Scholars@Duke
Cary Cecile Ward

Cary Cecile Ward

Professor of Medicine
Medicine, Cardiology
c.ward@duke.edu
Duke Box 2819, Duke University Medical Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
Dept of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710

Selected Publications

Antenatal Anemia and Perinatal Outcomes for Patients with Cardiac Disease in Pregnancy.

Journal Article Am J Perinatol · November 28, 2025 This study aimed to assess whether pregnant patients with antenatal anemia in the setting of cardiac disease experience an increased risk of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) and other adverse pregnancy outcomes.This retrospective cohort study used the 2016- ... Full text Link to item Cite

Maternal and Pregnancy Outcomes Following Heart Transplantation in the United States.

Journal Article JACC Heart Fail · December 2023 BACKGROUND: Improved survival following heart transplantation (HT) has led to more recipients contemplating pregnancy, but data on outcomes are limited. OBJECTIVES: The authors used a national data set to investigate and describe outcomes of pregnancies an ... Full text Link to item Cite

Prospective Observational Study of N-terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide Levels in Obese and Nonobese Women during Pregnancy.

Journal Article Am J Perinatol · April 2023 OBJECTIVE: N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a marker of ventricular dysfunction, varies by body mass index (BMI) outside of pregnancy. This study aimed to determine whether obesity affects NT-proBNP levels in pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: T ... Full text Link to item Cite

Infective Endocarditis

Chapter · January 1, 2023 Infective endocarditis (IE) is infection of a native or prosthetic heart valve, endocardial surface, or indwelling cardiac device. IE most commonly occurs on native heart valves 72%, followed by prosthetic valves 21%, and finally pacemaker/ICD 7% (Murdoch, ... Full text Cite

Risk Factors and Outcomes Associated With Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in Maternal Congenital Heart Disease.

Journal Article JACC Adv · June 2022 BACKGROUND: Among women with congenital heart disease (CHD), risk factors for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and the association of HDP with adverse outcomes are unknown. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for HDP ... Full text Link to item Cite

Instituting a Curriculum for Cardio-Obstetrics Subspecialty Fellowship Training.

Journal Article Methodist Debakey Cardiovasc J · 2022 Maternal mortality is rising in the United States, and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause. Adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes heighten the risk of cardiovascular complications during pregnancy and the peripart ... Full text Link to item Cite

Increased Risk of Aortic Dissection Associated With Pregnancy in Women With Turner Syndrome: A Systematic Review.

Journal Article Obstet Gynecol Surv · September 2020 IMPORTANCE: Turner syndrome (TS) is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities in women. The condition is characterized by gonadal dysgenesis and is associated with structural cardiac abnormalities. Assisted reproductive technology with oocyte donati ... Full text Link to item Cite

Right Ventricular Failure and Congenital Heart Disease.

Journal Article Cardiol Clin · May 2020 Survivorship into adulthood of patients with congenital heart disease is due to improvements in prenatal detection, novel surgeries, and specialized adult congenital heart disease care. As patients survive further into adulthood, long-term complications of ... Full text Link to item Cite

Evaluation and Management of Maternal Congenital Heart Disease: A Review.

Journal Article Obstet Gynecol Surv · February 2018 OBJECTIVE: Congenital heart defects represent the most common major congenital anomalies. The objective of this review was to define the most common forms of congenital heart disease (CHD) in pregnancy, outline preconception counseling, discuss the associa ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Use of Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillators in the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death: A Focus on Congenital Heart Disease and Inherited Arrhythmia Syndromes.

Journal Article J Innov Card Rhythm Manag · January 2018 Some congenital heart diseases (CHDs) and inherited arrhythmia syndromes are associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Appropriate selection criteria for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation in these patients are ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Congenital and Acquired Valvular Heart Disease in Pregnancy.

Journal Article Curr Cardiol Rep · August 24, 2017 PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The number of pregnancies complicated by valvular heart disease is increasing. This review describes the hemodynamic effects of clinically important valvular abnormalities during pregnancy and reviews current guideline-driven management ... Full text Link to item Cite

Extra-cardiac manifestations of adult congenital heart disease.

Journal Article Trends Cardiovasc Med · October 2016 Advancement in correction or palliation of congenital cardiac lesions has greatly improved the lifespan of congenital heart disease patients, resulting in a rapidly growing adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) population. As this group has increased in nu ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum and hypoplastic right ventricle in an Arabian foal.

Journal Article J Vet Cardiol · September 2016 Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum, rudimentary tricuspid valve, hypoplastic right ventricle, and right-to-left atrial shunting were identified in a four-day-old, male Arabian foal with clinical signs of cyanotic heart disease. Pulmonary bloo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Adult Congenital Heart Disease

Journal Article · October 3, 2012 Full text Cite

The utility of modified Butler-Leggett criteria for right ventricular hypertrophy in detection of clinically significant shunt ratio in ostium secundum-type atrial septal defect in adults.

Journal Article J Electrocardiol · 2010 BACKGROUND: This study was performed to test the hypothesis that there exists a correlation between the Butler-Leggett (BL) criterion for right ventricular hypertrophy on the electrocardiogram and the Qp/Qs shunt ratio in adults with ostium secundum atrial ... Full text Link to item Cite

STIM1 signalling controls store-operated calcium entry required for development and contractile function in skeletal muscle.

Journal Article Nat Cell Biol · June 2008 It is now well established that stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) is the calcium sensor of endoplasmic reticulum stores required to activate store-operated calcium entry (SOC) channels at the surface of non-excitable cells. However, little is known ab ... Full text Link to item Cite

The cardiovascular complications of pregnancy.

Journal Article Prog Cardiovasc Dis · 2007 Full text Link to item Cite

The secondary heart field: Understanding conotruncal defects from a developmental perspective

Journal Article Current Cardiology Reviews · January 1, 2006 The development of a septated outflow is complicated, and insight into this process has been limited. However, our lab and others have recently described a secondary source of myocardium that adds to the lengthening outflow tract at later stages of develop ... Full text Cite

Ablation of the secondary heart field leads to tetralogy of Fallot and pulmonary atresia.

Journal Article Dev Biol · August 1, 2005 Recent studies in chick and mouse embryos have identified a previously unrecognized secondary heart field (SHF), located in the ventral midline splanchnic mesenchyme, which provides additional myocardial cells to the outflow tract as the heart tube lengthe ... Full text Link to item Cite

Secondary heart field contributes myocardium and smooth muscle to the arterial pole of the developing heart.

Journal Article Dev Biol · May 1, 2005 The arterial pole of the heart is the region where the ventricular myocardium continues as the vascular smooth muscle tunics of the aorta and pulmonary trunk. It has been shown that the arterial pole myocardium derives from the secondary heart field and th ... Full text Link to item Cite