Cardiology is entering an exciting new era in which advances will be made in clinical cardiology, basic cardiovascular research, and interventional and non interventional technologies. As classical cardiovascular disease syndromes become better understood in the mechanistic terms of modern molecular and cellular biology, diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to cardiovascular disease will continue to change dramatically in the coming years. The Emory Division of Cardiology will continue as a leader in bringing about these changes with internationally recognized expertise in many relevant disciplines. Of particular note is Emory's record in clinical cardiology established by Drs. R. Bruce Logue and J. Willis Hurst; in interventional cardiology established by Dr. Andreas Gruentzig; and in vascular biology and medicine by the research group established by Dr. R. Wayne Alexander in 1988.

W. Robert Taylor, MD, PhD

Director, Division of Cardiology

A Legacy of Excellence

The Emory University commitment to an academic environment has helped create a heritage of medical excellence that serves the local, national and international community. The U.S. News & World Report continues to rank Emory among the top Cardiovascular Centers of over 6000 hospitals nationwide.

Emory University's heritage in medical education began over 140 years ago. Atlanta Medical College, Atlanta's first medical college, was established in 1854. The first building was erected at Butler and Armstrong streets near the site now occupied by Grady Memorial Hospital. A series of mergers followed. In 1898, Atlanta Medical College joined with the Southern Medical College (founded in 1878) to form the Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons. Fifteen years later, this college merged with Atlanta School of Medicine (founded in 1905) under the historic name Atlanta Medical College. Then in 1915, the amalgamated school became Emory University School of Medicine. Emory University's Medical School and its hospital infrastructure have since grown to become one of the largest medical centers in the country.

The University has pioneered advances in basic and clinical research, developed and integrated new technology into patient care, and educated thousands of new and future physicians. Throughout its history, the medical school has formed partnerships in and outside of Emory to strengthen its efforts in medical education, biomedical research and patient care. Examples of these partnerships include Grady Memorial Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown (formerly Crawford Long Hospital), the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the CDC, the American Cancer Society, the Rollins School of Public Health, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and Georgia Tech.

Cardiology Fellowship Training

The overall goal of our cardiovascular training program is to continue to develop and prepare outstanding individuals for careers in academic medicine and research. The curriculum is designed to provide comprehensive training in the evaluation and management of a wide variety of patients with acute and chronic cardiovascular diseases. During training, each fellow is exposed to both intensive didactic instruction and substantial direct patient care experiences. Together, these equip fellows to diagnose and care for the gamut of cardiovascular diseases including: acute and chronic coronary artery disease, acute and chronic heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, lipid disorders, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, pulmonary heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, infectious and inflammatory heart disease, and adult congenital heart disease.

History of Cardiology Training at Emory University School of Medicine

Training of cardiovascular specialists has been in existence since 1946 at Emory University.  Our program was first accredited nationally by the ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) on July 1, 1987, under the leadership of Dr. R. Wayne Alexander, current chairman of the Department of Medicine at Emory.  In the past twenty years we have had over 200 fellows to complete the program.  The Emory Cardiology Division has experienced considerable growth during the past two decades.  In 1989, the size of our general cardiology training program was increased to 26, and subsequently expanded to 34 positions in 2004. The experiences obtained by trainees in our programs are more than sufficient to allow them to acquire the competency and expertise of a specialist in the field of cardiovascular diseases.  This is reflected by the high pass rate for the ABIM subspecialty certification examination of more than 98% over the past two decades.