World Renowned Cardiac Electrophysiologists to Lead Al-Sabah Arrhythmia Institute at St. Luke’s Hospital

Continuum Cardiovascular Centers of New York is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrea Natale, MD, a world renowned leader in the field of interventional cardiac electrophysiology, as the Executive Director of the Al-Sabah Arrhythmia Institute (AI) at St. Luke’s Hospital. Dr. Natale enjoys international acclaim for his pioneering work in ablation therapy for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. He pioneered the ultrasound guided pulmonary vein isolation procedure to correct atrial fibrillation and performed the first such procedures in the world. Dr. Natale also was the first electrophysiologist in the U.S. to perform percutaneous epicardial radiofrequency ablation, a treatment for people who fail conventional ablation. He has authored milestone papers in peer-reviewed publications on many of his scientific cutting-edge efforts. “I am very happy to be joining the Continuum family,” says Dr. Natale. “I look forward to offering New Yorkers exceptional care and the cutting-edge techniques I’ve honed during my years in practice.” Located at St. Luke’s Hospital, the Al-Sabah Arrhythmia Institute is a state-of-the-art electrophysiology facility that offers the most advanced and sophisticated arrhythmia care. Funded by His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait, the 21,000 square foot Institute has the capacity to serve more than 3,000 patients annually and is one of the only facilities focused specifically on arrhythmia treatments in the New York City metropolitan area. The Institute features: • A clinical outpatient center, with a waiting area and information resources • Three electrophysiology laboratories for performing catheter-based procedures, device implantations, and diagnostic studies • A research laboratory for conducting both clinical and basic research on arrhythmia mechanisms and treatments • An education center for training advanced fellows, practicing electrophysiologists and other medical professionals “Adding a talented and productive team of physicians to our already outstanding medical staff will greatly complement the extraordinary technology employed at St. Luke’s Arrhythmia Institute,” says Gary Roubin, MD, PhD, Physician in Chief, Continuum Cardiovascular Centers of New York. Joining Dr. Natale as new clinical staff members at the AI is a world-class team of experts in cardiac electrophysiology from Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals. They include: • Conor D. Barrett, MD, who will serve as Director of the AI. Dr. Barrett received his BMedSc, MB BCh BAO degrees from the National University of Ireland, Cork. He completed surgical and medical internships and his internal medicine residency at Cork University Hospital, followed by fellowship training in cardiology supervised by the Royal College of Physicians, Ireland. He then completed two additional years of fellowship training in cardiac electrophysiology at Cleveland Clinic. Prior to joining SLR, Dr. Barrett served on the medical faculty of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he also held an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School. He also has an ongoing research affiliate appointment with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His main clinical and research interests focus on catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias, particularly ventricular tachycardia (VT), atrial fibrillation (AF), and other supraventricular tachycardias (SVTs). Dr Barrett also performs implantation and follow-up of cardiac devices therapy including pacemakers, Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs) and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) devices. He is engaged in numerous research studies for patients with cardiac arrhythmias, and performs LASER assisted extractions of implanted cardiac devices. • Stephan Danik, MD, MMSc, who will serve as Director of the Electrophysiology Laboratory at the AI. Dr. Danik received his medical degree from the New Jersey Medical School in Newark and completed his internship and medical residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. After completing a general cardiovascular fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center, he spent the final two years of his training in cardiovascular electrophysiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and earned a Master’s of Medical Science degree in clinical investigation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then joined the staff of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2007. There he served as Director of the Experimental Electrophysiology laboratory and held an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School. His clinical interests include catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardias as well as implantation of pacemakers and defibrillators. • Robert K. Altman, MD, who will serve on the medical staff of the AI beginning July 1. Dr. Altman earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. He completed further fellowship training in cardiovascular disease and then clinical cardiac electrophysiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He continues a postdoctoral clinical and research fellowship at Harvard University/Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Altman’s clinical interests include invasive cardiac electrophysiology, catheter ablation and cardiac resynchronization therapy. “The team’s arrival has generated a lot of excitement locally, nationally and internationally,” adds Dr. Roubin.”AI doctors are receiving appointment requests from patients and physicians in the U.S and abroad. Our facility’s location in New York City makes it an easily accessible center that offers incomparable care.” These physicians join two outstanding cardiac electrophysiologists who have spent several years as members of the Arrhythmia Institute team: Emad F. Aziz, DO, MB, CHB, FACC, and Walter Pierce, MD. Dr. Aziz earned his medical degree from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and served his medical residency at SLR. In addition, he completed fellowships in cardiology and clinical cardiac electrophysiology here as well. He is experienced in the treatment of all arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation, pulmonary vein isolation and ventricular tachycardia for normal and ischemic hearts. He also is skilled in advanced cardiac device implantations and certified in complex laser lead extraction for infected devices. Dr. Aziz heads the cardiac research group of the Advanced Cardiac Admissions Program (ACAP). His research interests are in outcomes for syncope, atrial fibrillation and sudden cardiac death prevention. Dr. Pierce earned his medical degree from Hahnemann University in Pennsylvania and completed residency training at SUNY Health Sciences Center in Syracuse and a chief residency at Monmouth Medical Center in New Jersey. He also completed fellowship training in cardiology and electrophysiology at SUNY Health Sciences Center in Stony Brook. Dr. Pierce’s areas of interest include electrophysiology testing, catheter ablation of arrhythmias and cardiac rhythm device implantation and management. He also is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. The AI team is accepting new patients and can be contacted at (212) 523-2400.