Cynthia M. Dougherty

Dr. Dougherty is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on recovery of physical functioning, psychological adjustment, and quality of life in persons who have suffered sudden cardiac arrest and have received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). She has conducted trailblazing research in exercise after an ICD, caregiver interventions after ICD implantation, and goals of care communication in advanced heart failure. Dr. Dougherty is a rare nurse scientist who bridges what is too often a chiasm between nursing research and nursing practice.  Dr. Dougherty leads a large interdisciplinary research team, building a program of research that began by systematically characterizing the experiences of those who survived cardiac arrest in Seattle, WA, the home of pioneering work in resuscitation science. The impact of her work is evident in more than 100 publications and an excess of $20 million in research funding. Dr. Dougherty’s current funded research is to test an intervention to prevent the development of PTSD after an ICD shock and to translate exercise interventions into routine clinical practice for persons who have an ICD.

Dr. Dougherty received a BSN from the University of Nebraska, a MA from the University of Iowa, and a PhD from the University of Washington.  She completed post-doctoral training at the University of Washington and the Centers for Disease Control and the University of South Carolina.  She is certified as an advanced registered nurse practitioner in Adult Health and Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.  She is a Fellow of the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Dougherty is the Past Chair of the Council on CV and Stroke Nursing at the American Heart Association.