Allegheny Health Network Names Akshay Khandelwal, MD, System Chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine

PITTSBURGH, PA (June 15, 2023) — Akshay Khandelwal, MD, MBA, FACC, FSCAI, an interventional cardiologist and physician leader with the Henry Ford Health system, has been named Chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Allegheny Health Network (AHN).

As cardiovascular medicine chair, Dr. Khandelwal will lead a team of 67 employed physicians, 40 affiliated physicians and 23 fellows, ensuring the provision of advanced, high-quality cardiovascular medicine services at AHN’s hospitals and outpatient centers, and fortifying AHN’s relationship with Western Pennsylvania’s community hospitals and independent cardiology groups.

The Department of Cardiovascular Medicine is part of AHN’s Cardiovascular Institute. In his new role, Dr. Khandelwal will partner with colleagues within the Cardiovascular Institute and the AHN Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery to promote multidisciplinary collaboration between AHN’s cardiologists and its cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons through all stages of the patient care journey, creating comprehensive care plans and determining the best care pathways for patients with heart disease.

He succeeds former cardiology chair Srinivas Murali, MD, who retired earlier this year.

“Dr. Khandelwal is an exceptional clinician and physician leader who has served his cardiac patients with great skill, compassion and innovation for more than two decades,” said Stephen Bailey, MD, Chair of the AHN Cardiovascular Institute. “We are thrilled that he will soon help lead our world-class heart program."

At Henry Ford — a five-hospital heath network based in Detroit, Michigan — Dr. Khandelwal serves as Associate Medical Director of the Heart and Vascular Service Line, and he is among the senior staff at the Edith & Benson Ford Heart & Vascular Institute.

As an interventional cardiologist, Dr. Khandelwal specializes in treating heart disease with catheter-based techniques. His areas of expertise include complex coronary interventions, such as angioplasty and stent procedures, and diagnostic cardiology.

Dr. Khandelwal’s research has been widely published in professional and academic journals. He is also the incoming Treasurer for the American College of Cardiology, the premier, 54,000-member professional, education, and credentialing organization for heart specialists in the U.S. and 140 other countries.

“Over the decades, AHN and Allegheny General Hospital have built a reputation for excellence in the medical and surgical treatment of cardiovascular disease,” said Donald Whiting, MD, chief medical officer for AHN. “Dr. Khandelwal will add to that legacy in the years to come, and his academic, research, and clinical acumen will further advance AHN’s ability to deliver pioneering cardiovascular care that enhances the experience and outcomes of our patients, enabling them to live their best and healthiest lives.”

Dr. Khandelwal earned his medical degree from Bangalore University’s Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College in India, and he completed an internal medicine residency, chief residency, cardiology fellowship, and interventional cardiology fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital, formally joining the Henry Ford clinical staff as an attending physician thereafter.

In 2022, he also received a Physician Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business. He is an associate professor at Wayne State University.

Dr. Khandelwal is board-certified in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

“It’s an incredible honor to join a forward thinking, blended health organization like AHN and Highmark Health that is truly committed to transforming medicine,” Dr. Khandelwal said. “I’m also thrilled at the opportunity to work alongside Dr. Bailey and so many other talented and innovative heart specialists at AHN who have helped build a stellar legacy cardiovascular care excellence.”

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