Contact: Beth Casteel, bcasteel@acc.org, 202-375-6275

WASHINGTON (March 31, 2014) — The American College of Cardiology today elected Patrick O’Gara, M.D., MACC, as president for the year ahead at its 63rd Annual Scientific Session.

“I am honored and excited to lead the College at this time and look forward to working with our representative leaders, members and patients to promote an activist approach to solving our shared challenges,” O’Gara said. “We, and medicine as a whole, are at a crossroads in our history and the best path forward is not clear. The choices we make must always be focused on our patients and their welfare. Continued scientific and technological advancements will enable revolutionary changes in the way we diagnose, manage and prevent cardiovascular disease. At the same time, the evolving changes in the health care market place will challenge our ability to reach our fullest potential.”

O'Gara is the director of clinical cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. His clinical activities are focused on patients with valvular heart disease, aortic disease, complex coronary artery disease and other structural heart diseases. O’Gara has been named annually among the Top Doctors in Boston and the U.S. since 2001.

O'Gara has long been an active leader in the College. He is the past co-chair of the ACC's 2012 Scientific Session program committee and has co-directed the ACC Board Review Course for Certification and Recertification for the past decade. O'Gara was chair of the writing committee for the 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Management of ST-Elevation MI and has participated in several other guideline, expert consensus, scientific advisory and appropriate use criteria writing groups.

During his presidency, O’Gara plans to focus on leading several aspects of the newly crafted ACC strategic plan, including the provision of tools to help members navigate the transformation of heath care from volume to value, the development of programs and research awards targeted to fellows-in-training and early career professionals, and the expansion of ACC educational activities and registry information management as integral components of life-long learning, patient-centered research and quality improvement initiatives.

O’Gara also served as chair of the American Heart Association's Council on Clinical Cardiology from 2003-2005 and as editor of Heart Insight magazine from 2006 to 2011. In 2011, he received the Paul Dudley White Award from the Boston Division of the AHA Founder's Affiliate and the Laennec Master Clinician Award. In 2012, he was honored with the Laennec Clinician Educator Award. Currently, he is steering committee co-chair of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Cardiothoracic Surgery Network.

In addition to O’Gara, the complete list of officers for 2014-2015 are President-Elect Kim Allan Williams, Sr., M.D., FACC; Vice President Richard A. Chazal, M.D., FACC; Board of Trustees Secretary and Board of Governors Chair Michael Mansour, M.D., FACC; and Immediate Past President John Gordon Harold, M.D., MACC.

New members of the Board of Trustees are Paul N. Casale, M.D., FACC; Robert C. Hendel, M.D., FACC; Jane W. Newburger, M.D., MPH, FACC; Thad F. Waites, M.D., FACC; and Public Member Trustee Debra L. Ness, M.S.

The ACC’s Annual Scientific Session brings together cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists from around the world each year to share the newest discoveries in treatment and prevention. Follow @ACCMediaCenter and #ACC14 for the latest news from the meeting.

The American College of Cardiology is a nonprofit medical society comprised of 47,000 physicians, surgeons, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists and practice managers. The College is dedicated to transforming cardiovascular care, improving heart health and advancing quality improvement, patient-centered care, payment innovation and professionalism. The ACC also leads the formulation of important cardiovascular health policy, standards and guidelines. It bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists, provides professional education, supports and disseminates cardiovascular research, and operates national registries to measure and promote quality care. For more information, visit CardioSource.org.

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