Dr. Salim Virani, MD
Not yet claimedPreventive cardiologist, Cardiologist, Lipidologist · Physician (MD)
Houston, TX
Preventive cardiologist and Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine specializing in complex dyslipidemias, staff cardiologist at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, and cardiovascular disease fellowship program director; author of 600+ publications.
About Dr. Salim Virani, MD
Updated Sep 20, 2026 · next review Dec 19, 2026Dr. Salim S. Virani is a preventive cardiologist and lipid specialist based in Houston. He has been a tenured professor in the Sections of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Research at Baylor College of Medicine and an investigator with the Health Policy, Quality and Informatics Program at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Center of Innovation, with clinical practice at Baylor and the Houston VA (https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/salim-virani-32458). He earned his medical degree from Aga Khan Medical College in 1998 (https://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-salim-virani-2vkc3).
He is known mainly for work on cholesterol and heart disease prevention. He served on the writing committee for the 2018 AHA/ACC multisociety guideline on managing blood cholesterol (https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2018.11.003) and chaired the writing committees for the American Heart Association's Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics updates in 2020 and 2021 (https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000757, https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000950). He has also chaired the AHA Cardiovascular Disease Statistics Committee and the ACC Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Section (https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/salim-virani-32458).
Patients should know his roles have changed recently. He is now the first Vice Provost for Research at Aga Khan University in Pakistan, is listed as a cardiologist at the Texas Heart Institute, and is described by the American Heart Association newsroom as an adjunct professor at Baylor (https://www.texasheart.org/people/salim-virani/, https://newsroom.heart.org/file/salim-virani-m?action=).
In the federal Open Payments database, he has $0 in reported industry payments across 0 records for 2021 through 2025. Payments from drug and device companies are common and legal, and no payments were reported for him (https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/).
- Cholesterol guideline writing committee
- He was a member of the writing committee for the 2018 AHA/ACC and multisociety guideline on the management of blood cholesterol. jacc.org
- Chaired AHA statistics reports
- He chaired the writing committees for the American Heart Association's Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2020 and 2021 Updates. ahajournals.org
- Baylor professor and VA researcher
- He has been a tenured professor in cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine and an investigator at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Health Services Research Center of Innovation in Houston. bcm.edu
- Texas Heart Institute staff
- The Texas Heart Institute lists him as an alumnus of the institute and a member of its professional staff. texasheart.org
- Medical school and years in practice
- He received his medical degree from Aga Khan Medical College in 1998 and has been in practice more than 25 years. healthgrades.com
- Hospital affiliations listed
- A physician directory lists his hospital affiliations as Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, and the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, with a specialty of cardiovascular disease. doximity.com
- Research recognition
- He has been named a 'World Expert' in cholesterol by Expertscape for 2011-2021 and listed among the top 2% most-cited scientists worldwide in a 2022 PLoS Biology analysis. bcm.edu
- Society awards
- Listed awards include the AHA Scott Grundy Award for Excellence in Lipid Metabolism Research, the Jeremiah Stamler Distinguished Young Investigator Research Award, and the National Lipid Association President's Service Award. pcna.net
- No industry payments reported
- CMS Open Payments shows $0 in industry payments across 0 records for 2021 through 2025. openpaymentsdata.cms.gov
- Public teaching on prevention
- He gave a recorded lecture on preventing heart disease under the ACC/AHA guidelines at the Texas Heart Institute Inaugural Global Cardiovascular Forum, and has commented publicly on the difference between 'good' and 'bad' cholesterol. youtube.com
Worth knowing
- His primary role has shifted overseas. He is listed as the first Vice Provost for Research at Aga Khan University in Pakistan and an endowed professor there, and the AHA newsroom describes his Baylor appointment as adjunct. Patients seeking an appointment in Houston may want to confirm his current clinical availability. newsroom.heart.org
- Board certification in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease is commonly reported for him, but the research for this profile did not independently confirm it against the American Board of Internal Medicine or ABMS records. doximity.com
Industry payments (CMS Open Payments)
Open the CMS recordFederal law requires drug and device companies to report what they pay clinicians: meals, travel, speaking, consulting, and research. Payments are common and legal; the point is that you can see them.
No general payments reported for this NPI from 2021 through 2025.
Sources: bcm.edu · bcm.edu · texasheart.org · texasheart.org · pcna.net · scholar.google.com · x.com · x.com. Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Summary prepared with AI assistance from the public sources linked above, reviewed every three months. It is not a review, a rating, or an endorsement.
Practice location
Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention (Baylor College of Medicine)
6565 Fannin St, Suite 320
Houston, TX 77030
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