Brief Introduction of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University

(Highlight: Department of Cardiology & Department of Cardiac Surgery)

Founded in 1937 and named in memory of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University is a prestigious Grade A tertiary comprehensive public hospital independently established by Chinese medical practitioners. Affiliated with Fudan University and under the administration of the National Health Commission, it is located in Xuhui District, Shanghai. Integrating clinical care, medical education & research, critical emergency treatment and talent cultivation, the hospital consistently ranks among China’s top-tier medical institutions. Its Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery are flagship disciplines supported by the Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, serving as a birthplace of modern cardiovascular medicine and a nationally benchmarked cardiovascular treatment center in China. Home to the National Clinical Research Center for Radiology and Interventional Medicine, both cardiac specialties are accredited as National Key Clinical Specialties and receive referrals of complicated cardiovascular cases from the Yangtze River Delta and nationwide.

I. Department of Cardiology

Established in 1948 by Prof. Tao Shouqi, a founding father of China’s cardiovascular medicine, the department has been further developed by distinguished experts including Academician Chen Haozhu and is currently led by Academician Ge Junbo of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is designated as a National Key Discipline, National Key Clinical Specialty, WHO Collaborating Center for Research and Training in Cardiovascular Diseases, National Center for Cardiovascular Clinical Pharmacology, Shanghai Top-tier Clinical Medical Center and Shanghai Quality Control Center for Cardiovascular Diseases. Included in China’s Project 211, Project 985 and Double First-Class development programs, it is the only domestic cardiology department holding three national training bases for coronary intervention, arrhythmia ablation and congenital heart disease closure simultaneously, as well as an ACC-accredited continuing education center by the American College of Cardiology.

Core Clinical Advantages

1. Strong Academic Team & Large Clinical Scale: Staffed by members of CAS and CAE, National Outstanding Young Investigator recipients and Chang Jiang Scholars, the department boasts over 60 senior attending physicians. It runs more than 410 inpatient beds and 12 internationally standardized cardiac catheterization labs, with over 700,000 outpatient visits and more than 26,000 interventional procedures annually, ranking top in Shanghai and among the nation’s best. Six well-established subspecialties cover coronary artery disease, arrhythmia & electrophysiology, structural heart disease, heart failure, pulmonary vascular disease and hypertension, supported by a specialized CCU.
2. Leading Expertise in Complex Coronary Intervention: As one of China’s pioneering centers for coronary interventional therapy, the department invented the retrograde CTO recanalization technique. It excels in high-risk PCI for left main lesions, severely calcified vessels, chronic total occlusion (CTO) and diseased grafts after bypass surgery. A 24-hour emergency green channel ensures world-class outcomes for acute myocardial infarction. Its research team has independently developed fully biodegradable coronary stents and innovative drug-eluting stents that have achieved successful domestic clinical transformation.
3. Minimally Invasive Ablation for Arrhythmia: A national pacesetter for atrial fibrillation and malignant ventricular tachycardia ablation. Routinely performed procedures include 3D-mapping guided one-stop AF ablation plus left atrial appendage occlusion, zero-fluoroscopy ICE-guided ablation, Marshall vein ethanol ablation and epicardial VT ablation. Implant volumes of leadless pacemakers, ICD and CRT devices remain among China’s highest year on year.
4. Pioneering Interventional Treatment for Structural Heart Disease: The department has accomplished numerous world-first and China-first minimally invasive procedures, including China’s first TAVR, Asia’s first transcatheter mitral clip implantation, the world’s first percutaneous self-expanding pulmonary valve replacement and transjugular tricuspid valve replacement. It provides full-spectrum non-surgical interventional correction for aortic, mitral, tricuspid valve disorders and congenital heart defects.
5. Outstanding Research & Translation: Leading major national research programs on chronic cardiovascular diseases, many of its original clinical findings have been incorporated into international cardiovascular guidelines, winning multiple National Science and Technology Progress Awards and guiding the formulation of domestic clinical standards.

II. Department of Cardiac and Great Vessel Surgery

Founded in 1947 by Prof. Huang Jiasi, a towering figure in Chinese surgery and further pioneered by Academician Shi Meixin, it is one of the birthplaces of Chinese cardiac surgery, a National Key Discipline and National Key Clinical Specialty, Shanghai Engineering Research Center for Heart Valves and a Ministry of Health designated training base for minimally invasive cardiac surgery. Consistently ranked top 3 nationwide and No.1 in East China, it is among China’s earliest institutions authorized to grant master’s and doctoral degrees in cardiac surgery, currently headed by Professor Wang Chunsheng.

Core Clinical Advantages

1. Rich Historical Heritage: The department has pioneered over 20 landmark domestic cardiac operations, developed China’s first homemade heart-lung machine and bioprosthetic heart valves. It completed China’s first pediatric heart transplantation, domestic David procedure for type A aortic dissection and minimally invasive Bentall surgery. Divided into five subspecialties: valvular surgery, coronary surgery, great vessel surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery and end-stage heart failure surgery, it is equipped with world-class hybrid operating rooms and performs over 5,000 operations annually, accounting for nearly half of Shanghai’s total valve, great vessel and bypass surgeries with perioperative mortality lower than the average level in Europe and America.
2. Nation-leading Valvular Surgery: The largest regional valve disease treatment center in East China. Core strengths include thoracoscopic minimally invasive valve repair/replacement, complex reoperation for heavily calcified valves and one-stop hybrid TAVR/MitraClip procedures for elderly high-risk patients unsuitable for conventional open surgery.
3. Coronary Bypass & Minimally Invasive Surgery: Mature techniques include total arterial off-pump CABG, mini-incision minimally invasive bypass and repeat bypass for in-stent restenosis after PCI. Bypass surgery for critically ill patients over 90 years old is a featured strength. Totally thoracoscopic congenital heart repair and surgical maze procedure for atrial fibrillation are widely carried out routinely.
4. Gold-standard Emergency Great Vessel Surgery: Specialized in complex repair of Type A aortic dissection, thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm and Marfan-associated great vessel lesions, including total arch replacement, Bentall and David procedures. A 24/7 emergency green channel makes it the designated regional emergency center for acute aortic disorders across East China.
5. Heart Transplantation & Mechanical Circulatory Support: An early adopter of adult and pediatric heart transplantation and ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation in China; Shanghai’s first standardized training base for VAD therapy with leading capability in surgical management of end-stage refractory heart failure.

III. Integrated Collaboration of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Supported by hybrid operating rooms, the hospital has built a full-set one-stop MDT diagnosis and treatment system integrating interventional cardiology and surgical cardiac care. Individualized combined plans of minimally invasive intervention plus open surgery are customized for patients with valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, aortic lesions and complex congenital heart defects. Regular multidisciplinary consultation clinics are available for aortic disease, pulmonary hypertension, cardio-oncology and advanced heart failure, forming a full-chain treatment pathway ranging from medication and catheter intervention to open-heart surgery and heart transplantation. It is the preferred referral center for intractable cardiovascular diseases in the Yangtze River Delta.