Division of Cardiovascular Medicine Faculty

Joaquin Cigarroa, M.D., speaks to cardiovascular medicine staff in a hospital hallway.
Joaquin Cigarroa, M.D., is the head of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and holds the endowed Melvin Judkins Professorship.

Our faculty drive excellence in cardiovascular medicine

As Oregon’s only academic medical center, we serve a diverse patient population across the Pacific Northwest while training the next generation of cardiovascular specialists and making discoveries that improve lives.

The faculty at OHSU’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine are innovators who:

  • Conduct cutting-edge research into novel therapies
  • Help get approval for new devices to treat heart diseases in high-risk patients
  • Provide Oregon’s only comprehensive heart care program
  • Lead national and international associations of cardiovascular experts

What sets our faculty apart

Our clinical care has received national recognition. OHSU was the first institution to earn the Cardiac Center of Excellence certification from the DNV. This certification acknowledges our leadership, processes and standards for chest pain, heart failure and ventricular assist device heart pumps.

Our research advances patient care. OHSU and the Knight Cardiovascular Institute are heavily involved in national research studies and clinical trials of new therapies, techniques and interventions. We enrolled the largest cohort of participants in an international clinical trial studying a groundbreaking new treatment for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

We are national and international leaders in cardiovascular medicine. Our faculty serve in all major academic cardiac societies, and they’re leaders in organizations like the American Heart Association and the National Lipid Association.

Faculty news

See all cardiovascular news at OHSU.

Meet division faculty

Joaquin Cigarroa, M.D., is the head of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the director of the Knight Cardiovascular Institute. He holds the endowed Melvin Judkins Professorship and practices general cardiology.

    • Appointments and titles

      • Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, School of Medicine
      • Director, Knight Cardiovascular Institute
      • Endowed Melvin Judkins Professor of Cardiology

Adult congenital heart disease faculty

Advanced heart failure/transplant faculty

  • Machya Spelletich-Pecoraro MSN, APRN, FNP-C, AGACNP-BC

Arrythmias/electrophysiology faculty

Behavioral health faculty

Cardiovascular imaging faculty

  • Vratika Agarwal

Critical care cardiology faculty

General cardiology faculty

  • Ashley Cox
  • Lauren Holmes
  • Heather Mclean
  • Michael Parsons
  • Samuel Rogers
  • Tyler Schulz
  • Sahar Taqui

Infiltrative and genetic cardiomyopathies faculty

  • Kellie Walsh

Interventional cardiology faculty

  • Arjun Chagarlamudi, M.D., FACC
  • Kris Kumar, D.O.

Preventive cardiology faculty

Research faculty

    • Appointments and titles

      • Professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, School of Medicine

    • Appointments and titles

      • Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, School of Medicine
      • Associate Professor of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry, School of Medicine
      • Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine

    • Appointments and titles

      • Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
      • Professor of Molecular and Medical Genetics, School of Medicine

    • Appointments and titles

      • Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, School of Medicine

    • Appointments and titles

      • Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, School of Medicine
  • North Noelck, M.D.
  • Ignatius Zarraga, M.D.

Sports cardiology faculty

Structural imaging faculty

    • Appointments and titles

      • Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, School of Medicine
  • Vratika Agarwal

Faculty careers

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Joaquin Cigarroa, M.D., smiles in a headshot.

“We recognize the importance of respectful collaboration and creativity. And we are embedded in teams that include basic scientists, translational scientists, clinicians and scholars that, together, are defining how we provide care in the future.”

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