez-Mattei J, Thompson K, Yusuf SW, Iliescu C. Targeted Cancer Therapies With Pericardial Effusions Requiring Pericardiocentesis Focusing on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. Am J Cardiol 123(8):1351-1357, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30765065.
- Ghotra AS, Thompson K, Lopez-Mattei J, Bawa D, Hernandez R, Banchs J, Palaskas N, Iliescu C, Kim P, Yusuf SW, Hassan SA. Cardiovascular manifestations of Erdheim-Chester disease. Echocardiography 36(2):229-236, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30569522.
- Hildebrandt M, Reyes M, Wu X, Pu X, Thompson KA, Ma J, Landstorm A, Morrison A, Ater JL.. Hypertension Susceptibility Loci are Associated with Anthracycline-related Cardiotoxicity in Long-term Childhood Cancer Survivors, 2017.
- Thompson KA, Hildebrandt M, Ater JL. Cardiac Outcomes with Pregnancy after Cardiotoxic Therapy for Childhood Cancer. Journal of American College of Cardiology 69(5), 2017.
- Abu-Halawa SA, Thompson K, Kirkeeide RL, Vaughn WK, Rosales O, Fujisi K, Schroth G, Smalling R, Anderson HV. Estrogen replacement therapy and outcome of coronary balloon angioplasty in postmenopausal women. Am J Cardiol 82(4):409-13, 1998. PMID: 9723624.
- Mitchell MA, Nath S, Thompson KA, Pagley PR, DiMarco JP. Sustained wide complex tachycardia resulting in myocardial injury in a patient with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 20(7):1866-9, 1997. PMID: 9249843.
Invited Articles
- Liu V, Agha A, Lopez-Mattei J, Palaskas N, Kim P, Thompson KA, Mouhayar E, Marmagkiolis K, Hassan SA, Karimzad K, Iliescu C.. Interventional Cardio-oncology: Adding a New Dimension to the Cardio-oncology Field. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2018.
- Palaskas N, Thompson KA, Gladish G, Agha A, Hassan S, Iliescu C, Kim P, Durand JB, Lopez-Mattei J.. Evaluation and Management of Cardiac Tumors. Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2018.
- Thompson KA.. Pregnancy and Cardiomyopathy after Anthracyclines in Childhood. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2018.
- Hassan SA, Palaskas N, Kim P, Iliescu C, Lopez-Mattei J, Mouhayar E, Moudgil R, Thompson K, Banchs J, Yusuf SW. Chemotherapeutic Agents and the Risk of Ischemia and Arterial Thrombosis. Current Atherosclerosis Reports 20(10), 2018.
Manuals, Teaching Aids, Other Teaching Publications
- Thompson, Kara. Management of Cardiac Tumors, 2015.
Book Chapters
- Thompson KA.. Cardio-Oncology. In: Cardiology Secrets, 2017.
- Thompson KA. Managing Benign Cardiac Tumors. In: MD Anderson Practices In Onco-Cardiology, 2016.
- Thompson KA. Managing Malignant Cardiac Tumors. In: MD Anderson Practices In Onco-Cardiology, 2016.
- Mouhayar E., El_Haddad D., Kim P., Thompson, K,. Onco-Cardiology. In: The MD Anderson Manual of Medical Oncology. 3rd Edition, 2016.
- Anderson HV, Thompson K. Coronary Artery Disease Overview. In: Heart Disease in Women. Churchill Livingstone: New York, 2002.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified August 30, 2024