Cardiac electrophysiologist new academic, clinical head of Dept. of Cardiac Sciences

University of Calgary clinician Dr. Vikas Kuriachan, MD, is a familiar face in cardiology in the city.

The friendly specialist first came to Calgary in 2004 as a cardiology fellow. Apart from a year at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School, where he completed an advanced electrophysiology fellowship, Kuriachan has been a mainstay in the city with a busy clinical practice and research agenda specializing in electrophysiology.

Now Kuriachan has taken on a new challenge as the clinical and academic head of Cardiac Sciences. In this newly created role, Kuriachan will work alongside Dr. Paul Fedak, MD, PhD, director of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute.

“I am excited to be in this role,” says Kuriachan. “We are one of the centers of excellence in cardiac care, research, and education in Canada. My goal is to continue to push our program forward.”

Kuriachan completed a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering at Texas A&M University and received his Doctor of Medicine from Queen’s University. During medical school, he dreamed of being a surgeon, but a visit to Calgary to complete a cardiology elective motivated him to pursue cardiology instead.   

“I was drawn to the patient information that can be gathered by an ECG and realized that there are many options in a career in cardiac care,” says Kuriachan.

Kuriachan hasn’t strayed from that path. He completed two fellowships at the University of Calgary: the first in adult cardiology and the second in clinical and research electrophysiology.

Kuriachan joined the cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology group at the Libin Institute in the summer of 2010 and soon after became program director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Training Program.

He has been instrumental in continuing to advance Calgary’s renowned electrophysiology program by bringing a series of new electrophysiology technologies and procedures to Alberta with the goal of improving patient outcomes.

Highlights of his achievements include being the first to perform epicardial ablation in Calgary, and then, with oncologists, to perform Alberta’s first stereotactic radioablation, a common cancer procedure that can be used for patients suffering with heart rhythm problems.

He has worked alongside colleagues to bring other technologies--such as subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillators, MRI conditional defibrillators, leadless pacemakers and percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion devices—to Calgary.  These innovations have improved and advanced patient care.

Dr. Kuriachan is the former deputy head of education with the Department of Cardiac Sciences at UCalgary’s Cumming School of Medicine and the former medical director of Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Services for Alberta Health Services’ Calgary Zone. He has numerous clinical and research interests including complex ablation, integrative arrhythmia care, cutting-edge electrophysiology technologies and physician wellness.

Kuriachan says he feels lucky to be part of a collaborative group that is organized under one department, a fact that sets Calgary apart from most other Canadian centres.

“I was initially drawn to a career in Calgary because the Cardiac Sciences group is collegial, easy to work with and highly skilled,” he says. “My colleagues are among the top in Canada, and it’s an honour to be in this role.”

In his spare time, Kuriachan spends time with his wife, Anna, and his two children.