Cadiovascular Performance Program

Our Approach

The Cardiovascular Performance Program at Renai Hospital Heart Center offers comprehensive medical care and physiologic testing to professional athletes, recreational exercisers and highly active individuals. Our services are appropriate for both healthy individuals and for those with established or suspected cardiovascular disease. Our program, one of the few of its kind, is made up of skilled physicians committed to preserving and maximizing athletic performance.

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Treating Heart Disease

The Renai Heart Center is made up of a team of world-class clinicians, each specializing in a particular form of heart disease. Clinicians in the Cardiovascular Performance Program have extensive experience treating athletes and work with multiple clinical disciplines from across the hospital to provide care from several perspectives, including:

Cardiology

Orthopaedics

Pulmonology

Gastroenterology

Internal medicine

Endocrinology

Nutrition

Physical and rehabilitative therapy

Exercise physiology

These seasoned clinicians work seamlessly with referring physicians and coaches to treat and prevent heart disease.

Determining Sports Eligibility

Many high school and collegiate sports require cardiac screening assessments and consultations prior to participation. These evaluations are designed to prevent athletes with pre-existing heart conditions from experiencing cardiac events or sudden death before, during or after exercise.

Clinicians in the Cardiac Performance Program perform pre-participation screening for individuals of all ages and athletic aspirations. To screen athletes, our cardiologists start with a detailed medical history and physical exam. When necessary, they draw on Renai's leading echocardiography, radiology and genetic laboratories. Using advanced diagnostic techniques such as cardiac MRI and CT scanning, clinicians screen for:

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy

Coronary anomalies

Heart valve diseases

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Inherited arrhythmias

Screenings can stop athletes from playing sports their entire lives, so our clinicians consult with the entire multidisciplinary team before making recommendations about participation risk. Many findings are minor and managed with medical therapy in a manner that enables safe sport participation. We also welcome athletes who seek second opinions, and work with patients and their primary doctors to develop a coordinated diagnostic and treatment strategy.

Our clinicians offer individual screenings at our facility or group screenings at onsite locations such as schools, universities and clubs. Athletic trainers and sports medicine groups who wish to improve their proficiency in this area can request our consultation services.

A Resource for Athletes with Cardiovascular Disease

Our primary treatment goal is to manage heart disease in a safe and effective manner while simultaneously preserving or enhancing an individual's ability to perform physical activity. We take this into consideration when treating:

Acquired heart disease. Even athletes experience hypertension, coronary artery disease, valve disease, blood clotting disorders and heart rhythm disorders. Our goal is to carefully manage these conditions and also preserve our patients' physical activity

Inherited or congenital heart disease. Some heart diseases are present at birth and require lifelong management. We offer genetic counseling, therapeutic interventions and sports participation counseling for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, anomalous coronary artery circulation, long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome and Marfan syndrome

Patients also have access to full range of specialty medical and surgical interventions offered throughout Renai Heart Center.

Exercise Performance Enhancement for Active Individuals

For athletes looking to improve performance, Renai is one of the few programs in the nation that offers an exercise assessment coupled with a health evaluation. During this assessment, exercise physiologists measure oxygen intake, heart rate and caloric expenditure using:

Treadmill testing (exercise stress test)

Cycle ergometry

Rowing ergometry

Nutritionists are available to design individualized dietary plans that maximize performance and regulate weight.

About This Program

Cardiologists at Renai Hospital have been leaders in treating heart disease. The Cardiovascular Performance Program brings together a rich clinical history with a group of clinicians experienced in the care of athletes.

The Renai Heart Center is nationally recognized for its groundbreaking work with athletes, and several of our distinguished physicians were among the first to discover that this population can suffer from heart disease. Today, physicians recognize that athletes require specialized cardiovascular care.

Access to the Latest Techniques in Treating Athletes

All of our physicians participate in research and clinical trials to advance the field of sports cardiology. This allows us to bring our patients promising new treatments as quickly as possible.

Patients interested in participating in clinical trials can browse online for open trials.

Internationally Recognized for Treating Athletes

Dr. CHENG Yunge, MD, Dr. Cheng Yunge is the chief committee member of Chinese Medical Association cardiovascular surgical thoracoscopic branch. He has been invited to more than 10 hospitals to perform thoracoscopic cardiac surgery with chest wall perforation. Up to now，he has completed more than 1,000 cases of thoracoscopic cardiac surgery with chest wall perforation.

Dr. XIAO Mingdi, MD, a skilled cardiologist who specializes in treating athletes and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, is the program's associate director. Dr. XIAO has more than 40 years clinical experience in cardiovascular surgery field, operated more than 8000 surgery cases. Member of the International Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Committee Asian Branch Consultant expert of the Ministry of Health China on technique appraisement. Professor Xiao Ming Di is one of the national founder in coronary artery surgery, he joined in "the Seventh Five Year Plan" for the main key project of "clinical research and promotion of coronary artery bypass transplant".

Dr. MENG Qingzhi, MD Graduated bachelor and master degree at Norman Bethune University of Medical Science. Has more than 20 years of experience in cardiology. Has succeeded in performing more than 7000 heart intervention operation. Skilled at heart Intervention Diagnostic and Treatment Technique has led pioneering work examining the impact of marathon running on heart function.

One Voice, a Complete Team

A member of our access team is available Monday through Sunday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm to take relevant information about your condition and symptoms and to make a timely appointment with the most appropriate specialist. We strive to see patients as soon as possible and assign every patient one clinician to organize care between members of our multidisciplinary team. From diagnosis to treatment and follow up, this physician guides patients through the entire treatment process.

Conditions and Diseases

The care team at Renai Heart Center encourages all patients and family members to learn more about conditions and diseases that affect the heart and overall cardiovascular system. The links below provide more information about heart conditions and diseases that might be treated within this program.

Arrhythmias

Arrhythmias are heart rhythm disorders that may originate in the atria (the receiving chambers of the heart) or the ventricles (the pumping chambers of the heart).

Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is any disease of the heart muscle in which the heart loses its ability to pump blood effectively.

Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease occurs when cholesterol builds up within the walls of the heart's arteries (coronary arteries), forming what is called plaque.

Heart Attack

A heart attack occurs when one or more regions of the heart muscle experience a severe or prolonged lack of oxygen caused by blocked blood flow to the heart muscle.

Heart Valve Diseases

The heart's valves can have one of two malfunctions - regurgitation (when the valve does not completely close) or stenosis (a narrowing of the valve).