Li Zhou, MD, PhD

Li Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., is a general cardiologist with Norton Heart & Vascular Institute and medical director of Norton Heart & Vascular Institute Women’s Heart Program. Dr. Zhou earned her medical degree from Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China, and her doctoral degree in pathophysiology from Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. She completed her internal medical residency at Jacobi Medical Center of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, and had general cardiology training at University of Illinois Chicago.
Before joining Norton Heart & Vascular Institute, Dr. Zhou led the Women’s Heart Clinic and served as medical director of cardiac rehabilitation at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Dr. Zhou advocates for women’s health because heart disease in women often is underrecognized and undertreated. Her expertise and special interests are in management of heart diseases during pregnancy and peripartum. Dr. Zhou believes pregnancy requires unique attention because every medication the mother takes affects the baby, and often, a mother’s heart condition dictates how and when the baby will be delivered. She believes a physician needs to provide not only accurate information, but also all treatment options for their patients, and that the best treatment plan is one that is tailored to a patient’s needs and value.
Dr. Zhou studied pathogenesis of atherosclerosis (how coronary artery disease develops) at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, using genetically modified mouse models, and won the American Heart Association’s Postdoctoral Fellowship award in 2008. She also led the trial Aspirin Dosing: A Patient-centric Trial Assessing Benefits and Long-term Effectiveness (ADAPTABLE) at Wake Forest University, and has over 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA Cardiology.