Cardiac Electrophysiology
Med School/Year Graduated: Tufts University, 1997
Years in Practice: 20
You have an engineering background – biomedical engineering at MIT. Does that mean you have a hand in developing and refining the pacemakers, defibrillators and other devices you implant in your patients?
I’ve helped refine certain tools, yes. For example, one of the [techniques] I’ve used to treat atrial fibrillation is called cryoablation, which safely treats diseased triggers in the heart. It has followed me from bench-top testing to clinical trial to clinical use worldwide for millions of patients. We literally have written the guideline and textbooks on how to perform this procedure and taught worldwide.
Do you have tools at your disposal to repair heart function without the use of implantable devices?
Absolutely. Essentially, the field of heart electrophysiology treats heart abnormality that makes the heart go too fast or too slow. We can correct heart rates that are too slow with pacemakers, rescue vulnerable patients from cardiac arrest with implantable defibrillators, and target and eliminate abnormal heart rhythm issues with ablation procedures that can cure abnormal heart circuits [without the use of] implantable devices.
What are some of the most exciting recent advancements in electrocardiology?
Procedures that took us several hours to do 20 years ago are now done within one hour [thanks to] new tools such as the cryo-balloon ablation. Also, the up-and-coming pulsed-field ablation has done very well in clinical trials here at Banner-University Medical Center.
As the director of electrophysiology at Banner, what are some of the principles you try to impart to your team?
Our foremost goal is always to be sure that patient care comes first. We have built a “dream team” of electrophysiologists who are world-recognized as one of the best in [their respective] subspecialties. Just as important is that we all love what we do – it’s just in our DNA.
You have a wife and four daughters! How does it feel to be surrounded by gals?
I am simply blessed – surrounded by four daughters and a son. I grew up with three other brothers and no sisters, so my daughters know they are the real bosses.
What are your hobbies and interests outside medicine?
[Friends] are never surprised to catch me rebuilding or repairing car engines… I simply love fixing things and seeing them run perfectly. It’s therapeutic. Otherwise, all of my outdoor activities are centered around the kids’ interests now.
“If I wasn’t a doctor, I’d be…”
An inventor. My mother was disappointed when I chose to leave engineering… since my father is a pediatrician and I have three other brothers who are also physicians. I was supposed to be different with engineering interests, but this field has married the best of both worlds.
