Dr. Bala Joins Sarver Heart Center

The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center and Banner – University Medical Center Tucson welcomed Rupa Bala, MD, to the cardiovascular medicine team.

A new member of PCMS, Dr. Bala, board certified in clinical cardiac electrophysiology and cardiovascular disease, joined the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, Division of Cardiology as an associate professor and cardiac electrophysiology specialist. She specializes in the management of complex heart arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia and premature ventricular contractions. Dr. Bala also will serve as director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson.

Dr. Bala’s clinical and research interests are focused on the ablation of complex arrhythmias, including ventricular tachycardia in structural heart disease and idiopathic premature ventricular contractions, a condition in which the heart “skips a beat” and may cause a fluttering sensation. She has authored or co-authored more than 60 research publications.

Dr. Bala comes to the University of Arizona from Oregon Health and Sciences University where she was an associate professor of medicine and director of complex ablation in the Department of Electrophysiology in the Knight Cardiovascular Institute.

Prior to this position, she served as an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine for eight years. She completed her medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine and her medical residency at University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Bala completed her cardiology and electrophysiology fellowships at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.