Adam Lee, MD
Research Associate
Dr. Adam C. Lee is a cardiologist who cares for patients with a variety of heart conditions. He specializes in electrophysiology (studying the heart's electrical activity), used to diagnose and treat arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats). He has particular expertise in catheter ablation for complex arrhythmias (using a mapping system to identify and destroy heart tissues that are producing abnormal electrical signals) including epicardial ablation ("outside" the heart) and in patients with complex congenital heart disease. He also performs complex cardiac device procedures, including lead extraction (removing a wire from a pacemaker or implanted defibrillator because of a problem such as infection), conduction system pacing (a new technique where a lead is implanted directly into the heart's own electrical wiring system) and venoplasty (inserting and inflating a tiny balloon to improve blood flow in a vein), particularly to allow placement of additional wires for pacemaker upgrades. He also focuses on minimal-radiation procedures, routinely performing ablations without the use of any X-ray. He is experienced with advanced cardiac technologies, including subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillators (heart monitors that deliver an electric shock if a life-threatening arrhythmia is detected) and leadless pacemakers (small devices implanted directly into a heart chamber to treat certain conditions).
In his research, Lee studies an animal model of heart failure due to a particular disorder of heart muscle called ectopy-mediated cardiomyopathy. To improve patient care, he also studies the best methods of performing ablation for atrial fibrillation and investigates new diagnostic tools for arrhythmias.
Lee earned his medical degree from the University of New South Wales and a master of medicine degree in clinical epidemiology from the University of Sydney. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. He then completed several fellowships, including cardiology at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney; cardiac electrophysiology at the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, Queensland; and two more in cardiac electrophysiology (one focused on research and one on patient care) at UCSF. He is a fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians.
Lee received the UCSF Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship Program's teaching award in 2019 and 2020.