Dr. Peter Kakavas earned his undergraduate degree in Biology at Benedictine University. He received his M.D. degree in 1989, at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. Following residency training in Internal Medicine at Northwestern University, Dr. Kakavas completed his cardiology fellowship at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center, where he completed an additional year of specialty training in echocardiography, nuclear imaging and vascular noninvasive imaging. He has Level III certification in coronary and peripheral Computed Tomographic Angiography (CTA), a new alternative to invasive catheterization. Dr. Kakavas was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in 1995. He serves as Director of Cardiac Imaging at Heart Care Centers of Illinois. Dr. Kakavas is director of Preventive Cardiology at HCCI, specializing in the treatment of complex lipid disorders. He also has a special interest in Venous Disease, and has performed more than a thousand vein ablations. Dr. Kakavas has published several articles and book chapters in his area of interest, and he has served as principle investigator in over 50 multicenter clinical trials of new therapies in lipid lowering. He is the Medical Director of Clinical Research at HCCI. Dr. Kakavas is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and has additional certification in Echocardiography from the American Board of Echocardiography. He joined Heart Care Centers of Illinois in 1995. Now offering the Venefit™ Targeted Endovenous Therapy - The Venefit™ procedure (VNUS closure) is the only minimally invasive segmental radiofrequency (RF) ablation treatment that utilizes radiofrequency energy to provide an even and uniform heat to contract the collagen in the vein walls, causing them to collapse and seal. Once a leg vein is closed, blood flow is redirected to healthy veins. VNUS radiofrequency ablation allows for a quick, comfortable recovery and a return to everyday activities, while also improving the appearance of varicose veins.