Web sized

Avichal Aggarwal, MD

  • Associate Professor, Pediatric Cardiology
  • Medical Co-Director, Pediatric Cardiac Transplant Program
  • Medical Director, Heart Failure Services
 
Contact
Avichal Aggarwal, MD
713-486-6755
713-500-5751 fax

Pediatric Cardiology Clinic
713-486-6755

Biography

Avichal Aggarwal, MD, is an associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, where he serves as Medical Co-Director of the Pediatric Cardiac Transplant Program and Medical Director of Pediatric Heart Failure Services. He is a nationally recognized pediatric cardiologist with specialized expertise in advanced heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, ventricular assist devices (VAD), and pediatric heart transplantation.

Dr. Aggarwal is the founding architect of the Pediatric VAD, Heart Failure, and Transplant Program at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Under his leadership, the program achieved UNOS certification in 2021 and rapidly expanded its clinical impact, performing multiple pediatric VAD placements and heart transplants. He developed the program’s clinical, ICU, pharmacy, and nursing protocols and played a central role in establishing new EPIC order set transitions for VAD and transplant care. He also founded and directed one of the nation’s only Pediatric Home Milrinone Clinics, a twice-weekly program that has allowed children with advanced heart failure to safely remain at home, often delaying or avoiding transplant. Additionally, Dr. Aggarwal provides continuous cardiac coverage for pediatric patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center — another service he personally established and grew for UTHealth Houston.

Dr. Aggarwal’s academic contributions span nearly two decades, including peer-reviewed publications in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Pediatrics, Congenital Heart Disease, Cardiology in the Young, The Journal of Pediatrics, and JACC Case Reports. His research portfolio includes leadership roles in multicenter clinical trials, national collaboratives focused on improving VAD outcomes, and quality improvement efforts in pediatric heart failure. He currently serves as ACTION Heart Failure Site Lead and on-site principal investigator for major national initiatives.

A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Aggarwal leads weekly congenital heart surgery conferences, delivers core curriculum lectures for medical students, guides trainees through transplant-focused grand rounds, and mentors pediatric cardiology fellows across multiple institutions.

Dr. Aggarwal has been recognized internationally and in major media for his clinical innovation and patient centered approach — including features in The Clarion Ledger, Houston Chronicle, PEOPLE Magazine, TODAY.com, and local broadcast media. He is also the recipient of the Mahatma Gandhi Award at the House of Lords in London for contributions to global health.

Originally from India and a permanent U.S. resident, Dr. Aggarwal received his medical degree from Odessa State Medical University and completed pediatric residency at Brookdale University Hospital in New York, followed by a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Education

Doctor of Medicine
Odessa State Medical University, Ukraine, 1990-1996
General Pediatrics Residency
Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 2004-2007
Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship
VCU Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA, 2007-2010

Areas of Interest

Clinical Interests

Heart failure and transplantation

Publications

  • Rakesh Donthula, Lauren S. Talley, Dilachew Achiko Adebo, Avichal Aggarwal, Jorge Salazar, Matthew Brown, Santosh C. Uppu, SUCCESSFUL LATE 1.5 VENTRICULAR CONVERSION IN FAILING FONTAN (Poster accepted at ACC 22)
  • WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES FOR CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS? Antonio F. Corno, Avichal Aggarwal, Tina O. Findley, Jon M. Meliones, Jorge D. Salazar.
  • A Aggarwal. Cardiac Transplantation in neonates and infants. Book Chapter for, “A multidisciplinary approach to perinatal cardiology” Published May 2021.
  • H Sanandajifar, A Aggarwal. 1191-208: Management of Severe Persistent Diastolic Dysfunction and Acute Renal Failure After Pediatric Heart Transplantation. (ACC, March 2018) ,MarcCardiology1, Batson Children’s Hospital Heart Cent 
  • Avichal Aggarwal, MD “Two interesting success/struggle stories of bridging from ventricular assist device (VAD) to heart transplant, despite challenges of a small/new program”, Pediatric Heart Transplant Summit, Sept, 2017 in Seattle for a moderated poster session.
  • Tynes, B. Kogon, A. Dodge-Khatami, A. Aggarwal, J. Knudson. An unusual advanced case of subacute endocarditis with mycotic pseudoaneurysm. 13th International Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society (PCICS) Conference, Washington, D.C., USA, December 6-8, 2017
  • Dodge-Khatami J, Aggarwal A, Taylor MB, Maposa D, Salazar JD, Dodge-Khatami A. Fontan completion in reverse order out of necessity: secondary Glenn after primary extra-cardiac inferior cavopulmonary artery connection. Cardiol Young. 2017 Jul;27(5):925-928. doi: 10.1017/S1047951116001839. Epub 2016 Oct 28.
  • Dodge-Khatami J, Dodge-Khatami A, Knudson JD, Seals SR, Aggarwal A, Taylor MB, Salazar JD Alternative strategies in newborns and infants with major co-morbidities to improve congenital heart surgery outcomes at an emerging programme Cardiol Young. 2016 Mar;26(3):485-92
  • Ebeid MR, Batlivala SP, Salazar JD, Eddine AC, Aggarwal A, Dodge-Khatami A, Maposa D, Taylor MB. Percutaneous Closure of Perimembranous Ventricular Septal Defects Using the Second-Generation Amplatzer Vascular Occluders Am J Cardiol. 2016 Jan 1;117(1):127-30. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2015.10.010.
  • Ali Dodge-Khatami 1, Avichal Aggarwal 2, Mary B. Taylor 2,3, Douglas Maposa 4,
    Jorge D. Salazar When the Bidirectional Glenn is an Unfavorable Option: Inferior Cavopulmonary Connection as an Alternative Palliation Cardiology in the Young
  • Marco Pinder, M.D.(1)*; Jarrod D. Knudson, M.D., Ph.D.(2)*; Andrew Rivard, M.D.(3); Kristen H. Miller, M.D.(3); Daniel J. DiBardino, M.D.(4); Jorge D. Salazar, M.D.(4); Avichal Aggarwal, M.D.(5) Importance of Screening for Coarctation of the Aorta in Pediatrics Patients Mississippi State Medical Journal, 2015
  • DiBardino DJ, Aggarwal A, Knudson JD. Off-pump snare technique for congenital left atrial appendage aneurysm. Cardiol Young. 2014 Jun;24(3):555-8
  • Dhillon, MD, A. Aggarwal, MD1, J. Knudson, MD1, D Shakti, MD1, A. Dodge-Khatami, MD2 Mycotic Right Ventricular Wall Pseudoaneurysm Complicating Right Ventricular-Pulmonary Artery Shunt Stump after Single Ventricle Palliation UMMC Research Day
  • My-Linh D. Ngo MD, Avichal Aggarwal MD and Jarrod D. Knudson, MD Peripheral Pulmonary Artery Stenosis: An Unusual Case and Discussion of Genetic Associations, Congenit Heart Dis. 2014 Sep-Oct;9(5):448-52. doi: 10.1111/chd.12198. Epub 2014 Jun 25
  • Cauveh Erami, MD, Ahmad Charaf-Eddine, MD, Avichal Aggarwal, MD
    Andrew L. Rivard, MD, Henry W. Giles, MD
    Michael J. Nowicki, MD Dysphagia Lusoria in an Infant The Journal of Pediatrics
    Volume 162, Issue 6, Pages 1289-1290, June 2013
  • Makram Ebeid, Mary Anne Kosek, Avichal Aggarwal, Charles Gaymes TRANSHEPATIC CLOSURE OF THE PERSISTENTLY PATENT DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS (PDA) Cath and cardiovascular interventions vol 79 issue 5:S17 ( P -29) April
  • Aggarwal A, Lee S, Moskowitz M, Myocardial dysfunction in children infected with respiratory Syncytial virus” at the resident and fellows research day at VCUHS (won second best poster award out of 60 posters).
  • Dhuper S, Aggarwal A, Arora S, Weichbrod L, Echocardiographic assessment of systolic and diastolic function in overweight vs. normal weight children. “Pediatric Academic societies” in Toronto, Canada, May 2007 (Poster and platform).
  • Dhuper S, Agarwalla V, Rosemary S, Aggarwal A, Cohen H, Comparing age modified NCEP vs. WHO definitions for diagnosis of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance in overweight children and adolescents (Poster).
  • Madhusmita Misra, Avichal Aggarwal, Karen K Miller, David B Herzog, Anne Klibanski, “Effects of Anorexia Nervosa on Clinical, Hematological, Biochemical and Bone Density Parameters in Community Dwelling Adolescent Girls”. Pediatrics. 2004 Dec; 114(6):1574-83 (first two authors contributed equally).
  • Misra M, Miller KK, Almazan C, Ramaswamy K, Aggarwal A, Herzog DB, Neubauer G, Breu J, Klibanski A, “Hormonal and body composition predictors of soluble leptin receptor, leptin, and free leptin index in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa and controls and relation to insulin sensitivity”. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Jul;89(7):3486-95.
  • Madhusmita Misra, Karen K. Miller , David B. Herzog, Avichal Aggarwal, Cecilia Almazan, Gregory Neubauer, Jeff Breu, Anne Klibanski, “Growth Hormone and Ghrelin Responses to an Oral Glucose Load in Adolescent Girls with Anorexia Nervosa and Controls”. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Apr;89(4):1605-12.
  • Madhusmita Misra, Karen K Miller, Jennnifer Bjornson, Annie Hackman, Avichal Aggarwal, Joyce Chung, Melissa Ott, David B Herzog, Michael L Johnson, Anne Klibanski, “Alteration in Growth Hormone Secretory Dynamics in Adolescent Girls with Anorexia Nervosa and Effects on Bone Metabolism”. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2003 Dec; 88: 5615-5623.
  • Misra M, Miller KK, Aggarwal A, Hackman A, Herzog DB, Levitsky LL, Johnson ML, Klibanski A, “Growth Hormone Dynamics and Response to OGTT in Adolescent Girls with Anorexia Nervosa and Controls”, Endocrine Society meeting at Philadelphia, 2003. (Abstract).