Sports Cardiology Program

The Johns Hopkins Sports Cardiology Program offers comprehensive evaluation and a full range of cardiology services for highly active individuals of all levels of sport and performance — including collegiate, professional/elite and recreational endurance athletes, masters athletes (older than age 40), and everything in between.

Request an Appointment: 410-614-0543

What to Expect at Your First Visit

Our clinic treats all athletes with cardiovascular concerns, whether you've had a congenital heart condition all your life or you suspect that a new condition is developing. We offer state-of-the-art evaluation and treatment for suspected or confirmed heart disease, detailed pre-participation safety assessments and exercise assessments.

At your first visit with the Johns Hopkins Sports Cardiology Program, your provider will take a thorough history of your health and exercise/sport participation. Depending on your concerns, you'll undergo follow-up testing that may include a stress test, echocardiogram or more extensive cardiopulmonary testing. If needed, more advanced imaging can be scheduled.

a man runs on a treadmill during a stress test

Why Choose Johns Hopkins for Sports Cardiology

Multidisciplinary, Collaborative Team

Our team includes doctors within sports cardiology as well as specialty cardiologists from the Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute and Ciccarone Center for Preventive Cardiology to get you back to your sport as quickly and safely as possible.

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) can be done for either clinical testing of symptoms or athletic performance evaluation. The CPET Lab provides comprehensive testing and evaluation of peak VO2 for athletes requiring performance evaluation, with or without a variety of heart and lung conditions, to determine whether it is the heart, lungs or skeletal muscles that limit exercise capacity.

State-of-the-Art Imaging and Testing

Our Noninvasive Cardiovascular Imaging team provides specialized, advanced imaging of the heart and vascular system at several convenient locations in the Baltimore and Greater Washington, D.C., areas.

A Collaborative Approach

Collaboration with other departments is key to providing comprehensive care. The sports cardiology team works closely with Christian Merlo, M.D., from the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Merlo evaluates athletes with respiratory concerns or lung disease using Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing.

We also team up with the Division of Sports Medicine to help manage sports injuries.

a group of medical professionals discussing a case

Our Experts

Core Team

Our core team handles all initial evaluations, creating a customized care plan for your specific needs.

Tala K Al-Talib, MD
- Medical Director, Johns Hopkins Cardiology at Greenspring Station
Lili Barouch, MD
- Director, Sports Cardiology Program
- Associate Professor of Medicine
Roger S. Blumenthal, MD
- Kenneth Jay Pollin Professor of Cardiology
- Professor of Medicine
Ed K. Kasper, MD
- E. Cowles Andrus Distinguished Professor in Cardiology
- Professor of Medicine
Michael Eric Silverman, MD
- Managing Physician, Cardiovascular Specialists of Central Maryland
- Instructor in Medicine