VCU Health opens cardiac imaging suite

Thanks to Dorothy (B.A.’74/H&S) and Stan Pauley and the Pauley Family Foundation, patients from Richmond and beyond who need cardiovascular and oncology care gained an important ally in their treatment this summer. In July, VCU Health celebrated the opening of its new state-of-the-art Cardiac Imaging Suite and the return to Richmond of William Gregory Hundley, M.D. (M.D.’88/M), who will serve as the Pauley Heart Center’s inaugural director.

The Cardiac Imaging Suite supports personalized cardiovascular evaluation, diagnosis and treatment for both Pauley Heart Center and Massey Cancer Center patients and offers two forms of advanced imaging: echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging.  Echocardiography helps physicians and researchers screen for problems while MRI helps them identify exact problems in high definition. Both use non-ionizing radiation, which is safer than radiation used in other imaging techniques.

Hundley’s return to the MCV Campus and the Cardiac Imaging Suite’s opening would not have been possible without the Pauleys and the Pauley Family Foundation. In addition to making a donation to name the Pauley Heart Center in 2006, the family supported Hundley’s recruitment and funded the suite’s 3T MRI scanner with several gifts during the Make It Real Campaign for VCU.

One of the most advanced MRI systems available in the world, the 3T generates a magnetic field twice as strong as a traditional MRI, producing higher-resolution images as a result. This powerful tool further solidifies VCU Health’s position as a leader in patient care and research.

Hundley’s research focuses on preventive heart care for patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which has been found to increase the risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular issues a decade or more after treatment. He was the first in the world to demonstrate that MRI stress testing can identify those at risk of heart attack.

“Working with cancer patients to understand how cancer treatments impact heart health will increase our understanding of all causes of heart failure,” Hundley says. “I hope that our research will benefit Pauley Heart Center and Massey Cancer Center patients alike, so we are able to treat and prevent heart and vascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol more effectively.”

A version of this article was previously published by the MCV Foundation.

To learn more about VCU Health, contact Lauren Moore, director of development, at (804) 828-3632 or lauren.moore@vcuhealth.org. To learn more about the School of Medicine, contact Amy Lane, Ph.D., director of major gifts, at (804) 827-4937 or amy.lane@vcuhealth.org.