Profile
A/Prof Imre Hunyor
- Senior Staff Specialist Cardiology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- Director, Advanced Cardiac Imaging, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- Lead, Valvular Heart Disease Clinic, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- Clinical Associate Professor, University of Sydney Medical School
A/Prof Imre Hunyor is a consultant cardiologist with expertise in advanced cardiac imaging, coronary risk assessment, preventive cardiology, valvular heart disease and complex cardiovascular care. He is Director of Advanced Cardiac Imaging at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, leads the Valvular Heart Disease Clinic at RPAH, and is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Sydney.
He sees patients across the full spectrum of adult cardiology, from early risk-factor assessment through to complex cardiovascular disease. He has a particular interest in patients where advanced imaging can clarify diagnosis, refine cardiovascular risk, guide treatment decisions or provide a second opinion.
A/Prof Hunyor has expertise in CT coronary angiography, cardiac MRI, echocardiography and transoesophageal echocardiography. He is part of multidisciplinary teams managing complex coronary artery disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and works closely with referring doctors to translate imaging findings into practical treatment plans.
He led the introduction of CaRi-Heart into Australia, with Central Sydney Cardiology becoming the first CaRi-Heart Centre in the country. CaRi-Heart uses advanced analysis of CT coronary angiography to assess coronary inflammation, providing additional information about cardiovascular risk beyond standard coronary artery narrowing alone.
A/Prof Hunyor has a national and international profile in advanced coronary CT, AI-enabled cardiovascular imaging, CaRi-Heart and CaRi-Plaque. He has presented on these topics at major national and international meetings, including the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography annual scientific meeting.
He trained at the University of Sydney and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to complete doctoral research at the University of Oxford, where his work focused on cardiac metabolism, myocardial energetics and heart failure. His clinical approach combines academic cardiology, advanced imaging and clear communication, with the goal of giving patients and referrers an individualised, practical management plan.
- General adult cardiology assessment
- Chest pain and suspected coronary artery disease
- CT coronary angiography and coronary calcium assessment
- CaRi-Heart and CaRi-Plaque assessment
- Coronary inflammation and plaque risk assessment
- Preventive cardiology and cardiovascular risk-factor optimisation
- High LDL cholesterol, lipoprotein(a) and family history of heart disease
- Valvular heart disease, including surveillance and timing of intervention
- Cardiac MRI for cardiomyopathy, myocarditis and heart muscle disease
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy assessment
- Complex coronary artery disease and multidisciplinary case review
- Echocardiography and transoesophageal echocardiography
- Cardiovascular second opinions where imaging may help guide management
Metabolite signatures of heart failure, sleep apnoea, their interaction, and outcomes in the community. Shashwati Dutta*, Desmond Li*, Andy Wang, Mark Ishak, Kristina Cook, Melissa Farnham, Hasthi Dissanayake, Peter Cistulli, Hunyor I, Renping Liu, Ian Wilcox, Yen Chin Koay, Jean Yang, Sean Lal, John F. O’Sullivan. ESC Heart Failure (accepted 12/09/2021)
Hunyor I, Cook., K. Models of intermittent hypoxia and obstructive sleep apnea: molecular pathways and their contribution to cancer, AJP: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2018;315(4):R669-R687.
Martin, S.; Ingles, J.; Hunyor, I.; Bagnall, R.D.; Puranik, R.; Semsarian, C.LAMP2 shines a light on cardiomyopathy in an athlete
Sasson, SC., Russo, R., Chung, T., Chu, G., Hunyor I, Williamson, J., Murad, A. Kane, A., Riminton, S., Limaye, S. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging-indeterminate/negative cardiac sarcoidosis revealed by 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography: two case reports and a review of the literature. Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2017;11:291.
Martin, S., Ingles, J., Hunyor I, Bagnall, R., Puranik, R., Semsarian, C. LAMP2 shines a light on cardiomyopathy in an athlete. HeartRhythm Case Reports. 2017;3(3) pp.172-176.
Hunyor I, Abed HS, Sy RW, Hodkinson EC, Santucci P, McGuire MA. Intermittent failure of pacing output caused by algorithm to prevent T-wave oversensing. HeartRhythm Case Reports. 2016;2:286–289.
Living without creatine: unchanged exercise capacity and response to chronic myocardial infarction in creatine-deficient mice. Lygate CA, Aksentijevic D, Dawson D, ten Hove M, Phillips D, de Bono JP, Medway DJ, Sebag-Montefiore L, Hunyor I, Channon KM, Clarke K, Zervou S, Watkins H, Balaban RS, Neubauer S. Circ Res. 2013 Mar 15;112(6):945-55. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.112.300725. Epub 2013 Jan 16. PMID: 23325497
Chronic creatine kinase deficiency eventually leads to congestive heart failure, but severity is dependent on genetic background, gender and age. Lygate CA, Medway DJ, Ostrowski PJ, Aksentijevic D, Sebag-Montefiore L, Hunyor I, Zervou S, Schneider JE, Neubauer S. Basic Res Cardiol. 2012 Sep;107(5):276. doi: 10.1007/s00395-012-0276-2. Epub 2012 Jul 4. PMID:22760499
Cardiac phenotype of mitochondrial creatine kinase knockout mice is modified on a pure C57BL/6 genetic background. Lygate CA, Hunyor I, Medway D, de Bono JP, Dawson D, Wallis J, Sebag-Montefiore L, Neubauer S. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2009 Jan;46(1):93-9. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2008.09.710. Epub 2008 Oct 4. PMID:18948110
Creatine uptake in mouse hearts with genetically altered creatine levels. ten Hove M, Makinen K, Sebag-Montefiore L, Hunyor I, Fischer A, Wallis J, Isbrandt D, Lygate C, Neubauer S. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2008 Sep;45(3):453-9. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2008.05.023. Epub 2008 Jun 10. PMID:18602925