Cardiology Fellowships: Investigator Track

History: Cardiology at Mount Sinai

The cardiology program at The Mount Sinai Medical Center is one of the oldest and most distinguished in the country. From 1934 to 1957, Dr. Arthur Master was the Chief of the Electrocardiography Laboratory. Under his leadership, this laboratory was transformed into the Division of Cardiology. Along with Dr. Simon Dack, Dr. Master developed the first exercise stress test known as the "Master Two-Step". Dr. Dack later founded and served as the first Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Cardiology and of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

In 1957, Dr. Charles Friedberg succeeded Dr. Master as the Chief of Cardiology. Dr. Friedberg was a pioneer in the use of DC cardioversion for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and the author of the widely read textbook Diseases of the Heart. His tenure as Chief of Cardiology was shortened by a tragic automobile accident in 1968.

Dr. Arnold Katz succeeded Dr. Friedberg in 1968. Dr. Katz introduced a more scientific approach to cardiology and was one of the first cardiovascular investigators to study hemodynamics.

In 1974, Dr. Richard Gorlin, an internationally renowned cardiologist, became Chairman of the Samuel Bronfman Department of Medicine and appointed Dr. Michael Herman as Chief of the Cardiology Division.

In 1983, Dr. Valentin Fuster was recruited from the Mayo Clinic to serve as the Chief of Cardiology and the Dr. Arthur M. and Hilda A. Master Professor of Medicine. Dr. Fuster brought with him a well-developed research program in thrombosis. He established the first experimental laboratories in cardiovascular research at Mount Sinai and reorganized the clinical practices of the division. In 1990, the Molecular and Cellular Cardiology Laboratories were established. Under the direction of Drs. Andrew R. Marks and Mark Taubman, these laboratories were dedicated to investigating cardiovascular diseases using the techniques of molecular and cellular biology.

In 1994, Dr. Fuster returned from the Massachusetts General Hospital, where he served for three years as Chief of the Cardiac Unit. He became Director of the newly-created Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute of The Mount Sinai Medical Center and more recently of the Kravis Center for Cardiovascular Health. Dr. Fuster is former President of the American Heart Association and President elect of the World heart Federation. He has brings an outstanding record of clinical and research expertise in cardiovascular medicine. His morning report is an extremely popular meeting during which staff and fellows discuss patient management issues. Dr. Fuster's experimental laboratory, which uses the pig model, continues to address important questions in thrombosis and atherosclerosis. It provides a link between the molecular and cellular cardiology laboratories and the patient-oriented clinical investigations.