Letter from the Chairman

Friends and Supporters,

One of the most exciting parts about working here at VCU Health Pauley Heart Center is the opportunity to work with colleagues who are not willing to accept conventional wisdom, who continue to question and learn and who seek new solutions to challenges in cardiovascular care. Over the years, it has been a great privilege to know one of these individuals, a continual seeker of better cardiac care, Dr. George Vetrovec. 

In this issue, I hope you will enjoy reading about Dr. Vetrovec and his legacy of innovation in our cardiac catheterization lab.  As a colleague, I have found him to be a great human being who puts patients first, teaches by example and is just a consummate clinician.

Our catheterization labs are amidst a large and exciting renovation even as I write this. The new technologies will allow us to continue to develop our structural heart disease program, which is one of the most advanced in the country, and bring in new methods for opening up chronically closed arteries and treating peripheral vascular disease through the work of Dr. Luis Guzman. I am pleased to welcome
Dr. Guzman as the new director of the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.

Other stories in this issue highlight the exciting research that is taking place in our basic research laboratories and clinical trials. Cardiac surgeon Dr. Mohammed Quader, for instance, is leading groundbreaking studies on the effects of CPR on donor hearts.

We are grateful for all that you do to support our many pioneers here at VCU Health, as they seek to provide the very best in cardiovascular care.

Sincerely,

Kenneth A. Ellenbogen, M.D.

Chairman, Division of Cardiology