Christopher Milton Kramer, MD
Cardiac Imaging
Additional Locations
Bio & Overview
Christopher Kramer, MD, is a cardiologist at the Heart and Vascular Center whose areas of expertise are hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and cardiovascular imaging, including echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and cardiac computed tomography. He is the George A. Beller/Lantheus Medical Imaging Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and the chief of the Cardiovascular Division.
His research interests include cardiovascular MRI, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). He is the co-principal investigator of a 44-site study on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy funded by the National Institutes of Health. He also directs a cardiovascular imaging fellowship training program funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.
Dr. Kramer was raised in the Washington, DC, area and developed an interest in science and medicine from a young age. He studied biology at Harvard University. He then attended medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, and completed his internal medicine residency training and fellowship in cardiovascular disease at the University of Pennsylvania.
He joined UVA in 1999 and has published nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications, four books, and more than 100 book chapters, editorials, and reviews. Dr. Kramer is treasurer of the American College of Cardiology and will serve as vice president and president from 2024–26. In 2015, he was awarded a Gold Medal by the Society of Magnetic Resonance for extraordinary contributions to the field. He was also named a Distinguished Mentor by the American College of Cardiology in 2021.
In his free time, Dr. Kramer enjoys music, time outdoors with his family, and sports, including golf, swimming, skiing, and biking.
Academic Information
- Department
- Medicine
- Academic Role
- Professor
- Division
- Cardiology
- Research Interests
- Cardiac MRI, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, peripheral arterial disease, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies.
- Gender
- Male
- Languages
- English
- Age Groups Seen
- Adults (21-65)
Older Adults (65+)
- Primary Education
- University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
- Residency
- Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- Fellowships
- Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- Certification
- American Board of Internal Medicine (Cardiovascular Disease), American Board of Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine)
- Appointment
- Chief - Cardiovascular Medicine
Highlights
Dr. Christopher Kramer profile video
Hello. I'm Christopher Kramer. I'm a cardiologist at the University of Virginia. I see patients with general cardiology problems. I also do a lot of cardiovascular imaging. That includes MRI or magnetic resonance imaging of the heart, computed tomography CT of the heart, as well as echocardiography or ultrasound of the heart. I run what we call the cardiovascular imaging center which is a group of us who are involved in a number of imaging procedures and development of new imaging procedures with patients. We, in the cardiovascular imaging center, can decide, talk amongst ourselves, decide which of the imaging procedures is best suited for that individual patient, and apply that procedure so the right test for the right patient at the right time. In terms of how I developed an interest in cardiology, back in high school believe it or not, I won a Washington, DC Heart Association Fellowship to work in a lab over the summer. During my fellowship, I got interested particularly in cardiovascular imaging and began to specialize in that area. We're able to diagnosis problems now that, when I finished my training nearly 25 years ago, we weren't able to see and diagnose. That's been an amazing set of advances. I think patients who come to UVA should know that they're getting really top line expertise in terms of their cardiovascular imaging.
Awards
- 2015-2020 Best Doctors in America® List
- 2015 Academy of Radiology Research Distinguished Investigator Award
- 2015 Gold Medal, Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
- 2014 UVA Dean’s Award for Excellence in Team Science Research
- 2013 UVA Department of Medicine Award for Outstanding Mentorship
- 2012 UVA Department of Medicine Award for Outstanding Research
- 2010 Association of University Cardiologists
- 2010 Simon Dack Award, Journal of the American College of Cardiology
- 2006 American Society of Clinical Investigation
- 2004 Elite Reviewer, Journal of the American College of Cardiology
- 2004 J. Edwin Wood Jr. Teaching Award, University of Virginia Cardiovascular Division
- 1999 Merck Angiotensin II Young Investigator's Award
- 1996 Claude R. Joyner Cardiovascular Scholar, Allegheny General Hospital
- 1982 Magna Cum Laude 1985 Alpha Omega Alpha, elected as a junior
- 1981 Rhodes and Marshall Scholarship Finalist
- 1981 Phi Beta Kappa, elected as a junior
Reviews
75 Patient Satisfaction Ratings
Our patient satisfaction ratings are an average of all the survey responses to the below questions a provider got within the past 2 years. To protect your privacy, patients aren't identified.
See more about our patient satisfaction surveys .