
Kalyanam Shivkumar, MD, PhD
- Electrophysiology
About
Dr. Shivkumar’s field of specialization is interventional cardiac electrophysiology and his clinical interests relate to developing innovative techniques for the non-pharmacological management of cardiac arrhythmias. He is currently Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and holds a joint appointment in the Departments of Radiology and Bioengineering at UCLA. Dr. Shivkumar received his medical degree from the University of Madras, India in 1991 and his PhD from UCLA in 2000. He completed his cardiology fellowship training at UCLA, and upon completion of his training joined the faculty at University of Iowa, where he also served as the Associate Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology.
In 2002, he was recruited back to UCLA to direct the newly created UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and served as its director from 2002-2025
Dr. Shivkumar is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in the subspecialties of Cardiovascular Disease and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology.
He holds memberships in several professional organizations, including the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and the Heart Rhythm Society. He serves as the Editor in Chief of The Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Clinical Electrophysiology. He also founded the Amara-Yad Project, an open access knowledge portal for medical education.
https://www.uclahealth.org/medical-services/heart/arrhythmia/about-us/amara-yad-project
Patient Story: Thank you
Languages
Education
Medical Board Certifications
Fellowships
Residency
Internships
Degree
Recognitions
- Super doctors, Southern California, 2025
- Super Doctors® Southern California, 2024, 2025
Locations

Hospital Affiliations
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center
Medical Services
Videos
Research
Interests
Dr. Shivkumar's research works deals with mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias in humans including the role of the autonomic nervous system in arrhythmias. His group is actively involved in mechanistic studies, complex catheter ablation and the development of new medical technology for cardiovascular therapeutics.
Additional interests include: Catheter Ablation of Cardiac Arrhythmias, Cardiovascular Interventions and Autonomic Nervous Control of the heart.
Publications
In the News
- Patient Story: Thank you (Source: UCLA Health News)
Insurance
- Aetna
- Anthem Blue Cross
- Blue Shield of California
- Centivo
- Cigna
- First Health
- Health Net of California
- Interplan (part of HealthSmart)
- Medicare Advantage
- MultiPlan
- UFCM Health System
- Prime Health Services
- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- TRICARE
- UnitedHealthcare
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Recognitions
- Super Doctors® Southern California, 2024, 2025