Kenneth C Bilchick, MD

Cardiologist Kenneth Bilchick, MD, specializes in cardiac rhythm problems, including atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardia, and ventricular tachycardia. He performs a full range of procedures to help correct rapid or irregular heart rhythms, which can cause a variety of symptoms (e.g., fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, light-headedness, and fainting). He is an expert in catheter ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia, and ventricular tachycardia and in device procedures, including implantation of pacemakers delivering conduction system pacing, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices. Dr. Bilchick is also an expert in advanced imaging modalities such as MRI to acquire important information about the structure and function of the heart, and he has developed innovative approaches use findings from cardiac MRI to enhance procedures such as cardiac resynchronization therapy. Dr. Bilchick continues to maintain three separate ABIM certifications in clinical cardiac electrophysiology, cardiovascular disease, and internal medicine. He has also been consistently recognized year after year by the UVA Health System with Outstanding Patient Experience Awards.

In addition to being a clinical cardiologist and electrophysiologist, he is also a clinical investigator and statistician. He came to the University of Virginia in 2007 after completing medical school, an internal medicine residency, a cardiology fellowship, and a clinical cardiac electrophysiology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. He subsequently completed a Master of Science degree in Clinical Investigation in 2010 at UVA and a second Master of Science degree in Statistics in 2022, also at UVA. He participates in several research-related groups at UVA, including IPrecision Immunomedicine collaborative research program, the Institutional Review Board for Health Sciences Research, Cardiovascular Research Oversight Committee, External Funding & Research Administration Working Group, and the Cardiovascular Imaging Center. He is also dedicated to research mentoring, with service on several UVA doctoral thesis committees over the past 15 years and collaborations across Grounds with computer science, statistics, and engineering faculty members. On a national/international level, he also serves as the Chair of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) Research Committee, Chair of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) Clinical Trials Committee, Member of the American College of Cardiology/National Cardiovascular Data Registry (ACC/NCDR) Research and Publications Committee, and Reviewer for NIH study sections. In his role as Director of Electrophysiology Research here at UVA, he has continued to maintain an innovative research program focused on the improvement of clinical care for patients with heart disease and applications of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) for patients with arrhythmias and heart failure, including studies with collaborators across the United States. In particular, he is very interested in applications of machine learning and innovative statistical methods in these research areas, and he presently has 115 peer-reviewed publications. Sources of support for his research program include R01 funding from the National Institutes of Health, and he has also been the recipient of grants from the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and industry.

From a personal standpoint, Dr. Bilchick has lived in Spain, Latin America, and the Middle East and speaks Spanish fluently. He enjoys spending time with his family, coaching in supporting his kids in their athletic endeavors, playing tennis and golf, and playing the piano. He also is invested in the Charlottesville community through various activities, including outreach and education regarding heart rhythm conditions.

Gender

Male

Languages

Spanish, English

Age Groups Seen

Adults (21-65)
Older Adults (65+)

Primary Education

Johns Hopkins University

Residency

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Fellowships

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Certification

American Board of Internal Medicine (Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology), American Board of Internal Medicine (Cardiovascular Disease), American Board of Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine)

• 2023 UVA Health System Outstanding Patient Experience Award
• 2023- Member Cardiovascular Research Oversight Committee
• 2023- Chair, SCMR Clinical Trials Committee
• 2023- Chair, Heart Rhythm Society Research Committee
• 2022- Member, American College of Cardiology NCDR Research and Publications Committee
• 2022 UVA Health System Outstanding Patient Experience Award
• 2022- Member, External Funding & Research Admin Working Group
• 2022- Member, IPrecision Immunomedicine Collaborative Research Program
• 2022 JCMR Gold Star Reviewer Award (Top 13% of Reviewers)
• 2021-2022 Member, American College of Cardiology Faculty Development Workgroup
• 2021 UVA Health System Outstanding Patient Experience Award
• 2020- Member of UVA Institutional Review Board for Health Sciences Research
• 2020 UVA Health System Outstanding Patient Experience Award
• 2020 Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society
• 2020-2023 Vice Chair, Heart Rhythm Society Research Committee
• 2019- Member, Clinical Trials Committee, SCMR
• 2019 Co-organizer for SCMR-HRS Joint Session at HRS Scientific Sessions
• 2019 2019 Chair, R13 Internet Assisted Review, NHLBI
• 2019 Invited Attendee, American Heart Association Research Leaders Academy
• 2019 Invited Attendee, American College of Cardiology (ACC) Rick Nishimura, MD, MACC and Patrick T. O’Gara, MD, MACC Emerging Faculty Leadership Academy
• 2018- Abstract Reviewer, American Heart Association Scientific Sessions
• 2018- Member, Integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV)
• 2017 Award of Tenure, University of Virginia
• 2017 UVA Certificate of Excellence in Teaching
• 2017 J. Edwin Wood, Jr. MD Attending Teacher Award for Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program, UVA
• 2017-2020 Research Committee Member, Heart Rhythm Society
• 2017 Co-Mentor for 2017 ISMRM Young Investigator Award Finalist for the W. S. Moore Award
• 2017 Outstanding Reviewer, Heart Rhythm Journal
• 2016 Mentor for 2016 HRS Eric N. Prystowsky Early-Career Researcher Awardee
• 2016- Editorial Board, American Heart Journal
• 2015 Sponsor for Postdoctoral Fellow Abstract Award, 23rd Annual Meeting, International Society for Magnetic Resonance Medicine
• 2015 Sponsor for Best Fellow Poster Award, UVA SOM Research Retreat
• 2015 Research Award, University of Virginia Department of Medicine
• 2015 Poster Professor, AHA Scientific Sessions 2015
• 2014 UVA School of Medicine Faculty Award for Excellence in Research
• 2012 Magna Cum Laude Award for Outstanding Abstract, 20th Annual Meeting, International Society for Magnetic Resonance Medicine
• 2012- Fellow, Heart Rhythm Society
• 2011- Grant reviewer for National Institutes of Health
• 2009- Fellow, American College of Cardiology (F.A.C.C.)
• 2009- Golden Key International Honor Society
• 2007- Fellow, Heart Rhythm Society (F.H.R.S.)
• 2003-2006 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award NIH/Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD
• 1993 Honors Graduate, Dartmouth College
• 1988 National Merit Scholarship Finalist