Minnesota's Major Heart Centers: Mayo Clinic, University of Minnesota, Allina, HealthPartners and Hennepin

The programs are grouped by health system, not by quality. We don't rank heart centers, and no program has paid to appear here. If you need help understanding the subspecialty names you'll see below, keep our guide to types of cardiologists open in another tab.

At a glance

Mayo Clinic Cardiovascular Medicine (Rochester)

Mayo Clinic Cardiovascular Medicine in Minnesota is located in Rochester. Mayo also has Cardiovascular Medicine departments in Jacksonville, Florida, and Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona. When you search online or call, make sure you are on the Minnesota department's pages, since each site has its own.

Mayo's cardiovascular fellowship site describes the department as specializing in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system, and calls it the largest practice of its kind in the United States. That is Mayo's own description of itself.

On insurance, Mayo says the Rochester department works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people. That is useful context, but it doesn't confirm coverage for your plan. Ask your insurer directly, and ask whether you need a referral.

University of Minnesota Cardiovascular Division and M Health Fairview

The Cardiovascular Division is part of the University of Minnesota Medical School. Its faculty page lists Ganesh Raveendran, MD, MS, MBA, as Professor and Chief of the division and holder of the Dr. Jay N. Cohn Endowed Chair in Cardiology.

The division's subspecialty page lists nine areas: adult congenital cardiology, advanced heart failure, cardiology critical care, cardiac electrophysiology, general cardiology, cardiovascular imaging, interventional cardiology, pulmonary hypertension and preventive cardiology. If your referral uses one of these terms, mention it when you schedule.

On the clinical side, M Health Fairview offers a cardiology provider search. One example location is the M Health Fairview Heart Clinic - Edina at 6405 France Ave. S, Suite W200, Edina, MN 55435.

The university's cardiothoracic surgery division says it was where the first open-heart surgery in the world was performed. That history is part of the program's identity, though it says nothing about a particular clinic or physician today.

Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital (Allina Health)

Allina Health says its Minneapolis Heart Institute offers a full range of cardiovascular services at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. The phone numbers listed for the Minneapolis location are 612-863-3900 or 1-800-582-5175, and clinic hours are listed as Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

According to Allina, the Minneapolis Heart Institute was formed in 1981 from three groups of providers: thoracic physicians, cardiac surgeons and cardiologists.

Regions Hospital Heart Center (HealthPartners), St. Paul

The Heart Center at Regions Hospital is part of HealthPartners. HealthPartners' location page lists the address as 640 Jackson St, MSC 11102M, Saint Paul, MN 55101-2502. Use that page for current contact details.

We haven't yet researched parking and transit for downtown St. Paul, downtown Minneapolis or Rochester, so check directions with the clinic or on its official page before your visit.

Hennepin Heart Center (Hennepin Healthcare)

Hennepin Healthcare says the Hennepin Heart Center provides comprehensive care for your heart by specialists in all areas of cardiovascular medicine. Locations listed include the Brooklyn Park Clinic, the Clinic & Specialty Center, the Golden Valley Clinic and the Whittier Clinic. Ask which location your appointment is at when you schedule.

Hennepin also runs a cardiovascular disease fellowship, a training program for physicians who are becoming cardiologists.

Teaching programs and your visit

Mayo Clinic and Hennepin Healthcare both publish cardiovascular disease fellowship programs, and the University of Minnesota cardiology program sits within a medical school. At a teaching program, it's reasonable to ask who will be on your care team and how trainees take part in your visit.

Comparing programs: questions to ask

• Is this program in network for my specific plan, and do I need a referral?
• Which location will I visit? Mayo has cardiovascular departments in three states, and Hennepin lists several clinics.
• Which subspecialty clinic matches my referral?
• How should records and test results from other providers be sent?
• Who will I see, and can I look them up? Our license and certification guide shows how.
• What are the scheduling hours, and is there a toll-free number for callers from outside the metro?

If you live in Greater Minnesota

We haven't yet finished researching outstate heart programs, so they aren't profiled here. The Minnesota Board of Medical Practice lets you find a practitioner in your area, and your primary care clinic can explain where it refers patients for heart care.