Division Director's Welcome

On behalf of our faculty, fellows, and staff, I would like to welcome you to the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). As the only academic and tertiary referral medical center in Mississippi, University Heart has long provided care for the sickest cardiac patients in a state with one of the highest levels of cardiovascular disease and mortality in our country. Established in 1955 by Dr. Thomas "Peter" Blake, one of the 7 original faculty members at UMMC, our division has a long history of advances in cardiovascular medicine, from the Guyton and Hall physiology textbook originally written by Dr. Guyton and now continued by Drs. John and Michael Hall (chair of the Department of Medicine and cardiology faculty member) to the first heart transplantation performed by Dr. James Hardy in 1964 from a chimpanzee to a human. UMMC has been a participant in the ARIC study (Atherosclerotic Risk in Communities) and has been the flagship institution in the NIH-supported Jackson Heart Study for over 20 years, studying the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the African-American population.

As a division, we offer the complete range of cardiovascular treatments, ranging from general cardiac services to complex percutaneous coronary/valve/structural/peripheral/congenital interventions as well as transplant/LVAD/MCS to include ECMO and high-risk surgery. We offer all of the major imaging modalities as well as a robust EP service offering the full range of ablations/devices/extractions with a broad referral base from around the state. University Heart houses all of these procedures in a state-of-the-art stand-alone facility, allowing patients to undergo complex procedures without requiring admission to the adult hospital. We host ACGME-accredited advanced fellowship training programs in interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure/transplant, and adult congenital heart disease.

In addition to the wide range of clinical exposure, the area in which I am most proud is our faculty and fellows. Our faculty were trained at many of the finest institutions in the country including Cleveland Clinic, Duke University, Vanderbilt, and Harvard just to name a few places, whereas many received training at UMMC, leading to one of the strongest divisions of cardiology in our region. Our faculty are outstanding educators, regularly receiving recognition for their teaching ability, and our fellowship program remains one of the strongest and most competitive programs in our institution as well as the southeast. Our faculty and fellows foster a collaborative environment for education, patient care, and research, leading to a professional and collegial working atmosphere. After caring for Mississippi's patient population, our fellows graduate with confidence they are prepared for any next step in their careers.

At University Heart, our mission is to deliver high value, patient-centered care in an environment that fosters a pursuit of knowledge and a passion for education. We strive to exemplify our vision of being "people caring for people" in all we do. Thank you for your interest in our division. Please feel free to reach out to me at mmcmullan@umc.edu if you should have further questions.

Sincerely,

Mike McMullan, MD