Newswise — Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation announced today that Electrophysiologists Steven Hao, M.D. and Richard Hongo, M.D. have joined Andrea Natale, M.D. to provide comprehensive cardiac electrophysiology services. Cardiac electrophysiology provides evaluation, diagnosis and therapy for heart conditions including atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, sudden cardiac arrest and congestive heart failure. The electrophysiology team will practice in San Francisco and Marin counties, with their main office at 2100 Webster Street in San Francisco.
Drs. Hao, Hongo and Natale oversee California Pacific Medical Center’s Atrial Fibrillation and Arrhythmia Program, ranked in a 2008 patient survey on The AFIB Report (www.afibbers.com) as one of the top three hospitals in the world for treatment of atrial fibrillation. Annually, this team performs more than 625 catheter ablations of which 450 are for atrial fibrillation.
Biographies of Sutter Pacific physicians who oversee Cardiac Electrophysiology include:
Steven Hao, M.D., FACC is board-certified in cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology, and serves as Medical Director of Electrophysiology at California Pacific Medical Center. His expertise includes ablation, atrial fibrillation, cardiac arrhythmias, ICD implant and resynchronization. Dr. Hao received his medical degree from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed his internship and residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He subsequently completed cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology fellowships at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York. Dr. Hao has received numerous research awards and is recognized internationally for his expertise in catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation.
Richard Hongo, M.D., FACC is board-certified in cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology, and serves as Assistant Medical Director of Electrophysiology at California Pacific Medical Center. He received his medical degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine, followed by an internship and residency at Legacy Emanuel and Good Samaritan Hospitals in Portland, Ore. Dr. Hongo completed fellowships in cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology at California Pacific Medical Center and UCSF Medical Center, respectively. His expertise includes ablation, atrial fibrillation, cardiac arrhythmias, ICD implant, lead extraction and resynchronization. Dr. Hongo is fluent in Japanese.
Andrea Natale, M.D., FACC, FHRS is Senior Medical Director of Electrophysiology at California Pacific Medical Center and a pioneer in ablation procedures including catheter-based cures for atrial fibrillation and percutaneous epicardial radiofrequency ablation, a treatment for individuals who fail conventional ablation. A native of Siracusa, Italy, Dr. Natale received his medical degree from the Medical School of the University of Florence, Italy, and the Catholic University School of Cardiology in Rome, Italy. He completed clinical training at Methodist Hospital, Baylor College in Houston and the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada; followed by fellowships in cardiology (electrophysiology) at University of Western Ontario and University of Wisconsin, Sinai Samaritan Medical Center in Milwaukee. Dr. Natale has served as professor at a variety of prestigious universities, including Duke University and Stanford University. He also served as Medical Director for the Center for Atrial Fibrillation at Cleveland Clinic.
“These are leaders in the field of cardiac electrophysiology, and bring an important expertise to individuals with cardiac arrhythmia,” says Morris Flaum, M.D., MBA, chief executive officer of Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation. “Our goal is to offer a continuum of care—from primary care physicians to complex medical specialists—and the addition of an electrophysiology program to Sutter Pacific is an important step in achieving this vision.”
About Sutter Pacific Medical FoundationSutter Pacific Medical Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides patient care through its affiliation with three medical groups. Our 240+ physicians offer primary, specialty and complex medical care throughout San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma and Lake Counties, as well as at outreach clinics in Northern California and Nevada. Our physicians are dedicated to excellent patient care, combining the latest in medical knowledge and technology with a personal touch. Sutter Pacific physicians are part of the Sutter Medical Network and provide hospital services at Sutter Health hospitals in San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma and Lake Counties. Additionally, our San Francisco-based physicians are part of Brown & Toland Physicians. For more information, visit www.sutterpacific.org.
RSS