James P MacNamara, MD
Cardiology
Additional Locations
Bio & Overview
James MacNamara, MD, is a cardiologist who specializes in treating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and using advanced echocardiography to diagnose and manage complex cardiac conditions.
His research interests include exercise intolerance, cardiac limitations to exercise, and cardiac physiology during exercise.
“In modern medicine, we have a lot of tools, both for diagnostics and treatment. The challenge we face is how to use these tools effectively to benefit patients” he says. “My first step is always to understand your goals and how your symptoms or illness prevent you from reaching those goals. If I understand you and you understand your options, we can make good decisions together.”
MacNamara grew up in Georgia and attended the University of Georgia. He earned his medical degree from the University of Virginia and completed his internal medicine residency at Emory University. He completed his cardiology and advanced cardiac imaging fellowship and earned a masters of clinical science from the University of Texas Southwestern.
He is the associate director of the Echocardiography Laboratory, where helps improve the quality of procedures and enhances the education of trainees and sonographers.
MacNamara is an avid Georgia Bulldog fan. He loves to cook, particularly barbecue, read, watch movies, and build Lego sets with his wife and two girls.
Organizational Involvement/Memberships
- American College of Cardiology
- American Heart Association
- American Society of Echocardiography
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Society
Academic Information
- Department
- Medicine
- Academic Role
- Assistant Professor
- Division
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Gender
- Male
- Languages
- English
- Age Groups Seen
- Adults (21-65)
Older Adults (65+)
- Primary Education
- University of Virginia School of Medicine (2013)
- Residency
- Emory University School of Medicine (2016)
- Fellowship
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (2021)
- Certification
- American Board of Internal Medicine (Cardiovascular Disease)
Highlights
Meet Cardiologist James MacNamara, MD
I'm James McNamara. I'm a cardiologist who specializes in advanced echocardiography and the care of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy here at UVA Health. So when patients come to see us for the first time, they can expect several things. The first of which is we're going to get caught up on the journey that they've had so far. We're going to understand the tests that have been done, the diagnosis that have been made, the treatments that have been tried. Then we'll transition into helping the patient understand what we know about their disease, what we don't know. And then we aim to understand how is their disease impacting them. This allows us to have a conversation about treatment strategies and what is the best strategy for you as an individual. The second thing that they can expect is a comprehensive assessment of their HCM, and that goes beyond just me as the cardiologist. We have our genetic counselors in the clinic. We have an exercise physiologist in the clinic. And we have our research coordinators, all of whom can handle a different aspect. So our goal is that by the time a patient leaves their first clinic visit, they have a good understanding of what hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is, what other testing needs to be done to be sure that that's what they have, and what do we need to do to find the best treatment strategy for that individual.
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