Steven C. Pugliese, MD
Pulmonary Medicine
Accepting new patients
Sees patients age 18 and up
Harron Lung Center University City
View 1 additional location
Schedule onlineCall 215-662-8766
Penn Medicine Provider

About me

  • Director, Pulmonary Embolism Response Team, Hospital University of Pennsylvania
  • Medical Director Comprehensive Pulmonary Embolism Program
  • Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine (Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care)

I joined the faculty at Penn in 2017, prior to which I was on faculty at the University of Colorado since 2015. There I completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine and a sub-fellowship in pulmonary vascular disease. During my fellowship and while on faculty at University of Colorado, I studied the role of macrophages in the development of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension with a clinical focus on pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary embolism.

Since joining Penn, I’ve transitioned to a clinical role. I spend my time in the hospital as an intensive care unit physician, and I also attend on our inpatient Pulmonary Hypertension service and the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT). My outpatient focus is in the care of patients with all aspects of pulmonary vascular disease, including pulmonary hypertension, hepatopulmonary syndrome, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), and acute and chronic pulmonary embolism.

I am the Director of PERT at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and I co-direct the Comprehensive Pulmonary Embolism Program at Penn with cardiothoracic surgeon Christian A. Bermudez. A large part of my outpatient practice is the follow-up care of patients who have suffered acute pulmonary embolism as well as patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). I work closely with a multidisciplinary team, including interventional cardiology, hematology, interventional radiology, diagnostic radiology, and cardiothoracic surgery.

I am particularly interested in providing transition care for post-pulmonary embolism patients, as well as care for patients who experience ongoing shortness of breath following an acute pulmonary embolism and patients seeking a second opinion for unexplained shortness of breath. In addition to my clinical and administrator roles, I enjoy teaching about pulmonary vascular disease and cardio-pulmonary physiology.

Education and training

  • Medical School: Drexel University College of Medicine
  • Residency: Johns Hopkins Hospital
  • Fellowship: University of Colorado Medical Center

What my patients think about me

Average Rating

328 reviews

Comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Penn Medicine.

November 2025
they are great!
October 2025
he is easy to communicate with and listens to my needs and concerns
October 2025
he is a thorough and professional. he explains things to make it understandable to a laymen.
October 2025
extremely through, kind, validating, helpful, and informative.

Insurance accepted

My Locations

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

  • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Pennsylvania Hospital: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Penn Presbyterian Medical Center: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Penn Medicine Rittenhouse Long-Term Acute Care Hospital
Dr. Pugliese is a Penn Medicine physician.

Qualifications and experience

Treatments and Conditions

My research

Jain N, Berna R, Hejazi EZ, Pugliese SC, Djulbegovic M. A Fruitful Workup , N Engl J Med, 393: 2025,907-914

Economic Analysis of Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis for Intermediate-Risk Pulmonary Embolism Economic Analysis of Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis for Intermediate-Risk Pulmonary Embolism , Catheter Cardiovasc Interv : 2025

McCarthy BE, Feng R, Torigian DA, Tong Y, Fritz JS, Minhas JK, Mazurek JA, Smith KA, Palevsky HI, Pugliese SC, Homer NZ, MacLean MR, Udupa JK, Al-Naamani N. Epicardial Adipose Tissue as an Independent Risk Factor for Mortality in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension , Chest: 2025

Nadine Al-Naamani 1, Melanie Prakash 1, Steven Pugliese 1, Jason S Fritz 1, K Akaya Smith 1, Harold I Palevsky 1, Charlene Compher 1 Nutrition and Diet Quality in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension , Ann Am Thorac Soc : 2025

Scott JV, Moutchia J, McClelland RL, Al-Naamani N, Weinberg E, Palevsky HI, Minhas J, Appleby DK, Smith A, Pugliese SC, Ventetuolo CE, Kawut SM. Novel Liver Injury Phenotypes and Outcomes in Clinical Trial Participants with Pulmonary Hypertension , Am J Resp Crit Care med, 210: 2024,1045-1056

Minhas J, Moutchia J, Al-Naamani N, Mazurek JA, Holmes JH, Appleby D, Smith KA, Fritz JS, Pugliese SC, Palevsky HI, Kawut SM Electrocardiographic Abnormalities and Their Association with Outcomes in Randomized Clinical Trials of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension , Ann Am Thorac Society: 2024

Kobayashi T, Pugliese S, Sethi SS, Parikh SA, Goldberg J, Alkhafan F, Vitarello C, Rosenfield K, Lookstein R, Keeling B, Klein A, Gibson CM, Glassmoyer L, Khandhar S, Secemsky E, Giri J. Contemporary Management and Outcomes of Patients With High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism , J Am Coll Cardiology: 2024

Scott JV, Moutchia J, McClelland RL, Al-Naamani N, Weinberg E, Palevsky HI, Minhas J, Appleby DK, Smith A, Pugliese SC, Ventetuolo CE, Kawut SM. Novel Liver Injury Phenotypes and Outcomes in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension , medRxiv: 2023

De la Fuente JRO, Buckley LK, Kawut SM, Pugliese SC. Unexplained Dyspnea: Hepatopulmonary Syndrome without Cirrhosis? , Ann Am Thorac Soc.: 2023

Fini MA, Monks JA, Li M, Gerasimovskaya E, Paucek P, Wang K, Frid MG, Pugliese SC, Bratton D, Yu YR, Irwin D, Karin M, Wright RM, Stenmark KR. Macrophage Xanthine Oxidoreductase Links LPS Induced Lung Inflammatory Injury to NLRP3 Inflammasome Expression and Mitochondrial Respiration , bioRxiv: 2023