Our Team

• Electrophysiology/Arrhythmias
• General Cardiology
• Heart Failure/Cardiac Transplantation
• Interventional Cardiology
• Non-Invasive Imaging/Echocardiography
• Nuclear Cardiology
• Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
• Vascular Surgery

Electrophysiology/Arrhythmias

Electrophysiology is the medical subspecialty that focuses on understanding, diagnosing and treating arrhythmias, or heart rhythm problems. UF Health cardiologists offer the full range of noninvasive evaluation and therapeutic services to those with arrhythmias and have specific expertise in atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardias, ventricular arrhythmias, palpitation and all implantable cardiac devices.

Our team offers the following services:

• Non-invasive arrhythmia evaluation
• Electrophysiologic studies
• Catheter ablation
• Electrocardiograms (EKGs)
• Pacemaker implantation and follow-up
• Programming and follow-up of implantable defibrillators and other devices

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General Cardiology

UF Health general cardiologists provide expert treatment for all common and complex cardiac conditions, including heart disease, acute coronary syndromes, palpitations, angina, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, ischemia and more. They use a broad range of treatment options, from lifestyle modification recommendations to medications and procedures, to give each patient the best care possible.

Monica Aggarwal, MD, FACC
Clinical Associate Professor

Randolph E Brown, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor

Thomas Lewandowski, MD, FAC, FASE
Clinical Associate Professor

Ralph Matar, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor

Diego Moguillansky, MD, MS
Clinical Associate Professor

Dhaval Naik, DO
Clinical Assistant Professor

Lynda Otalvaro, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor

John Petersen, MD
Clinical Associate Professor

Mohammed Ruzieh, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor

Carsten Schmalfuss, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor

David E. Winchester, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Anita Wokhlu, MD
Assistant Professor

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Heart Failure/Cardiac Transplantation

Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. There may be a number of causes for this serious condition, and treatment depends on the type and stage of the disease. Early diagnosis can help those with heart failure live an active life.

UF Health cardiologists offer the full range of services for heart failure patients, including:

• Medical management
• Pacing and cardioverter-defibrillator device implantation and management
• Access to investigational mechanical support devices and pharmacologic agents
• Complex cardiac surgeries including heart transplantation

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Interventional Cardiology

Interventional cardiologists use cardiac catheterizationto view the heart and coronary arteries. It allows them to see the blood flow to and from the heart, view the chambers of the heart and the action of the heart valves, and check for any defects in the wall of the heart. In addition, a cardiac catheterization can locate blockages or narrowing of the coronary arteries. Based on this information, the cardiologist can determine if a patient may benefit from interventional treatments, such as stent placement, or if surgery is needed. UF Health interventional cardiologists offer all the latest catheter-based treatments for peripheral arterial disease. These include:

• Angioplasty and stenting
• Atherectomy
• Thrombectomy
• Distal protection devices

Patients also have access to percutaneous treatment for other conditions including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and atrial septal defects. Most interventional cardiology procedures are performed on an outpatient basis, and no hospital overnight stay is required.

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Non-Invasive Imaging/Echocardiography

A full range of diagnostic testing, from treadmill stress tests and ambulatory Holter monitoring studies to echocardiograms, is available to patients in our non-invasive laboratories. UF Health cardiologists offer diagnostic services, including:

• Standard two-dimensional echocardiography
• Doppler and color flow imaging 
• Transesophageal echocardiography
• Stress echocardiography

These studies are performed in the lab at UF Health Shands Hospital and at UF Health Cardiology - Springhill. UF Health cardiologists monitor patients during surgery, evaluate cardiac surgical procedures, and provide monitoring support services. In addition, the echocardiographers are involved in numerous clinical investigative projects from evaluating heart disease in women to testing new therapies for heart failure.

Through collaboration with the UF Health radiologists, we offer advanced cardiac diagnostic technologies using magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography imaging, both of which create highly detailed images of the heart.

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Nuclear Cardiology

Nuclear cardiology is the field of cardiovascular medicine that uses a perfusion scan to measure the blood flow in the heart during both rest and exercise. These scans are usually performed to determine the cause of chest pain or after a heart attack to evaluate damage to the heart muscle.

Perfusion scans are performed on an outpatient and inpatient basis at both UF Health and UF Health Cardiology – Springhill, which is a fully-certified facility where we perform exercise and nuclear stress studies.

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Cardiovascular Surgery

Cardiovascular surgery focuses on surgeries of the heart and blood vessels of the chest. UF Health cardiovascular surgeons offer a wide range of surgical procedures, including endovascular, or minimally invasive, options to help patients recover more quickly. We work closely with UF Health cardiologists to care for and treat our heart patients. Conditions and treatments include:

• Aortic dissection
• Aortic valve transcatheter replacement
• Aortic valve insufficiency repair
• Atrial fibrillation, Mini-Maze and Maze procedures
• Coronary artery disease
• Extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)
• Heart transplantation
• Marfan’s Syndrome valve repair
• Mediastinal tumor robotic resection
• Mitral valve minimally invasive repair
• Mitral valve transcatheter Mitraclip repair
• Stent grafts for thoracic aortic disease (TEVAR: Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair)
• Thoracic aortic aneurysms, open and minimally invasive stent graft repair
• Thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, open and minimally invasive stent graft repair
• Ventricular assist devices for heart failure

Tomas D. Martin, M.D. - Professor and Director, UF Health Aortic Disease Center

Cary Meyers, MD
Assistant Professor

Giles Peek, MD
Professor

Wade Stinson, MD
Associate Professor

Kirsten Freemen, MD
Assistant Professor

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Vascular Surgery

Vascular surgery focuses on repairing damage to the circulatory system of the body, which includes veins and arteries. UF Health vascular surgeons offer a wide range of surgical procedures, including endovascular, or minimally invasive, options to help patients recover more quickly. Our vascular surgeons work closely with UF Health cardiothoracic surgeons to care for and treat our aortic patients. Our conditions and treatments include:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysms, open and minimally invasive repair
• Angioplasty and stenting for venous diseases
• Aortic dissections
• Cerebrovascular occlusive disease, open and minimally invasive repair
• Hemodialysis access
• Deep vein thrombosis
• Peripheral artery disease, open and minimally invasive repair
• Radiofrequency ablation for varicose veins
• Renal and mesenteric occlusive disease, open and minimally invasive repair
• Thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, open and minimally invasive repair

Dean Arnaoutakis, MD, MBA
Assistant Professor of Surgery

Martin Back, M.D.
Professor of Surgery

Michol Cooper, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Surgery

Thomas Huber, MD., Ph.D.
Division Chief and Professor of Surgery

Scott Berceli, MD, PhD
Professor

Zhihua Jiang, PhD
Assistant Professor

Guanyi Lu, MD, PhD
Associate Professor

Kerri O’Malley, PhD
Assistant Professor

Samir Shah, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor

Zain Shahid, MD
Associate Professor

Gilbert Upchurch Jr, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery

Ashish Sharma, MD, PhD
Associate Professor

Michael Yacoub, MD
Assistant Professor

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