Cardiology

The Division of Cardiology provides excellent care for every aspect of cardiovascular disease, from early detection of heart disease to treatment of the most complex cardiac conditions. Clinical program areas include non‐invasive cardiology, interventional cardiology, cardiac arrhythmias (electrophysiology), acute chest pain management, heart failure, advanced heart failure, cardiac transplantation and cardiac devices.

The Division operates and provides its services through the Pauley Heart Center in conjunction with the Division of Cardiology, the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Division of Pediatric Cardiology. Seamless collaboration amongst these Cardiology divisions through the Pauley Heart Center allows the Division of Cardiology to offer quality, comprehensive, cost-effective, state-of-the-care care to its patients. This environment also allows for pioneering research for advancing scientific knowledge and an ideal training setting for students and professionals alike.

The Division of Cardiology is the second largest division of the VCU Department of Internal Medicine with more than 30 board‐certified cardiologists, seven of whom have joint appointments at the McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center. All Division of Cardiology physicians hold faculty positions in the VCU School of Medicine, and are involved in clinical and basic research as well as clinical care.

About the Chair

About the Chair

About the Chair

W. Gregory (Greg) Hundley, M.D., is the Chair of the Division of Cardiology, and the first Director of the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center, a position he has held since 2018. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Hundley began his formal education at the College of William and Mary, where he graduated with his bachelor's degree in Biology. He earned his M.D. from the VCU School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine residency at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he also received his Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship training.

                                                                                   

Learn more about Dr. Hundley

As part of the Pauley Heart Center, the Division of Cardiology plays an integral role in offering a full spectrum of clinical cardiac services, from consultation to diagnostic tests to treatment of the most complex cardiac conditions. There is close collaboration between adult cardiologists, pediatric cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons to provide all ages of patients, with every type of heart disease—from pediatric patients with congenital defects to patients requiring aortic surgery or transplants—with individualized, patient-centered care.

Clinical offerings are broken into two broad categories: Outpatient Services and Inpatient Services.

Outpatient Services

We offer numerous diagnostic and treatment procedures on an outpatient basis. In our noninvasive lab, we evaluate patients' heart health through echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, various types of stress tests, and ambulatory monitoring devices. In addition, we perform a variety of arrhythmia studies and coronary angiographies on an outpatient basis in our electrophysiology and catheterization labs. An 18-bed specialized pre-procedure and recovery unit directly adjacent to the labs allows patients to be admitted, monitored and discharged from the same area.

Inpatient Services

We have a total of 76 beds for hospitalized cardiac patients in our Cardiac Care, Cardiothoracic Surgery Care, Coronary Intensive Care and Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Units. These state-of-the-art units are designed, equipped and managed to provide optimal care of patients with various cardiac conditions, from the most critically ill patients waiting for a transplant to those recovering from a heart attack or heart surgery.

Below are the specific clinical offerings provided through the Pauley Heart Center. Due to the highly collaborative nature of the Center, the Division of Cardiology is involved in many of these services, even those several of those traditionally performed by surgery. Clicking on specific focuses will take you to the Pauley Heart Center’s website where you can learn more about each.

  • Noninvasive Cardiology
  • Invasive Cardiology
  • Electrophysiology
  • Emergency Cardiac Care
  • Heart Failure Program
  • Atrial Fibrillation Program
  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • Mechanical Assist Devices and Total Artificial Heart
  • Heart Transplantation
  • Thoracic Aortic Disease Program
  • Pediatric Cardiology

You can find phone numbers for specific cardiology services on the  page.

The Division of Cardiology and the Pauley Heart Center are dedicated to the performance of cutting edge research in the cardiovascular field. The cardiology division physicians and investigators have received significant NIH funding for more than three decades, and faculty members are awarded more than $2 million annually from public and private entities in support of basic and clinical research.

Our mission is to:

  • Facilitate cutting edge research in the cardiovascular field.
  • Enhance collaboration among cardiovascular researchers at VCU.
  • Provide resources for performing cardiovascular research.
  • Provide multidisciplinary training in cardiovascular science to residents, cardiology fellows, clinical investigators, graduate and undergraduate students.

The Pauley Heart Center Research Facility is a newly renovated, state of the art facility located in Sanger Hall on the VCU Medical Center Campus. The labs are equipped with cardiac catheterization for animals, echocardiography, modern surgical facilities, a Nikon confocal microscope and cell and tissue culture facilities.

Our basic research lab deals primarily with cardiovascular research on ischemia and reperfusion injury. This includes investigations on different approaches and therapeutic tools that have the potential to minimize the damage to the heart that occurs following a heart attack.

Clinical research is ongoing in each of our subspecialty areas, with a common goal of optimizing outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease utilizing the latest imaging and pharmacologic technologies and devices.

The physicians in our electrophysiology clinic are involved in research on new investigational devices for bradycardia pacing, anti-tachycardia pacing and defibrillation, as well as new investigational anti-arrhythmic drugs. The faculty is working with several companies to develop new tools and techniques to cure atrial fibrillation through a variety of ablation systems, including both radiofrequency and cryoablation.

Our cardiac catheterization laboratory physicians are focused on improving efficiency and safety of guidewire passage by the use of a magnetic guidance system for steering wires; using cath lab-based CT to enhance assessment of blockages and cardiac function; and evaluating new drugs used as an adjunct treatment to coronary intervention.

The cardiologists and support staff of the noninvasive cardiology laboratories are involved in new and continuing research focused on equipment development, devices and drug interventions. The lab faculty members collaborate on a variety of research projects with their colleagues in other areas of cardiology, including interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, acute cardiac care and heart failure.

The division sustains research funding of approximately $7 million a year. Projects in basic research include investigations of the mechanism of cardiovascular injury and endothelium-dependent responses.

  • Interventional cardiology with new robotic techniques
  • New drug therapies for arrhythmias and heart failure
  • Clinical evaluation of the rotablator atherectomy device
  • Intracoronary stent for vein graft stenosis
  • Laser angioplasty in coronary stenosis
  • New devices for heart failure
  • New techniques for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation
  • New mapping technologies for catheter ablation and atrial fibrillation

Division of Cardiology
West Hospital 6th Floor, North Wing
Box 980036
Richmond, VA 23298
Phone: (804) 828-9357


Cardiology Services

General Cardiology
Phone:  (804) 828-8885 or (804) 828-9205
Fax: (804) 828-8321

Electrophysiology 
Phone:  (804) 828-7565 
Fax: (804) 828-6082

Heart Failure 
Phone:  804) 828-4571 
Fax: (804) 828-7710

Main 10 East
Phone:  (804) 828-0192 
Fax: (804) 828-4707

Heart Station
Phone:  (804) 828-6828 
Fax: (804) 828-5412

Cath-Lab Nurse Station 
Phone:  (804) 628-2744

Cath-Lab 
Phone:  (804) 828-3638 
Fax: (804) 828-4528

Gumenick Suites
(804) 828-0893


Division Contacts

Medicine

Greg Hundley, MD
Director - Pauley Heart Center
Division Chair
Box 980335
Richmond, Virginia 23298
Phone: (804) 628-6611
Email: greg.hundley@vcuhealth.org

Administration

Clare Greene, MBA, FACHE
Division Administrator
Box 980510
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0036 
Phone: (804) 828-8898
Fax: (804) 828-8321
clare.greene@vcuhealth.org