Weill Cornell's Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr. Co-Authors New Guide for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease
Newswise — NEW YORK (April 24, 2012) -- Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., dean emeritus and co-chairman of the board of overseers at Weill Cornell Medical College, is the co-author of a new book called The Living Heart in the 21st Century. The book, a new edition in The Living Heart best-selling series, is the essential resource guide for patients about cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment.
"Cardiovascular medicine has seen major advances since the first Living Heart book was published in 1977. This new volume contains the latest information on how to prevent, diagnose and treat heart disease in the 21st century," says Dr. Gotto, who is also Weill Cornell's Lewis Thomas University Professor and vice president and provost for medical affairs emeritus at Cornell University.
The goal of The Living Heart in the 21st Century, released today by Prometheus Books, is to help improve the overall cardiovascular health of its readers. The book is geared toward both the healthy patient and the heart patient, and offers the most up-to-date heart health information and advice. The health guide shines light on the most common cardiovascular conditions and how doctors detect, diagnose and treat heart disease.
"We hope the book will help answer many questions that patients, their families and friends may have about the best ways to improve and maintain cardiovascular health," says Dr. Gotto.
In its easy-to-understand format, the book explains how to reduce risk factors for heart disease and explains the latest treatment guidelines for common heart conditions. The authors share their expert advice with readers about how they can improve their heart health by directly applying the vital information contained in the book into their daily lives. They empower readers to take charge of their heart health and their health care and offer suggestions on how to more effectively communicate with their physicians. In addition, the authors discuss the recent promising developments in cardiovascular research and genetics that may change medical practice in the future for the prevention and treatment of heart disease.
The new book combines the knowledge and experience of two world-renowned cardiac experts, Dr. Gotto and the late Dr. Michael E. DeBakey. For over four decades, Dr. Gotto and Dr. DeBakey have set the standard for offering reliable information about heart disease and cardiovascular health in The Living Heart book series. Previous books co-authored by Dr. Gotto and Dr. DeBakey include "The Living Heart," "The New Living Heart," "The Living Heart Diet" and "The Living Heart Cookbook," which describe the origins of cardiovascular disease and offer beneficial heart healthy dietary recommendations for general readers.
The co-authors have both played leading roles in defining the field of cardiology.
Dr. Gotto's cardiovascular research is internationally recognized. As a world-renowned physician-scientist and former president of the American Heart Association and the International Atherosclerosis Society, he has contributed to the advancement of lipid therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. His research discoveries have led to a better understanding of lipoproteins, apolipoproteins and their relation to atherosclerosis. Dr. Gotto's research studies have focused on clinical disorders of lipid transport and the structure, metabolism and function of lipoproteins and apolipoproteins. His research helped establish the link between cholesterol and the development of heart disease, and he has played a leading role in several landmark clinical trials demonstrating that the class of cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins can reduce the risk for heart disease. In addition, while at the Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital, he and his team identified the complete cDNA and amino acid sequence of apo B-100, one of the largest proteins ever sequenced and a key protein in atherosclerosis.
Dr. DeBakey, (1908-2008), is considered one of the most famous heart surgeons of the twentieth century. He was a senior attending physician at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and served as the Chancellor Emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. DeBakey's surgical breakthroughs and pioneering work helped modernize the field of interventional cardiology and open-heart surgery. His surgical career, lasting more than seven decades, included the invention of many procedures now considered standard surgical therapies for cardiovascular disease. Dr. DeBakey performed heart surgery on more than 60,000 patients. In 2008, he received the Congressional Gold Medal -- the highest civilian award that may be bestowed by the United States Congress. He also was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science.
The foreword for The Living Heart in the 21st Century was written by Dr. George P. Noon, who was a student, resident and surgeon colleague of Dr. DeBakey's. It contains previously unpublished information about their relationship and the surgery that Dr. Noon performed on Dr. DeBakey during the last years of his life. Dr. Noon is currently chief of the Division of Transplant Surgery and Assist Devices in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine and president of the DeBakey Medical Foundation.
Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., MD, DPhil Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., MD, DPhil, is Dean Emeritus and Co-Chairman of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, New York, where he is also the Lewis Thomas University Professor. In addition, Dr. Gotto is Vice President and Provost for Medical Affairs Emeritus of Cornell University. From 1997-2011, Dr. Gotto was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean at Weill Cornell and Provost for Medical Affairs at Cornell University. Previously, at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, he was the Bob and Vivian Smith Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine, Scientific Director of the DeBakey Heart Center, and the JS Abercrombie Chair for Atherosclerosis and Lipoprotein Research. He also served as Chief of the Internal Medicine Service at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. Dr. Gotto's postgraduate work included doctoral studies at Oxford University in England, as a Rhodes Scholar, and residency training at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. In the field of atherosclerosis, his basic science research interests include clinical disorders of lipid transport and the structure, metabolism, and function of lipoproteins and apolipoproteins. He and his associates were the first to achieve complete synthesis of a plasma apolipoprotein (apo C-I); they also determined the complete cDNA and amino acid sequence of apo B-100, one of the largest proteins ever sequenced and a key protein in atherosclerosis. In addition, Dr. Gotto has played a leading role in several landmark clinical trials demonstrating that cholesterol-lowering drug treatment can reduce the risk for heart disease. As a lifelong supporter of educational efforts aimed at cardiovascular risk reduction, Dr. Gotto has been National President of the American Heart Association and President of the International Atherosclerosis Society. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of many honors, including the Gold Heart Award from the American Heart Association, the Distinguished Alumnus award from Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, the Order of the Lion from the Republic of Finland, the International Okamoto Award from the Japan Vascular Disease Research Foundation, the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art First Class, the Maurice R. Greenberg Distinguished Service Award from NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the National Lipid Association. He received the 24th Annual Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award in Cardiovascular Research on April 20, 2012. In addition, he has received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Bologna and Abilene Christian University, honorary professorships from the University of Buenos Aires and Francisco Marroquin University (Guatemala), and he is an Honorary Member of the Society for Progress in Internal Medicine (Ludwig Heilmeyer Society) in Germany. Dr. Gotto speaks nationally and internationally on cardiovascular disease and has contributed more than 500 scholarly articles and books to the medical literature. In addition, he is coauthor of a series of books that explain the origins and treatment of cardiovascular disease to the general public.
Weill Cornell Medical CollegeWeill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances -- including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.
RSS