Dr. E. Wilson Grandin, MD, MPH, MEd: Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiologist in Boston

When a patient’s heart has deteriorated beyond what conventional medications and pacemakers can manage, the next step is often a conversation with a specialist in advanced heart failure — a physician who lives at the frontier of what modern medicine can do to keep a failing heart functioning while a more permanent solution is arranged. Dr. E. Wilson Grandin is one of those specialists.

Named to the Boston Magazine Top Doctors list in 2026, Dr. Grandin practices advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, one of the most respected cardiac programs in the world and the institution that performed the first heart transplant in New England in 1984. Within that program, he serves as Director of the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation program — placing him at the helm of one of the most complex and life-critical technologies in all of cardiovascular medicine.

Clinical Expertise: What Dr. Grandin Treats

Dr. Grandin’s practice is built around patients with the most advanced and complex presentations of heart failure — those whose condition has progressed beyond the point where standard therapies provide adequate relief, and who require specialized evaluation for mechanical circulatory support, ventricular assist devices, or heart transplantation.

His core clinical areas include advanced heart failure, cardiomyopathy, right ventricular failure, and cardiac transplantation. He has particular expertise in cardiogenic shock and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation — the temporary life support technology that takes over the function of both the heart and lungs in patients who cannot maintain adequate circulation on their own. As ECMO Program Director at Brigham and Women’s, he oversees the clinical protocols and patient selection criteria for this demanding therapy, which is reserved for the most critically ill patients and requires intensive multidisciplinary management.

He also has documented expertise in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) management, the evaluation and workup of patients being considered for heart transplantation, and the management of patients bridging from mechanical support to transplant. Treatment data indicates he sees a disproportionately high volume of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, right-sided heart failure, and kidney disease alongside heart failure — a combination that represents some of the most complex cases in the field.

Training and Academic Background

Dr. Grandin’s training pathway reflects a deliberate investment in both clinical excellence and academic depth. He completed his medical degree at Tufts University School of Medicine, followed by a residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital within the Mass General Brigham system — one of the most competitive internal medicine training programs in the country and the natural gateway to cardiovascular subspecialty training.

His cardiology fellowship was completed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which houses one of the leading advanced heart failure and transplant programs in the United States. The Penn cardiovascular fellowship is particularly recognized for its strength in heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, and cardiac transplantation — exactly the subspecialty focus Dr. Grandin has pursued throughout his career.

Beyond his MD, Dr. Grandin holds a Master of Public Health and a Master of Education, credentials that reflect both a commitment to population-level cardiovascular health and an interest in medical training and education. This combination is unusual in a clinical cardiologist and speaks to a practitioner who thinks about cardiovascular disease not only at the bedside but at the system and education levels as well.

Research Contributions

Dr. Grandin is a productive clinical researcher with a publication record concentrated in the areas of heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, and cardiogenic shock. His published work spans topics including right ventricular failure after left ventricular assist device implantation, hemodynamic predictors of outcomes in heart failure patients, optimal management strategies for extracorporeal life support in mixed cardiogenic and septic shock, and the relationship between biomarkers and post-cardiac event outcomes.

One of his notable research contributions is a study examining how right ventricular response to pulsatile load predicts early right heart failure and mortality after LVAD implantation — a clinically important question because right ventricular failure is one of the most common and dangerous complications following LVAD surgery. This work was published with co-investigators from the University of Pennsylvania and provides actionable hemodynamic guidance for clinicians evaluating candidates for mechanical circulatory support.

He has also contributed to research on galectin-3 as a biomarker for the development of heart failure after acute coronary syndrome, published with colleagues including senior investigators from the PROVE IT-TIMI 22 trial. This line of research addresses the question of which patients who survive a heart attack are at highest risk of subsequently developing heart failure — an important question for preventive cardiology and early intervention.

His research portfolio, combined with his clinical leadership role in ECMO, positions him as both a practitioner and a contributor to the evidence base that guides how the sickest cardiac patients are managed in major centers.

Brigham and Women’s Heart and Vascular Center

Dr. Grandin practices within the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart and Vascular Center, housed in the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center. This program is one of the largest and most distinguished cardiovascular programs in the world, with more than 100 cardiologists across every cardiovascular subspecialty.

The Heart and Vascular Center has a particular institutional legacy in advanced heart failure and transplantation. Brigham and Women’s performed the first successful heart transplant in New England in 1984 and has since completed more than 700 heart transplants with outcomes exceeding national averages. The program is a national referral center for complex advanced heart disease, receiving patients from across the United States and internationally when their condition exceeds the capabilities of their local institution.

Cardiologists within the program hold faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School, and the program’s research output has been foundational to modern cardiology — including landmark contributions to the use of aspirin and statins for cardiovascular prevention.

What Patients Can Expect

Patients referred to Dr. Grandin are typically in the advanced stages of heart failure, meaning they are experiencing significant symptoms at rest or with minimal exertion despite being on optimal medical therapy. Many have already seen one or more cardiologists and are coming to Brigham and Women’s for a higher-level evaluation — to determine whether they are candidates for an LVAD, heart transplantation, or an intensive mechanical support strategy.

Evaluations in this context are thorough and multidisciplinary. They typically involve hemodynamic assessment through right heart catheterization, advanced imaging including echocardiography and cardiac MRI, evaluation of kidney and liver function, and a team-based discussion involving cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, nurses, social workers, and other specialists. The process is designed to identify the most appropriate long-term strategy for each patient individually.

Dr. Grandin is multilingual, speaking English, Russian, and Spanish — an unusual asset in a specialty that frequently serves diverse patient populations in a major urban academic medical center.

How to See Dr. Grandin

Dr. Grandin sees patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Heart and Vascular Center, located at 185 Pilgrim Road in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston. He is also affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and sees patients at multiple locations within the greater Boston area.

Online appointment booking and telehealth options are available through the Brigham and Women’s patient portal. Patients with urgent referrals for advanced heart failure evaluation can be directed to the Brigham’s specialized intake line for the Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support program.

For patients whose primary care physician or local cardiologist is considering a referral to Dr. Grandin, the Brigham and Women’s Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program can be reached at 857-307-4000.

Preparing for Your Appointment

Patients being seen for advanced heart failure evaluation should bring the most recent echocardiogram report and images, results of any prior right or left heart catheterizations, a complete medication list with doses, and records of hospitalizations for heart failure or related conditions. If a prior LVAD implant has occurred at another institution, operative reports and device interrogation logs are particularly helpful.

For patients traveling to Boston specifically for this consultation, Brigham and Women’s has dedicated care coordination staff who can assist with appointment sequencing to allow multiple evaluations to take place during a single visit.

Dr. E. Wilson Grandin is recognized on the Boston Magazine Top Doctors 2026 list, produced in collaboration with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. based on peer nomination and review of qualifications, appointments, outcomes, and professional reputation. Boston Health Journal profiles physicians from this list to help Greater Boston residents connect with the region’s most distinguished specialists.