Jiho J Han, MD

Jiho Han, M.D. likes to say that VCU Health is in his DNA.

He trained in internal medicine, cardiology and critical care at the VCU School of Medicine (and his wife was born in West Hospital and completed her own medical training at VCU). After his education, Han spent 23 years in practice as an interventional cardiologist with Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists.

“My wife and I are both grateful for an outstanding education and the camaraderie that VCU has fostered,” Han said. “I was grateful to return to VCU to deliver timely and personal cardiovascular care, practice team-based collaborative medicine and share my experience with the next generation of physicians.”

Han specializes in general and interventional cardiology, including managing complex cardiovascular disease, integrating critical care with cardiology and applying the lessons of decades in practice to patient care and teaching.

“It is no wonder that the seat of our souls is the heart. The most precious people we love are embedded in our hearts,” Han said. “My patients have taught me their heart lessons and best approaches to their care, and I want to pass on some of the knowledge that they have taught me to newer generation of providers.”

Han notes that internal medicine (general medicine focused on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease) is the basis for cardiovascular medicine. “We have to look at the whole person, not just the organ that pumps the blood,” he said. “Success in cardiology takes curiosity and compassion. We have to care about the patient and their family and be invested in their outcomes. We must have a collaborative team approach when confronted with a challenging problem. And we have to have humility.”

Han earned his undergraduate degree at Cornell University and attended medical school at the University of Buffalo before completing his internship, residency and fellowship at VCU. He is board-certified in interventional cardiology, cardiovascular disease and internal medicine.

At VCU, Han works with staff and medical students, fostering a two-way exchange of knowledge that he believes is at the core of medicine. His career has spanned the evolution of many of the cardiology field’s advances — from early trials of thrombolysis and angioplasty for heart attacks to today’s emerging genetic therapies. His own research focuses on weight loss, incretin drugs such as GLP-1 inhibitors, cardiac amyloid therapies and genetic/mRNA approaches.

“It is wonderful to see how cardiology research has a direct impact on patients,” Han said. “Clinical research coexisting with excellent state-of-the-art care is the promise of VCU Health.”

Beyond medicine, Han leads an active life with his wife, local child and adolescent psychologist Joan Han, M.D. They are avid sailors, having cruised waters from the Bahamas to Virginia, and he holds a U.S. Coast Guard captain’s license. He is a longtime runner who has completed the Richmond Marathon every year since 2002. During the 2023 marathon, he was among several bystanders when a fellow runner went into cardiac arrest; Han and the team provided aid and the runner survived.

Together, the Hans enjoy time with their five children and five grandchildren, spread across the country from Alaska to Virginia.

Advice for patients: “Prevention, prevention, prevention. The body heals, and there is always hope. Even when faced with heart failure, there are many routes to improvement. Small changes in lifestyle can yield long term benefits. Walk 20 minutes, eat a Mediterranean diet, sleep 8 hours a night. And have fun!”