Rishi Arora, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Rishi Arora earned his MD degree from Delhi University, India, in 1991. Following residencies at the University of the Medical Sciences (Dehli, India) and New York Presbyterian Hospital–Weill Cornell Medical Center, he completed fellowships in Cardiovascular Disease at the Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2000 and in Cardiology and Electrophysiology at Indiana University Medical Center in 2002. Dr. Arora is board certified in cardiac electrophysiology, cardiovascular disease, and internal medicine.

• Dr. Arora's research interests center on atrial fibrillation (AF), which is the most common rhythm disorder and is a major cause of stroke and morbidity in an aging population. The therapeutic options currently available for AF are not very effective, in part because of the poor understanding of the underlying mechanisms of this arrhythmia.

The focus of the research in Dr. Arora's laboratory is two-fold.

1.  To study the underlying mechanisms of AF using large animal models of AF. A better understanding of the molecular and signaling pathways involved in AF will allow for the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for this arrhythmia.

2.  To discover novel therapeutic strategies to modify critical signaling pathways in AF.

Current Projects

Dr. Arora and his research team are currently investigating the autonomic profile of the pulmonary veins and the rest of the left atrium in a canine model, especially as it relates to the genesis of AF. For this research, a variety of sophisticated in-vivo, ex-vivo and in-vitro electrophysiologic techniques are employed. These include high-density electrophysiologic mapping in live animals (open-chest, epicardial as well as endocardial mapping), high-resolution optical mapping in Langendorf perfused hearts, and confocal microscopy studies of calcium signaling in isolated cardiac myocytes. Also, a variety of molecular biology and protein-chemistry techniques are used to better understand the molecular substrate that underlies AF.

Recent work from our laboratory on autonomic signaling in the left atrium has contributed significantly to an improved understanding of the autonomic mechanisms of AF. Based on these results, we have begun to use unique cell-penetrating peptides and novel minigenes to inhibit key molecular targets that are critical to autonomic signaling in AF.

In addition, our laboratory is also investigating the mechanisms underlying atrial fibrosis (and the resulting substrate for atrial fibrillation).

Selected Recent Publications

Arora, R.; Ulphani, J.S.; Villuendas, R.; Ng, J.; Harvey, L.A.; Thordson, S.; Inderyas, F.; Lu, Y.; Gordon, D.; Denes, P.; Greene, R.; Crawford, S.; Decker, R.S.; Morris, A.; Goldberger, J.J.; Kadish, A.H.  Neural Substrate for Atrial Fibrillation: Implications for Targeted Parasympathetic Blockade in the Posterior Left Atrium.   Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 2008, 294(1), H134-H144.

Ulphani, J.S.; Ng, J.; Aggarwal, R.; Cain, J.H.; Gordon, D.; Yang, E.; Morris, A.R.; Arora, R.; Goldberger, J.J.; Kadish, A.H.  Frequency gradients during two different forms of fibrillation in the canine atria.  Heart Rhythm 2007, 4(10), 1315-1323.

Ulphani, J.S.; Arora, R.; Cain, J.H.; Villuendas, R.; Shen, S.; Gordon, D.; Inderyas, F.; Harvey, L.A.; Morris, A.; Goldberger, J.J.; Kadish, A.H. The ligament of Marshall as a parasympathetic conduit.  Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 2007, 293(3), H1629-1635.

Arora, R.; Ng, J.; Ulphani. J.; Mylonas, I.; Subacius, H.; Shade, G.; Gordon, D.; Morris, A.; He, X.; Lu, Y.; Belin, R.; Goldberger, J.J.; Kadish, A.H. Unique autonomic profile of the pulmonary veins and posterior left atrium.  J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2007, 49(12), 1340-1348.

Arora, R.  Phrenic nerve injury-yet another Achilles' heel for AF ablation?  J. Cardiovasc. Electrophysiol. 2005, 16(12), 1326-1328.

Arora, R.; Krummerman, A.; Vijayaraman, P.; Rosengarten, M.; Suryadevara, V.; Lejemtel, T.; Ferrick, K.J.  Heart rate variability and diastolic heart failure.  Pacing Clin. Electrophysiol. 2004, 27(3), 299-303.