St. Joseph’s Health hires interventional cardiologist who grew up in Syracuse area

SYRACUSE — Dr. Charles Nicolais, a board-certified cardiologist who recently completed advanced coronary and structural heart interventional training, has joined the Cardiovascular Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. 

Nicolais grew up in Syracuse and attended Westhill High School, according to a St. Joseph’s Health news release. 

Before joining St. Joseph’s Health, Nicolais completed a two-year interventional and structural cardiology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). The training included basic interventional cardiology, as well as complex coronary-artery interventions and structural heart interventions including TAVR, mitra-clip, watchman, and PFO closure, St. Joseph’s Health said.

TAVR is short for Transcatheter aortic valve replacement, a procedure that replaces a diseased aortic valve with a man-made valve, per the website of Johns Hopkins Medicine. PFO is short for patent foramen ovale, a hole in the heart that didn’t close the way it should after birth, per the website of the Mayo Clinic.

Prior to UPMC, Nicolais spent three years training at Temple University in a cardiovascular medicine fellowship, which included clinical and research experience on cardiovascular diseases. He also served as chief fellow in his third year. 

Nicolais is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, and interventional cardiology. He also holds board certifications from the National Board of Echocardiography and the Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology. 

He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Wagner College on Staten Island and his medical degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Nicolais completed his internal-medicine residency at Temple University, where he served as chief resident in 2016, per the release.