One patient of Robert Piana, MD, thinks so highly of him that he flies in from Oklahoma at least once a year to receive care here from the interventional cardiologist.
The patient, who previously lived locally, once needed a procedure for a tumor on the pituitary gland on the base of his brain. But the discovery of a cardiovascular condition precluded the surgery he was initially scheduled for at Vanderbilt Health. After the patient did some research, he asked Piana if he could treat his cardiac defect by deploying an alternative device that was not normally used for his clinical condition but could be if he petitioned the Food and Drug Administration.
Piana, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, did his own extensive research, petitioned the FDA, received approval, performed the procedure, and it was successful.
“I moved to Oklahoma and tried to find a heart doctor with his same qualifications, experience, and knowledge … but I was unsuccessful,” the patient said in his nomination for the award. “Finding and sticking with a good doctor like Dr. Piana is one of the most important medical decisions one can make. Dr. Piana is a phenomenal physician. He has always spent the time necessary to fully explain every condition, every option and with confidence.”
Piana, who is also Director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Interventional Program, received multiple nominations and was selected as the recipient of the 2026 Patient and Family Choice Award for Vanderbilt University Hospital. The award is selected by actual Vanderbilt Health patients and families who sit on the patient and family advisory councils. This year, the councils bestowed awards on six individuals from Vanderbilt University Hospital, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, Vanderbilt Adult Ambulatory Clinics, Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital and Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital.
Piana is a 26-year veteran of Vanderbilt Health, but being a physician was not his aspiration when he started college. “I went to Harvard undergrad and went into international finance thinking I would have a very exciting life, only to find that business was not my passion,” he said. “I just had a sense in my soul that I needed to do something with a greater purpose.”
After graduating from Harvard, he pursued his medical training at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by an internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, a fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a faculty appointment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Vanderbilt then recruited him to head the catheterization lab, where Piana built a parallel career specializing in adult congenital heart disease interventions. In addition to general and interventional cardiology, he has worked with patients throughout the congenital heart disease spectrum, from children to adults.
Piana sees himself as a patient advocate, striving to provide concierge-level service to every patient. In his work, he has found his passion.
“Even on the darkest days, I would say, ‘I’ve never awakened in the morning and not wanted to go to work, because there’s a sense that you’re going to be challenged; you’re going to learn something; you’re going to work with some really interesting people; and you’re going to help somebody,’” he said. “What keeps me at Vanderbilt? That’s an easy one. It’s the people, without a question. Incredibly talented and dedicated colleagues focused on collaboration.”
Piana emphasized the critical importance of the multidisciplinary colleagues beyond physicians: nurses, technicians, medical assistants and others whose dedication makes patient care at Vanderbilt Health so special.
More than anyone else, Piana credits his wife, Cindy.
“Cindy has given me incredible support while maintaining her own career in business,” he said. “She has uncanny resilience and has always been an amazing leader for our family.”
The Pianas have four children — Christine, Mark, Lauren and Michael — and five grandchildren.