Saamir A. Hassan, MD
Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine
About Dr. Hassan
Dr. Saamir A. Hassan joined the faculty at MD Anderson in 2011. He currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Cardiology, the Associate Director of the Echocardiography Laboratory, and as the Patient Safety and Quality Officer for the Department of Cardiology. Dr. Hassan received his MD from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He also completed his internal medicine residency as well as his cardiology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Hassan is board certified in Cardiology and Adult Comprehensive Echocardiography.
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Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Director, Echocardiography Lab, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
Dr. Hassan’s research focuses on promoting a better understanding of cardiovascular care in cancer patients. He has published research articles on a myriad of topics, including pericardial disease in cancer patients, amyloid heart disease, radiation-induced cardiovascular disease, stress-induced cardiomyopathy, and cardiovascular complications of chemotherapeutic agents. Dr. Hassan has a keen interest in carcinoid heart disease and is actively involved in clinical research projects, which are aimed at providing better evaluation and treatment of patients with this disease. He has several research publications about carcinoid heart disease and is actively engaged in collaborative research in this field.
Clinical Interests
Dr. Hassan’s clinical interests include patient safety and quality improvement, non-invasive imaging in cancer patients, infective endocarditis in cancer patients, and carcinoid heart disease. He is also involved in educational activities and has mentored dozens of residents and fellows in clinical and research projects.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2005 | Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA, MD, Medicine |
| 2000 | Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA, BA, Economics |
Postgraduate Training
| 2008-2011 | Clinical Fellowship, Cardiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX |
| 2005-2008 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX |
Board Certifications
| 2012 | American Board of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases |
| 2010 | National Board of Echocardiography, Adult Comprehensive Echocardiography |
| 2008 | American Board of Internal Medicine |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Associate Director, Echo Lab, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2012 - 2021
Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2012 - 2017
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Quality Officer, Department of Cardiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - Present
Institutional Committee Activities
Committee, Department of Cardiology representative for COVID-19 Patient Vaccine Committee, 2021 - Present
Quality Officer, Department of Cardiology, Division of Internal Medicine, 2017 - Present
Member, Faculty Senate, 2015 - Present
EHR Officer for Department of Cardiology, EHR, 2014 - Present
Provider Ambassador for ICD-10, Provider Executive Steering Committee, 2012 - Present
Consultantships
MD Anderson, Houston, 2021 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2013 | Department of Internal Medicine Best Quality Improvement Project winner |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Grable C, Yusuf S, Song J, Viola GM, Ulhaq O, Banchs J, Jensen CT, Goel H, Hassan S. Characteristics of infective endocarditis in a cancer population. Open Heart 8(2), 2021. PMID: 34344722.
- Jacob R, Palaskas N, Lopez J, Hassan S, Kim P, Donisan T, Balanescu D, Cilingiroglu M, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. How to Perform Pericardiocentesis in Cancer Patients With Thrombocytopenia. J Am Coll Cardiol CardioOnc, 2021.
- Balanescu DV, Aziz MK, Donisan T, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Hassan S, Kim P, Song J, Ntim W, Cilingiroglu M, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Cancer treatment resumption in patients with new-generation drug-eluting stents. Coron Artery Dis 32(4):295-301, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33196581.
- Jensen CT, Khetan R, Adkins J, Javadi S, Liu X, Sun J, Hassan SA, Morani AC. Delayed bolus-tracking trigger at CT correlates with cardiac dysfunction and suboptimal portovenous contrast phase. Abdom Radiol (NY) 46(2):826-835, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32700213.
- Kim P, Masha L, Olson A, Iliescu C, Karimzad K, Hassan S, Palaskas N, Durand JB, Leung CH, Lopez-Mattei J. QT Prolongation in Cancer Patients. Front Cardiovasc Med 8:45, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33718445.
- Bravo-Jaimes K, Palaskas NL, Banchs J, Abelhad NI, Altaf A, Gouni S, Song J, Hassan SA, Iliescu C, Deswal A, Yusuf SW. Rate of Progression of Aortic Stenosis in Patients With Cancer. Front Cardiovasc Med 8:644264, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33816575.
- Lopez-Mattei J, Verstovsek S, Fellman B, Iliescu C, Bhatti K, Hassan SA, Kim P, Gray BA, Palaskas NL, Grosu HB, Mamas MA, Faiz SA. Prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in myelofibrosis. Ann Hematol 99(4):781-789, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32076825.
- Quintana RA, Bui LP, Moudgil R, Palaskas N, Hassan S, Abe JI, Mouhayar E, Yusuf SW, Hernandez A, Banchs J. Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography in Cardio-Oncology and Beyond. Tex Heart Inst J 47(2):96-107, 2020. PMID: 32603473.
- Agha AM, Gill C, Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Hassan S, Kim PY, Charitakis K, Cilingiroglu M, Oo TH, Kroll M, Durand JB, Hirsch-Ginsberg C, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Identifying Hemostatic Thresholds in Cancer Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography Based on Platelet Count and Thromboelastography. Front Cardiovasc Med 7:9, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32118047.
- Li J, Chang HM, Banchs J, Araujo DM, Hassan SA, Wagar EA, Yeh ETH, Meng QH. Detection of subclinical cardiotoxicity in sarcoma patients receiving continuous doxorubicin infusion or pre-treatment with dexrazoxane before bolus doxorubicin. Cardiooncology 6:1, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32154027.
- Hassan SA, Palaskas NL, Agha AM, Iliescu C, Lopez-Mattei J, Chen C, Zheng H, Yusuf SW. Carcinoid Heart Disease: a Comprehensive Review. Curr Cardiol Rep 21(11):140, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31745664.
- Agha A, Zarifa A, Kim P, Iliescu C, Gladish G, Hassan S, Palaskas N, Durand JB, Lu Y, Lopez-Mattei J. The Role of Cardiovascular Imaging and Serum Biomarkers in Identifying Cardiotoxicity Related to Cancer Therapeutics. Methodist Debakey Cardiovasc J 15(4):266, 2019. PMID: 31988686.
- Sudasena D, Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Hassan S, Palaskas N, Kim P, Karimzad K, Lopez-Mattei J, Arain S, Gould KL, Iliescu C. Fulminant Vascular and Cardiac Toxicity Associated with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Sorafenib. Cardiovasc Toxicol 19(4):382-387, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30543051.
- Kitkungvan D, Kalluru D, Lunagariya A, Sanchez L, Yusuf SW, Hassan S, Palaskas N, Mouhayar E, Banchs J. Safety of Transesophageal Echocardiography in Patients with Thrombocytopenia. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 32(8):1010-1015, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31239084.
- Balanescu SM, Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Yang EH, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Hassan S, Kim P, Cilingiroglu M, Marmagkiolis K, Kar B, Iliescu C. The Onco-cardiologist Dilemma: to Implant, to Defer, or to Avoid Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Cancer Patients with Aortic Stenosis?. Curr Cardiol Rep 21(8):83, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31286273.
- Zarifa, A., Albittar, A., Kim, P., Hassan, S. A., Palaskas, N. L., Iliescu, C., Durand, J-B. & Lopez-Mattei, J. Cardiac toxicities of anticancer treatments: chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. In: Current opinion in cardiology:441-450, 2019.
- Balanescu DV, Donisan T, Lopez-Mattei J, Hassan S, Kim P, Dasari A, Halperin D, Yao J, Kar B, Gregoric I, Balanescu SM, Iliescu C. The 1, 2, 3, 4 of carcinoid heart disease: Comprehensive cardiovascular imaging is the mainstay of complex surgical treatment. Oncol Lett 17(5):4126-4132, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30944605.
- 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.
- Agha AM, Lopez-Mattei J, Donisan T, Balanescu D, Iliescu CA, Banchs J, Kim PY, Palaskas NL, Yusuf S, Gladish G, Hassan S. Multimodality imaging in carcinoid heart disease. Open Heart 6(1):e001060, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31245014.
- Zarifa A, Salih M, Lopez-Mattei J, Lee H, Iliescu C, Hassan S, Palaskas N, Durand JB, Mouhayar E, Kim J, Kim P. Cardiotoxicity of FDA-approved immune checkpoint inhibitors: A rare but serious adverse event. JIPO 1(2):68-77, 2018.
- Kitkungvan D, Yusuf SW, Moudgil R, Palaskas N, Guindani M, Juhee S, Hassan S, Sanchez L, Banchs J. Echocardiographic measures associated with the presence of left ventricular thrombus in patients with chemotherapy-related cardiac dysfunction. Echocardiography 35(10):1512-1518, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30005128.
- Moudgil R, Hassan S, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Banchs J, Yusuf SW. Evolution of echocardiography in subclinical detection of cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction. Echocardiography 35(6):860-868, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29749652.
- Palaskas N, Thompson K, Gladish G, Agha AM, Hassan S, Iliescu C, Kim P, Durand JB, Lopez-Mattei JC. Evaluation and Management of Cardiac Tumors. Curr Treat Options Cardiovasc Med 20(4):29, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29556752.
- Hassan SA, Palaskas N, Kim P, Iliescu C, Lopez-Mattei J, Mouhayar E, Mougdil R, Thompson K, Banchs J, Yusuf SW. Chemotherapeutic Agents and the Risk of Ischemia and Arterial Thrombosis. Curr Atheroscler Rep 20(2):10, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29423705.
- Liu VY, Agha AM, Lopez-Mattei J, Palaskas N, Kim P, Thompson K, Mouhayar E, Marmagkiolis K, Hassan SA, Karimzad K, Iliescu CA. Interventional Cardio-Oncology: Adding a New Dimension to the Cardio-Oncology Field. Front Cardiovasc Med 5(48):48, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29868614.
- Agha AM, Parwani P, Guha A, Durand JB, Iliescu CA, Hassan S, Palaskas NL, Gladish G, Kim PY, Lopez-Mattei J. Role of cardiovascular imaging for the diagnosis and prognosis of cardiac amyloidosis. Open Heart 5(2):e000881, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30305910.
- Giza DE, Lopez-Mattei J, Vejpongsa P, Munoz E, Iliescu G, Kitkungvan D, Hassan SA, Kim P, Ewer MS, Iliescu C. Stress-Induced Cardiomyopathy in Cancer Patients. Am J Cardiol 120(12):2284-2288, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29096885.
- Hassan SA, Banchs J, Iliescu C, Dasari A, Lopez-Mattei J, Yusuf SW. Carcinoid Heart Disease. Heart 103(19):1488-1495, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28596302.
- Lopez-Mattei J, Iliescu C, Durand JB, Hassan S, Kim P, Sierra-Galan L, Gladish G. The role of cardiac MRI in cardio-oncology. Future Cardiol 13(4):311-316, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28639454.
- Giza DE, Iliescu G, Hassan S, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. Cancer as a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease. Curr Oncol Rep 19(39):39, 2017. PMID: 28421481.
- Raghunathan D, Khilji MI, Hassan SA, Yusuf SW. Radiation-Induced Cardiovascular Disease. Curr Atheroscler Rep 19(22):22, 2017. PMID: 28315200.
- Hassan SA, Yusuf SW, Sharma J, Khan J, Guindani M, Valero V, Chavez-McGregor M, Banchs J. Predictors of left ventricular systolic function recovery in the setting of sinus tachycardia in patients with cancer. Echocardiography 34(1):29-36, 2017. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27767228.
- Hassan SA, Lopez-Mattei J, Sanchez L, Banchs J. Improved Reliability in Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Assessment by Adopting Quantitative Methods. Echocardiography 33(12):1936-1937, 2016. PMID: 27917602.
- Fadol AP, Banchs J, Hassan SA, Yeh ET, Fellman B. Withdrawal of Heart Failure Medications in Cancer Survivors With Chemotherapy-Induced Left Ventricular Dysfunction: A Pilot Study. J Card Fail 6(6):481-482, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27036866.
- Yusuf SW, Hassan SA, Mouhayar E, Negi SI, Banchs J, O'Gara PT. Pericardial disease: A clinical review. Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther 14(4):525-539, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26691443.
- Yusuf SW, Solhpour A, Banchs J, Lopez-Mattei JC, Durand J, Iliescu C, Hassan S, Qazilbash M. Cardiac Amyloidosis. Expert Rev of Cardiovasc Therapy 12(2):265-77, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Ragbir S, Jneid H, Hassan S, Bozkurt B. Hyperacute T-waves: Wolff-Parkinson White Pattern or Acute Coronary Syndrome?. J Emerg Med 44(2):332-5, 2013. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22726664.
- Divakaran V, Mehta S, Yao D, Hassan S, Simpson S, Wiegerinck E, Swinkels DW, Mann DL, Afshar-Kharghan V. Hepcidin in anemia of chronic heart failure. Am J Hematol 86(1):107-109, 2011. PMID: 21080339.
Manuals, Teaching Aids, Other Teaching Publications
- Yeh E, Chang HM, Hassan SA. MD Anderson Practices in Onco-Cardiology Department of Cardiology at MDACC: Houston, 2016.
- Hassan SA, Banchs J. Monitoring for Cardiotoxicity with Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction. MD Anderson Practices in Onco-Cardiology. Department of Cardiology at MDACC: Houston, 2016.
Abstracts
- Fossas J, Irizarry-Caro J, Yarrabothula AR, Hassan S. Carcinoid Heart Disease prevalence among patient with neuroendocrine tumors: The MD Anderson Cancer Center Experience. 71st ACC Annual Scientific Session, 2022.
- Bateni GH, Durand JB, Iliescu C, Mouhayar E, Palaskas NL, Chohan J, Sudasena D, Hassan S, Kim P, Parwani P, Jazayeri MA, Lopez-Mattei J. Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Clinical Impact in Management of Cardiomyopathy in a Cancer Center. Circulation 140(Suppl 1):A15308-A15308, 2019.
- Iliescu C, Balanescu D, Hassan S, Lopez-Mattei J, Palaskas N, Dasari A, Halperin D, Yao J, Kar B, Gregoric I, Nathan I, Durand JB, Karimzad K, Kim P, Iliescu G, Balanescu S, Marmagkiolis K, Donisan T. Predictors of mortality following cardiac surgery for carcinoid heart disease. Journal of Clinical Oncology 37(15 suppl):e15692-e15692, 2019.
- McDermott L, Laeeq R, Palasks N, Moudgil R, Kim P, Yusuf S, Hassan S, Banchs J, Donisan T, Balanescu DV, Iliescu C, Durand JB, Lopez-Mattei J. Using Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography to Predict the Recovery of Left Ventricular Function in Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 73(9S1):1604, 2019.
- Boone D, Monlezun D, Cervoni-Curet F, Chohan J, Sunny J, Bhatti K, Balanescu D, Donisan T, Iliescu G, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Hassan S, Kim P, Durand JB, Balanescu S, Marmagkiolis K, Gonzalez E, Okwuosa T, Iliescu C. Malignancy Type Impacts Coronary Lesion Severity and Location: Multivariable Regression with Concurrent Machine Learning-Backed Case-Control Analysis. Circulation 138(Suppl 1):A16512-A16512, 2018.
- Boone D, Monlezun D, Cervoni-Curet F, Chohan J, Sunny J, Bhatti K, Iliescu G, Balanescu D, Donisan T, Palaskas N, Lopez-Mattei J, Hassan S, Kim P, Marmagkiolis K, Iliescu C. TCT-150 Cardiovascular disease and percutaneous coronary intervention in hematological malignancies: knowledge is power. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 72(138):B64-B64, 2018.
- Giza D, Lopez-Mattei J, Kim P, Munoz E, Hermann J, Iliescu G, Yang E, Hassan SA, Iliescu C. Stress induced Cardiomyopathy Triggered by Chemotherapy: When Should Cancer Therapy be Restarted?. 66th ACC Annual Scientific Session 69(11_suppplement):748-748, 2017.
- Vejpongsa P, Chen M, Araujo D, Massey M, Banchs J, Acholonu S, Hassan SA, Meng W, Yeh E. Comparing the Efficacy of Primary Prevention Strategies in Doxorubicin-induced Cardiotoxicity using Echocardiography and High-Sensitivity Troponin T. Abstract presented at the American Heart Association Annual Conference 130(Suppl_2):17234, 2014.
- Fadol A, Banchs J, Hassan SA, Durand J, Shelton V, Fellman B, Yeh E. Can Medications Be Safely Withdrawn in Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Heart Failure with Recovered Heart Function?. Abstract presented at the Heart Failure Society of America Scientific Session 20(8 supplement):S5, 2014.
- Iliescu C, LeBeau J, Silva G, Frusina S, Muskan A, Iliescu G, Tomakin G, Manoukian G, Banchs J, Kim P, Hassan SA, Durand J. Optical Coherence Tomography-guided anAntiplatelet Therapy in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease and Cancer. Abstract presented at the Annual Conference of American College of Cardiology 61(10(S)):E1128, 2013.
- Sharma, J, Banchs J, Khan J, Hassan S. Assessment of Left Ventricular Systolic Function in the Setting of Sinus Tachycardia. Texas ACC Chapter Meeting, 2013.
- Sharma J, Hassan SA, Banchs J.. Assessment of Left Ventricular Systolic Function in the Setting of Tachycardia. MD Anderson Research Conference, 2012.
- Fernando R, Queen S, Hassan S, Banchs J. Feasibility and correlation of left atrial volumes, a comparison of 2D and 3D methods. Texas ACC Chapter Meeting, 2012.
- Divakaran V, Mehta S, Yao D, Hassan SA, Mann D, Afshar-Kharghan V. Hepcidin does not mediate Anemia in Chronic Heart Failure Patients. Heart Failure Society of America Scientific Session 16(8 supplement):S29, 2010.
- Ramanathan V, Hassan SA, Thornby J, Pritchett A. Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor and Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Utilization in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure and Kidney Disease. American Society of Nephrology Annual Meeting, 2008.
- Hassan SA, Deswal A, Bozkurt B, Thohan V, Mann D, Shaikh K, Pritchett A. Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome are Associated with Improved Survival in the Heart Failure Population. ACC Scientific Sessions, Atlanta 2006 47(4):56A-56A, 2006.
Book Chapters
- Hassan, SA. Carcinoid Heart Disease. In: Cancer and the Heart 3rd Edition, 2019.
- Chaftari P, Mouhayar E, Iliescu C, Hassan SA, Kim P. In: Cardiac Emergencies in Cancer Patients”. Oncologic Emergencies: Springer, New York, 2016.