Emerging from the small Central Heart Clinic in Ward 10 of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) in 1956, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases has been the primary heart-care provider for Pakistanis for over 50 years.
With support from the Government of Pakistan, USAID and the Japanese Government, NICVD became a fully functional tertiary cardiac-care centre on 14th August, 1971. For the following eight years, NICVD remained a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) but in 1979 it was nationalized by the Government of Pakistan and became an Autonomous Body under the Federal Ministry of Health.
The present Governing Body of NICVD comes under the Government of Sindh with the Honorable Chief Minister of Sindh as the Chairman of the Board of Governors. The Executive Director of NICVD maintains the role of Secretary of the Board of Governors and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute and Chairman of the Academic Faculty.
| Executive Directors of NICVD over the years:- | |
| Prof. Ali Muhammad Kasim | 19.12.1963 – 14.06.1964 |
| Maj. Gen. Prof. Shaukat Ali Syed | 16.10.1964 – 30.08.1983 |
| Prof. Muhammad Sharif | 01.07.1983 – 15.09.1984 |
| Lt. Gen. Prof. M.A. Najeeb | 15.09.1984 – 17.06.1991 |
| Prof. Abbasi A. Karim | 17.06.1991 – 19.01.1992 |
| Prof. Kalimuddin Aziz | 19.01.1992 – 13.04.1996 |
| Prof. Azhar M.A. Faruqui | 03.08.1996 – 19.08.2008 |
| Prof. Asadullah Kundi | 18.08.2008 – 21.11.2008 |
| Prof. Khan Shah Zaman | 22.11.2008 – 16.12.2014 |
| Prof. Nadeem Qamar | 02.02.2015 – 28.11.2023 |
| Prof. Tahir Saghir | 29.11.2023 – Date |
