China's Top Departments: Cardiology at Shanghai East Hospital (Tongji University)

If you are managing an arrhythmia, complex coronary disease, a structural heart condition or advanced heart failure, the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Shanghai East Hospital (Tongji University) is one of China's most distinctive cardiovascular destinations — led by CAS Academician Chen Yihan, who was the first in the world to discover a human atrial-fibrillation-causing gene, and backed by the National Key Laboratory of Heart Disease. The hospital's international pedigree is equally strong: it holds medical-service agreements with more than 60 overseas insurance companies, is the only designated hospital in China for French national health insurance, and established the world's first WHO-certified international emergency medical team as a full unit, serving over 30,000 international patient visits per year.

Hospital Overview

Shanghai East Hospital, Affiliated to Tongji University School of Medicine is a Grade-A Tertiary (san jia) general hospital, a National Civilized Unit, under the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission. Founded in 1920 as "Pudong Hospital," its names and status evolved over time: Pudong Hospital (1920) → Municipal Pudong Hospital (1941) → Shanghai Municipal Third People's Hospital (1945) → Pudong County Hospital (1960) → Huangpu District Pudong Central Hospital (1963) → renamed Shanghai East Hospital (1992) → became a Tongji University affiliated hospital (2001) → accredited as a national Grade-A Tertiary general hospital (2010) → the South Campus opened (2012).

• Campus layout: Three campuses (one under construction), all in the core area of Pudong New District, Shanghai
  • Lujiazui Campus (main campus): No. 150 Jimo Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai
  • Qiantan Campus (South Campus): No. 1800 Yuntai Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai
  • Hudong Campus: under construction
• Scale: 1,800 open beds and more than 60 clinical and medical-technical departments; approximately 4,010 staff, including 551 with senior professional titles, 118 doctoral supervisors and 255 master's supervisors
• Clinical service: In 2025, over 3.29 million outpatient and emergency visits, over 140,000 discharges, and over 165,000 surgical/procedural cases
• Performance assessment: Rated A+ four times in the National Health Commission's performance assessment of tertiary public hospitals, placing in the top 10% nationwide (highest rank: No. 49); rated A+ in the 2024 China Hospital Science and Technology Value ranking
• International background: Signed medical-service agreements with more than 60 overseas insurance companies and serves over 30,000 international patient visits per year; the only designated hospital in China for French national health insurance; established the world's first WHO-certified international emergency medical team as a full unit

Department Name and Level

The Department of Cardiovascular Medicine (Cardiology) sits under the Heart Medicine Division and is backed by a range of high-level platforms and bases, including:

• National Key Laboratory of Heart Disease
• National Key Clinical Specialty in Cardiovascular Disease
• Basic Science Center for Heart Disease of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
• National Innovation and Talent-Introduction Base; National Science Fund for Creative Research Groups
• Collaborative Base of the National Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center
• Three national interventional training bases of the National Health Commission (coronary heart disease, structural heart disease, arrhythmia)
• Innovation Base of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences
• Innovation Team of the Ministry of Education
• Shanghai Municipal "Top Priority" Arrhythmia Research Center
• Key Discipline in Heart Disease of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission; Pudong New District Peak Discipline

Expert Team

• Prof. Chen Yihan, Academician: Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, cardiologist, member of the Academic Divisions of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Currently Vice President of Tongji University, President of Shanghai East Hospital, Director of the National Key Laboratory of Heart Disease, and Director of the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Arrhythmia (Cardiovascular Basic Research); Director of the Heart Medicine Division and the Department of Cardiology, and discipline leader of the Cardiovascular Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center. His clinical focus is arrhythmia and heart failure. He is a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars and a Changjiang Scholars Distinguished Professor, and leads a Basic Science Center project. He was the first in the world to discover a human atrial fibrillation-causing gene (published in Science), and has received the National Natural Science Award (second class), the Ministry of Education Natural Science Award (first class), the China Physician Award and the National "May 1" Labor Medal, among others
• Prof. Liu Zhongmin: Foreign academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering, chief physician, professor and doctoral supervisor, Lifetime Professor and Honorary President of Shanghai East Hospital. With over 30 years of clinical experience in critical care and complex heart disease, he is highly experienced in artificial heart implantation and heart-lung transplantation for end-stage heart failure. His team developed China's first "human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell injection for heart failure," which has entered Phase I clinical trials
• Prof. Zhang Qi: Executive Deputy Director of the Department of Cardiology and Director of the Coronary Heart Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center; focuses on high-risk complex coronary intervention (CHIP). According to a 2019 report, the department's annual coronary intervention volume ranked among the top three in Shanghai
• Talent structure: The department has 80 physicians, including 38 with senior professional titles, 13 doctoral supervisors and 28 master's supervisors. Its experts include an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, members of the Academic Divisions of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Changjiang Scholars, NSFC Distinguished Young Scholars, NSFC Excellent Young Scholars, national overseas high-level talents, chief scientists of national 973/863/Key R&D Programs, China Physician Award recipients and Shanghai leading talents

Scale and Service Capacity

• Beds: 208 beds in total, organized into 8 general cardiology wards and 2 cardiovascular intensive care units
• Service volume: More than 10,000 discharges and nearly 300,000 outpatient visits per year
• Procedures: More than 12,000 surgical/procedural cases per year
• Cardiac catheterization labs: 12 in total (including 2 hybrid operating rooms equipped with 12 DSA systems). It features Asia's first intelligently customized hybrid operating room, integrating MRI, CT, DSA, ultrasound and a surgical table, enabling "one-stop" diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases
• Equipment: Pheno-DSA, Carto/Ensite 3D electrophysiology mapping systems, IVUS, OCT, FFR, QFR, Shock-wave, ELCA and Rota systems for high-resistance lesions, plus IABP and ECMO hemodynamic support devices

Core Strengths and Techniques

The department routinely performs the full range of cardiac diagnostic and treatment techniques listed in Shanghai's restricted medical technology catalogue, achieving near-complete coverage of cardiovascular care, including:

1. High-risk complex coronary intervention
2. Complex arrhythmia ablation
3. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
4. Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair for mitral regurgitation (TEER)
5. Pacemaker implantation including CRT/ICD
6. Interventional treatment of various congenital heart diseases
7. Left atrial appendage closure
8. Renal artery ablation
9. Septal embolization and chemical ablation for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
10. Modern cardiac rehabilitation

Research and Teaching

• Research: The department leads projects including NSFC Basic Science Center projects, National Science Fund for Creative Research Groups, National Innovation and Talent-Introduction Base projects, Ministry of Education Innovation Team projects, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Unit projects, national 973 Program projects, national 863 Program projects, NSFC Distinguished Young Scholar projects, and NSFC international cooperation, key, general and youth projects. Team members have published multiple papers in journals such as Nature and Science
• Teaching: The department teaches undergraduates, postgraduates and international students from Tongji University School of Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, Nanjing Medical University and Jinzhou Medical University, among others. It offers doctoral and master's degree programs and a postdoctoral research station, and is among the first national and Shanghai training bases for resident physicians and cardiovascular specialists, as well as a training base for visiting physicians

Address and Contact

• Department of Cardiology: 5th Floor, Department of Cardiology, No. 150 Jimo Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai (Lujiazui/main campus)
• Department phone: 021-38804518-17213
• Department email: [email protected]
• Department website: http://dfheart.org
• Hospital website: https://www.easthospital.cn
• Hospital switchboard: 021-38804518

For a quick overview of the department, see the Shanghai East Hospital Cardiology department page.

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