Cardiology is moving out of the hospital, and the cardiologists below are steering where it lands. The number of single-specialty cardiology ASCs grew from 55 to 221 between 2018 and 2023. Meanwhile, CMS added 573 codes to the 2026 ASC Covered Procedures List, including electrophysiology ablation. At the same time, cardiology leaders point to roughly $700 million in Medicare cuts to cardiology services over five years. The physicians on this list run the practices, platforms and programs absorbing that shift.
Editor’s note: Leaders are listed alphabetically. This list is not an endorsement of included individuals, organizations or their associated products.
1. Jerry Blackwell, MD. President and CEO of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.-based MedAxiom. Dr. Blackwell leads the American College of Cardiology’s business-of-cardiology company, which advises cardiovascular programs ranging from independent practices to integrated health systems. MedAxiom partnered with ASC management company Atlas Healthcare Partners in 2020 to help cardiology groups move procedures into outpatient settings. He became MedAxiom’s first physician president in 2019 after the ACC acquired the company, and he previously served as executive vice president and chief clinical officer of Ballad Health. He still practices, with a focus on advanced cardiac imaging.
2. Daniel Blumenthal, MD. Chief quality and research officer of Orlando, Fla.-based Cardiovascular Associates of America. Dr. Blumenthal, a general cardiologist, founded Novocardia, a cardiology MSO built around value-based and risk-based contracting, and merged it into CVAUSA in April 2023. The Novocardia division now designs care and payment models for CVAUSA’s partner practices aimed at cutting avoidable hospitalizations and emergency visits. CVAUSA, backed by Webster Equity Partners, counts about 450 physicians and 290 advanced practice providers across eight states, according to Cardiovascular Business. He previously served as associate chief medical officer of Devoted Health.
3. Richard Chazal, MD. Medical director for quality, transformation and innovation at Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Health Heart Institute. Dr. Chazal served as president of the American College of Cardiology in 2016-17 and has practiced in Fort Myers since 1983. He is one of the specialty’s most prominent voices for moving electrophysiology into freestanding centers. “Some of these procedures have matured to the point where many of these can, and perhaps should be, done in these lower-cost, efficient outpatient centers that can provide really good care,” he said. He also serves as treasurer of the World Heart Federation.
4. Mark Goodwin, MD. President of Naperville, Ill.-based Midwest Cardiovascular Institute. Dr. Goodwin, an interventional cardiologist, co-founded CardioSphere in 2024 to build alignment models between independent cardiologists and health systems, including joint-venture ASCs. In October, CardioSphere joined forces with Denver-based CardioOne, bringing MCI into a network of more than 110 providers, most of whom left hospital or corporate employment. In July, 10 cardiologists left employed roles to join MCI as it opened a Hinsdale location, according to the practice.
5. Maulik Shah, MD. President and co-founder of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Atria Heart. Dr. Shah, an interventional cardiologist, co-founded the practice in 2015 and brought it onto the CVAUSA platform. In January, Atria Heart acquired Phoenix-based Cardiovascular Consultants, growing to nine offices and nearly 30 physicians and providers. The practice operates in collaboration with Scottsdale-based HonorHealth, pairing physician-led outpatient cardiology with the system’s hospitals.
6. Toniya Singh, MD. Managing partner of St. Louis Heart and Vascular. Dr. Singh, an invasive cardiologist, helps lead an independent practice that Heart & Vascular Partners has called one of the early innovators in outpatient cardiovascular services. In 2024, the practice partnered with the Deerfield, Ill.-based management services company to expand to new locations and recruit providers; it has 14 physician partners across five locations. She joined MedAxiom’s Board of Managers in 2026.
7. Mark Victor, MD. CEO of Cardiology Consultants of Philadelphia and president of the Mid-Atlantic region of Cardiovascular Logistics. Dr. Victor leads the largest independent cardiology practice in the U.S., with more than 90 cardiologists, 50 advanced practice providers and 30 locations. In April 2025, CCP joined Cardiovascular Logistics, lifting the platform from about 300 to 440 providers, and he took on the regional president role that July. The practice started with four cardiologists in the 1990s and remains majority physician-owned, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
8. Craig Walker, MD. Founder, president and medical director of Houma, La.-based Cardiovascular Institute of the South. Dr. Walker founded CIS as a one-physician practice in 1983 and built it into a multistate cardiovascular group that now anchors the Cardiovascular Logistics platform, where he serves as chief medical officer. In January 2021, he performed the first procedure at CIS’ new ASC in Gray, La., which has two catheterization labs for coronary, peripheral artery and venous procedures. He also founded the New Cardiovascular Horizons conference series.
9. Jeff Wessler, MD. Founder and CEO of New York City-based Heartbeat Health. Dr. Wessler left academic cardiology to build a virtual-first cardiology group that pairs televisits with remote diagnostics, aimed at the many U.S. counties without a practicing cardiologist. Its backers include Optum Ventures, Echo Health Ventures and DaVita Venture Group. He has made the case for decentralized diagnostics as cardiology care moves beyond traditional settings, and he holds an academic appointment at Northwell Health.
10. Ian Woollett, MD. Electrophysiologist with Virginia Beach, Va.-based Sentara Medical Group. Dr. Woollett is tackling one of the biggest cost barriers to moving atrial fibrillation ablation into outpatient settings: disposable devices. He built a workflow that replaces the imaging catheter long considered standard for the procedure, which costs $2,000 to $3,500 per case, with a reusable probe. A feasibility study of 128 patients recorded a 100% acute success rate with no major complications. “We’ve kind of been sheltered from the direct effects of costs, because a lot of us work in hospital systems,” he said.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
