OHSU’s general cardiology team provides expert care for all types of heart conditions. We support you through every stage of your heart care, so you can stay active and healthy.

We offer:

• Complete, team-based care from world-class heart specialists.
• Full evaluation of your heart with advanced imaging technology.
• Access to the latest testing, treatment, and research at Oregon’s top-ranked heart hospital.
• Expertise in women’s health, cancer care, sports cardiology and HIV or other conditions that affect the heart.

Complete care

Our heart care puts you at the center. You’ll find a full range of care all in one place — from testing to treatment.

We carefully evaluate and treat any symptom that could be related to your heart, including:

• Shortness of breath with exercise
• Chest pain
• Fainting spells
• Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
• Palpitations

For most heart conditions, we treat you right in our clinic. Our heart doctors work with you and your primary care provider to tailor your care to your needs. For complex conditions, we bring together world-class specialists from across OHSU to give you complete, long-term care. Meet our general cardiology team.

We are part of the OHSU Knight Cardiovascular Institute, which means that you benefit from the full resources of Oregon’s top heart team and only academic health center.

You’ll find leading-edge care for every stage of heart disease, including the region’s most complete heart transplant program. We’re here to support you and your family throughout your care.

Our expertise

Our doctors have extensive training and experience in caring for all heart conditions. Our team includes doctors with special expertise in:

Women’s heart care: Our Women’s Heart Program works with the OHSU Center for Women’s Health to prevent and treat heart disease in women.

Sports cardiology: If you’re an athlete or very active person with heart disease, we offer complete heart care tailored to your needs. We evaluate your heart to tell you if it’s safe to continue to participate in sports and help you improve your athletic performance.

Cancer (cardio-oncology): Cancer and cancer treatments, like radiation and chemotherapy, can cause heart problems. Our experts in heart and cancer care work with the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute to support your heart health before, during and after cancer treatment. We also can support you if you have existing heart disease and now need cancer treatment.

Pericardial disease: We provide specialized care for pericarditis, inflammation of a thin sac-like membrane around your heart (pericardium). You’ll find advanced imaging, minimally invasive treatments, and a team of experts from across OHSU to guide your care.

Autoimmune diseases: If you have a systemic autoimmune disease, you have a higher risk of heart disease. We help prevent and treat heart problems related to diseases such as:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Systemic sclerosis
• Connective tissue disorders

Nerve and muscular dystrophies: Diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Becker muscular dystrophy and myotonic dystrophy often cause serious heart problems, including cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Our experts can find and treat these conditions before you have symptoms.

HIV: People with HIV are more likely to have coronary artery disease, abnormal heart rhythm and heart failure. They also get heart disease about 10 years earlier than most people. We can find and treat these problems as early as possible.

Substance use disorder: Substance use can cause heart problems, including congestive heart failure, heart attacks, valvular heart disease, endocarditis and pulmonary hypertension. At OHSU, a dedicated team of specialists works together to treat both heart disease and substance use disorder at the same time. The team includes experts in:

• Heart care
• Addiction medicine
• Heart surgery
• Infectious diseases

Endocarditis: This is inflammation of your heart’s valves or chambers, usually caused by an infection. For the most complex cases, we work with a team of experts from across OHSU.

Microvascular disease and coronary vasospasm: When small blood vessels in your heart don’t work as they should, it can cause chest pain. Some routine tests of larger arteries can miss this problem. OHSU’s heart specialists offer complete evaluation and care of these conditions.

Conditions we treat

• Acute coronary syndrome
• Cardiac amyloidosis
• Angina
• Arteriosclerosis/atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries)
• Constrictive pericarditis
• Coronary artery disease (CAD)
• Coronary spasm
• COVID-19 myocarditis
• Edema
• Endocarditis
• Fainting
• Heart disease and pregnancy
• Heart palpitations
• High blood pressure (Hypertension)
• Ischemia
• Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH)
• Microvascular disease
• Myocardial bridge
• Myocardial ischemia
• Pericardial disease
• Peripheral vascular disease
• Premature ventricular contractions
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Raynaud’s phenomenon
• Rheumatic heart disease
• Shortness of breath
• Stress cardiomyopathy (broken heart syndrome)
• Syncope

What to expect 

General cardiology is often the best place to start when you and your primary care provider think you might have a heart problem. We focus on finding out what is wrong with your heart and creating a care plan that’s right for you.

Team-based care

We work together to give you the best possible care. Your heart care team may include heart doctors, nurses, medical assistants and a pharmacist—all focused on your heart. Our scheduling specialists arrange your tests and visits on the same day whenever we can.

You also may see specialists in areas such as:

• Preventive cardiology
• Cardiac rehabilitation
• Arrhythmias and heart rhythm
• Interventional cardiology
• Advanced heart failure
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

First steps  

At your first visit, your heart doctor (cardiologist) will talk with you about your symptoms and do a physical exam.

We may also:

• Do an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) test and review the results with you.
• Talk with you about the tests you need and schedule them. 
• Recommend some treatments before your full test results are back.

We know you may be worried about your symptoms. Our goal is to quickly learn as much as we can about your heart to guide your care.

Common and advanced heart tests

We use precise imaging and the latest technology to evaluate your heart. Our most common tests include:

Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG): We measure your heart’s electrical activity using sensors (electrodes) on your chest, arms and legs. This test checks for an irregular, slow or fast heart rhythm (arrhythmia), and other conditions.

Portable heart monitor: We may ask you to wear a small wireless monitor on your chest to track your heart’s electrical activity during your regular activities.  

Treatment 

You care team may recommend treatment to help your heart work better, so you can feel better and be more active.

Medication: We treat most heart conditions with medication. Your doctor will talk with you about the best options for you. Medication can:

• Lower your blood pressure
• Improve your heart function
• Remove excess fluid
• Regulate your heart rhythm
• Control your cholesterol
• Thin your blood

Lifestyle changes: OHSU’s preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation teams can help you improve your heart health and prevent heart disease. They offer:

• Exercise programs
• Weight management
• Support to stop smoking
• Stress reduction programs
• Diabetes management
• Nutrition services

Heart procedures: OHSU’s heart experts offer the latest techniques to fix heart problems, including minimally invasive and surgical options. Some common procedures include:

• Pacemaker placement
• Valve repair and replacement
• Angioplasty
• Heart surgery

Heart failure and transplant care: If you need it, OHSU offers advanced care for heart failure, including complete transplant services.