HERITAGE & OVERVIEW
The Department of Cardiology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital has a long history. In the early years of the People's Republic of China, Professors Huang Wan and Fang Qi established the cardiology group, pioneering clinical and research work in cardiovascular specialties in the country. In the early 1950s, Professor Huang Wan and others contributed significantly to the popularization of electrocardiography in China, starting from the restoration of the three-lead electrocardiogram machine to the manufacture of the twelve-lead electrocardiogram machine. By the late 1950s, under the leadership of Professors Huang Wan and Fang Qi, the group was the first in the country to conduct right heart catheterization and hemodynamic monitoring. In 1958, at the establishment of Beijing Fuwai Hospital, Professors Huang Wan, Fang Qi, Chen Zaijia, and Wu Ning were transferred from the cardiology group at Peking Union Medical College Hospital to contribute to the founding of China's first cardiovascular specialty hospital. Subsequently, Professors Fang Qi and Wu Ning returned to Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Professors Fang Qi, Jin Lan, Wu Ning, and Zhu Wenling have served as administrative directors of the Department of Cardiology, establishing the electrophysiology specialty, catheterization lab, and cardiology laboratory, and were the first in the country to conduct clinical applications of radiofrequency ablation for paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia and intravascular ultrasound imaging technology, having a wide impact on the domestic cardiovascular field. Currently, the Department of Cardiology is a key discipline of the Ministry of Education and maintains a high academic status in the domestic cardiovascular community.
The department has 6 chief physicians, 11 associate chief physicians, 1 associate researcher, and 23 attending physicians. There are 10 supervising technicians and technicians, 5 specialized nurses in the catheterization lab, and 43 nurses, nurse practitioners, and nursing assistants in the wards, totaling 101 staff members.
Professor Fang Qi is a highly respected and influential senior professor in the cardiovascular field, earning the respect and admiration of the entire cardiovascular community. Professor Wu Ning is the former chairman of the Chinese Society of Cardiology and currently serves as the deputy editor of the Chinese Journal of Cardiology. Professors Jin Lan, You Kai, Dai Yuhua, and Zhu Wenling are also well-known professors in the domestic cardiovascular field. Professors Fang Quan, Yan Xiaowei, Zhang Shuyang, Shen Zhujun, and Fan Zhongjie are gaining increasing recognition in the country, with the younger generation's professional capabilities, especially in the comprehensive management of difficult cardiovascular diseases and rigorous academic attitudes, being widely acknowledged by peers. They have served on editorial boards of many core journals in the field, including the Chinese Journal of Cardiology, Chinese Circulation Journal, Chinese Journal of Geriatric Cardiology and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Chinese Journal of Interventional Cardiology, Basic Medicine and Clinical, Chinese Journal of Pacing and Electrophysiology, and Chinese Journal of Arrhythmia, and have become members of the presidium or academic committees of major domestic cardiovascular annual conferences such as the Great Wall International Cardiovascular Disease Conference, Fuwai International Cardiovascular Disease Conference, CIT International Interventional Cardiology Symposium, International Symposium on Hypertension and Related Diseases, and the National Interventional Cardiology Forum, and have been invited to give major speeches at large international and domestic conferences, gradually becoming a group of young experts with a certain influence in the domestic cardiovascular field.
In terms of discipline construction and professional composition, the Department of Cardiology has initially established a complete coronary intervention team, led by 3 chief or associate chief physicians divided into 3 groups, each leading 2-3 attending physicians. The quantity and quality of coronary interventions performed annually (including emergency coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction) rank among the top in various comprehensive hospitals in Beijing; an electrophysiology and cardiac pacing team has been gradually established, led by 2 chief physicians and consisting of 3 attending physicians, with the number of radiofrequency ablations performed annually also ranking among the top in various comprehensive hospitals in Beijing; an echocardiography team is gradually forming, currently composed of one chief physician, one senior attending physician, 4 attending physicians, and 3 technicians, undertaking a large volume of routine examinations while actively conducting research in echocardiography, such as evaluating cardiac function after stem cell myocardial transplantation, assessing cardiac function after ventricular resynchronization therapy, and myocardial acoustic enhancement; a research team focusing on lipid metabolism disorders and hypertension and related diseases is being established, currently led by 2 chief physicians mentoring graduate students in these research areas.
The Department of Cardiology's clinical work is mainly divided into four parts: coronary artery disease and coronary intervention, electrophysiology and arrhythmias (including the arrhythmia research center), clinical and research work on atherosclerosis and related diseases, and cardiovascular clinical pharmacology research. The department has a coronary care unit (CCU), a cardiac catheterization lab, and modern wards, completing thousands of complex coronary interventions, arrhythmia radiofrequency ablations, and structural heart disease interventions annually. Approximately 20,000 echocardiograms are performed each year, along with over 3,000 treadmill exercise tests and more than 2,000 Holter monitors. It is well known that coronary artery disease is a chronic condition requiring regular outpatient follow-up to adjust treatment plans based on changes in the patient's condition. To facilitate follow-up for patients after coronary intervention, the Department of Cardiology has established a dedicated
Century-Old Heritage · Premier Specialties
National Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Difficult Cardiovascular Diseases. Led by Director Zhang Shuyang and others, it holds a national leading position in molecular diagnosis and targeted treatment of cardiomyopathy, refractory heart failure, and rare cardiovascular diseases (such as Fabry disease and transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy ATTR), and has a national-level green channel for chest pain emergency care.
CLINICAL SCOPE
EXCELLENCE IN CARE
Based on multimodal cardiovascular molecular imaging, myocardial biopsy pathology, and high-throughput gene sequencing, we establish a comprehensive management pathway covering targeted treatment of rare cardiomyopathies and minimally invasive coronary interventions.
Myocardial biopsy pathology + cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) + genetic testing for comprehensive differentiation of difficult cardiomyopathy and storage cardiomyopathy
Standardized application of novel oral targeted drugs such as chlorphenesin for rare cardiovascular diseases (e.g., transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy)
Precision percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) guided by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) for complex coronary lesions
Radiofrequency ablation under three-dimensional electroanatomical mapping for arrhythmias and implantation of leadless pacemakers / implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD/CRT-D)
National-level 24-hour emergency direct PCI green channel for acute chest pain and acute myocardial infarction
MEDICAL MASTERS
Chief Physician, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Changjiang Scholar
President of PUMCH and leading investigator of the National Rare Diseases Registry System. World authority on cardiomyopathy, cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR), Fabry disease, and heart failure management.
Chief Physician, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor
Director of Cardiology at PUMCH, expert in advanced echocardiography for infiltrative cardiomyopathies, endomyocardial biopsy, and target-directed heart failure therapy.
Chief Physician, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor
Distinguished interventional cardiologist specializing in complex coronary interventions (PCI), chronic total occlusions (CTO), left main bifurcations, and IVUS/OCT guidance.
PUMCH International Medical Services provides outpatient appointments, multidisciplinary MDT consultations, and inpatient care enquiries.
PEKING UNION MEDICAL COLLEGE HOSPITAL