Sarah A. Samaan, M.D., F.A.C.C.

Dr. Samaan has been practicing medicine in Plano since 1995 and has been with Legacy Heart Center since 2002. She serves on the Medical Research Committee and is co-chair of the Echocardiography Laboratory of Legacy Heart Center.

She was named as a "Texas Super Doctor" by Texas Monthly for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. "Texas Super Doctors" are chosen through a poll of doctors and nurses across the state as well as through independent research.

In her practice Dr. Samaan focuses on preventative heart care and how people can help themselves avoid heart problems through diet, exercise and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol. Many of her patients seek her out because of her focus on prevention. She is the author of The Smart Woman’s Guide to Heart Health, published by Brown Books, which is scheduled to be out in February 2009. Visit www.smartwomanshearthealth.com for more information.

Dr. Samaan became interested in cardiology, "from the first time I set foot in a cardiac care unit as a medical student," she explains. "I have been fascinated with the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. I enjoy the immediacy and critical care aspects of hospital-based cardiology, but over time have realized that the most important thing that I do is prevention. I especially appreciate my long-term relationships with my patients, and the collaborative aspects of being involved with a group of high-quality cardiologists. I also feel fortunate to have access to excellent surgeons and electrophysiologists."

Dr. Samaan practices what she preaches and works out at the gym, practices yoga, runs and rides horses (jumping and dressage). In 2006, Dr. Samaan was honored by being profiled in a book called "Medicine Men," about notable Texas doctors

She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Echocardiography and Nuclear Cardiology and has a special interest in transesophageal echocardiography, which is a diagnostic test that uses an ultrasound device that is passed into the esophagus of the patient to create a clear image of the heart muscle and other parts of the heart.

She also works with pregnant women who suffer from heart murmurs, arrhythmias and high blood pressure during their pregnancies. She is the co-author of a study called Hemodynamic Changes During Normal And Hypertensive Pregnancy: A Longitudinal Study, which was concerned with the forces generated by the heart and the motion of blood through the cardiovascular system during a woman's pregnancy.

She frequently speaks to patient and professional groups on lipid disorders and other cardiac-related topics such as nutrition, hypertension and women and heart disease. See also serves as an official spokesperson for the American Heart Association.

She is a member of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, American Society of Echocardiography, American College of Cardiology and American College of Physicians.

She has served of the Ethics Committee and the Cardiovascular Process Improvement Committee for the Texas Health Presbyterian-Plano and was the Chief of Medicine at the hospital in 2000. Previously she served as Chief of Cardiology at the Medical Center of Plano.

She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University and her MD degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She served her residency in internal medicine at the University of California in Irvine and completed her fellowship in cardiology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

Specialty
Cardiovascular Disease
Echocardiography
Nuclear Cardiology

Board Certifications
Board Certified in Internal Medicine
Board Certified in Cardiology
Board Certified in Echocardiography
Board Certified in Nuclear Cardiology

Academic Background
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, Fellowship in Cardiology, 1994
University of California, Irvine, Internal Medicine Residency, 1991
Vanderbilt University, MD Degree, 1988
Texas A&M University, Bachelor of Science, 1984

Medical Interests
Heart Disease in Women
Cardiovascular Complications of Pregnancy
Management of Lipid Disorders
Management of Hypertension

Professional Associations
American Society of Echocardiography
American Society of Nuclear Cardiology
American College of Cardiology
American College of Physicians
American College of Sports Medicine
National Lipid Association

Professional Appointments
Ethics Committee, Texas Health Presbyterian-Plano
Cardiovascular Process Improvement Committee, Texas Health Presbyterian-Plano
Co-director of Women’s Cardiovascular Institute, The Heart Hospital at Baylor Plano

Hospital Privileges
Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano
Texas Health Presbyterian-Plano
Medical Center of McKinney
The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano