Cardiology Faculty

Our faculty are trained and accredited in some of the finest institutions in Europe but have developed a keen understanding of the conditions faced in East Africa and can approach cardiovascular problems in the relevant context for our patients.


Full-Time Faculty

Dr Mohamed Jeilan, DM, MRCP, CCT
Assistant Professor and Section Head of Cardiology

Dr Mohamed Jeilan, the Section Head of Cardiology and the Director of Cardiac Services, completed his medical school training at Southampton General Hospital in 1997 and his cardiology fellowship at Northampton General Hospital in 2003.

Dr Jeilan, a faculty member of Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa since 2012, is a consultant interventional cardiologist and a complex devices specialist. Before arriving in Kenya, he was consultant cardiologist at Northampton General Hospital and honorary consultant cardiologist at the University Hospitals of Leicestershire NHS Trust UK after serving as an interventional cardiologist/clinical researcher at the University of Leicester.

Dr Jeilan has been key in introducing novel life-saving invasive procedures at the hospital including: the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement, the first renal denervation, the first intravascular ultrasound, and the first biodegradable scaffold implant in sub-Saharan Africa.

His expertise lies in cardiac rhythm management, percutaneous coronary intervention, and transcatheter aortic valve procedures. He is the recipient of the Oxford University School of Medicine Clinical Teaching Award.

Dr Jeilan is also a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist​ at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about him​ HERE


Publications

  1. Jilaihawi H, Jeilan M, Spyt T, Chin D, Logtens E, Kovac J. Early regression of left ventricular wall thickness following percutaneous aortic valve replacement with the CoreValve bioprosthesis. J Invasive Cardiol. 2009 Apr;21(4):151-5; discussion 156-8.

  2. Jeilan M, Schmitt M, McCann G, et al. Cardiac Tuberculoma. Circulation. 2008; 117:984-986

  3. Jilaihawi H, Chin D, Spyt T, Jeilan M, Vasa-Nicotera M, Bence J, Logtens E, Kovac J. Prosthesis-patient mismatch after transcatheter aortic valve implantation with the Medtronic-Corevalve bioprosthesis. Eur Heart J 2010;31(7):857-64




Dr Mzee Ngunga, MBChB, MMed, FRCP (Edin), FESC     
Assistant Professor​

Dr Mzee Ngunga is a consultant Interventional Cardiologist at The Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa and an Assistant Professor at the Department of Medicine. 

Dr Ngunga, graduated with a MBChB degree from the University of Nairobi in 2001 and with an MMed (Internal Medicine) degree from Aga Khan University postgraduate pioneer class in 2008. He later pursued specialized fellowship training in interventional cardiology at the University of Alberta, Canada completing his studies in 2012. He has been a faculty member in department of medicine from 2013.

Dr Ngunga is an assistant professor in the department of medicine. He heads of the cardiac care unit (CCU) in the hospital and is the head of the cardiology fellowship training program. 

His is an expert in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, treatment of coronary artery disease, device therapy in cardiovascular disease and structural cardiovascular interventions such as treatment of ASD and PFOs. 

He heads several committees in the hospital including the Clinical Care Program Certification quality committee for heart attacks in cardiology, fellowships training committee in the department of medicine and the research committee in the department of medicine.

He is a multiple winner of the prestigious Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award from the American Heart Association, for best cardiovascular study in Kenya, in the years 2018 and 2019. He has conducted multiple studies in Kenya including studying cardiac arrest in Kenya, conducting the first heart registry in Kenya involving private and public hospital to study patients with heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, vascular thromboembolism, and atrial fibrillation. He has and continues to supervise many residents and fellows in their research activities. 

He is a past official and an active member the Kenya Cardiac Society (KCS) and leads several taskforces at KCS. He is also an active member of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC) and the American College of Cardiology. 

Dr Ngunga is also a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist​ at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about him​ HERE​​

Publications

  1. Stambler BS, Ngunga LM. Atrial fibrillation in Sub-Saharan Africa: epidemiology, unmet needs, and treatment options. Int J Gen Med. 2015;8:231-4210.2147/IJGM.S8453.

  2. Outcomes of Simple and Complex Coronary Bifurcation Lesions (CBL) Treated with Drug Eluting Stents (DES). Leonard Ngunga, Po Kee Cheung, Shantu Bundhoo, Neil Brass, Benjamin Tyrrell, Raymond Leung, Micha Dorsch, William Hui. Journal of the American College of Cardiology Vol 60 Issue 17 Supp B

  3. Ngunga LM, Yonga G, Wachira B, Ezekowitz J. Initial Rhythm and Outcomes for In-hospital Cardiac Arrest in Kenya. Circulation 2017;136:A140.


Dr Mohamed Hasham Varwani, MBChB, MMed
Assistant Professor

Dr Mohamed Hasham Varwani is an Interventional Cardiologist and an Assistant Professor at the Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa. Dr Hasham graduated from the University of Nairobi with a MBChB degree in 2008. He earned his MMed degree in Internal Medicine from Aga Khan University in 2016 and went on to complete a three year fellowship in clinical cardiology at the AKUH,N in 2020. His subsequently undertook a second fellowship in complex coronary interventions at the University of Alberta and the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta.

Dr Hasham is a member of the Kenya Association of Physicians, Kenya Cardiac Society, Pan African Society of Cardiology and Africa Heart Rhythm Association, and a professional member of the European Society of Cardiology.

His areas of interest are in acute coronary syndromes and systems of care for reperfusion therapies, complex coronary interventions including intravascular imaging and calcium modification techniques, transcatheter valve interventions, cardiac implantable devices, sports cardiology and pre-participation screening. 

Dr Hasham is passionate about medical education and research in cardiology and actively involved in various educational fronts aimed at training health care professionals of various cadres in cardiovascular care.

In 2020, Dr Hasham was the recipient of the Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award to recognize the authors with the Highest Ranked Abstract at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. He is currently carrying out research in ECG abnormalities, and factors which place young athletes at risk of sudden cardiac death.

Dr Hasham is also a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist​ at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about him​ HERE​

Publications

  1. Outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome in a referral hospital in sub-Saharan Africa; Mohamed Hasham Varwani 1, Mohamed Jeilan 2, Mzee Ngunga 2, Anders Barasa 3; Cardiovasc J Afr. 2019;30(1):29-33. doi: 10.5830/CVJA-2018-066. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

  2. Treatment and outcomes in patients with left ventricular thrombus - experiences from the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi – Kenya; Mohamed Hasham Varwani 1, Jasmit Shah 1, Mzee Ngunga 1, Mohamed Jeilan 1; Pan Afr Med J. 2021 Jul 23:39:212. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2021.39.212.28585. eCollection 2021.

  3. Improving implant training for physicians and their teams in under-represented regions; Mohamed Jeilan 1, Mohamed Hasham Varwani 1, Abdul Raqib 2, Emin Evren Ozcan 3; Eur Heart J Suppl. 2023 Dec 1;25(Suppl H):H13-H21. doi: 10.1093/eurheartjsupp/suad134. eCollection 2023 Dec.

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Dr Barbara Karau ​MBChB, MMed   
Senior Instructor 


Dr Barbara Karau is Consultant Cardiologist, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan Medical College, East Africa. 

Dr Barbara completed her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) at the University of Nairobi in 2006 and proceeded to pursue her Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine at Aga Khan University Medical College in 2013 and thereafter did her fellowship in General Cardiology at the same University in 2022.

Her area of interest includes advanced cardiac imaging, including advanced echocardiography, advanced heart failure, including device therapy, artificial intelligence in cardiovascular care, women’s heart health, resistant hypertension and renal denervation therapy and cardiology medical education.

Dr Barbara is a member Kenya Association of Physicians (KAP), Kenya Cardiac Society (KCS), East, Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians (ECSACOP), Pan African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR), European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS).

Dr Barbara is also a Consultant Cardiologist​ at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about her​ HERE​

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Dr Etienne Amendezo ​MBChB, MMed   
Senior Instructor 

Dr Etienne Amendezo is a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist in the Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa.

Dr Amendezo graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree from the University of Rwanda in 2008 and earned a Master of Medicine (MMED) in internal medicine from the same University in 2014. He completed his fellowship in general cardiology from Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa in 2021 and interventional & structural cardiology from University of Alberta, Canada in 2024.

His areas of interests include complex percutaneous coronary interventions, transcatheter aortic valve implantation, renal denervation therapy for uncontrolled hypertension and cardiology & medical education. 

Dr Amendezo is a member of the Association of Interventional Cardiology (CAIC-ACCI), European Association for Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), European Society of Cardiology (ESC), Pan-African Society of cardiology (PASCAR), East, Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians (ECSACOP), Kenya Cardiac Society (KCS) and Rwanda College of Physicians (RCP).

Dr Amendezo is also a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist​ at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about him​ HERE​