Boston Doctor Wins Cardiology Award
Dr. Mark Josephson will receive an award from the American Heart Association. Photo courtesy of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
In yet another example of medical standard-setting in Massachusetts, Mark Josephson, chief of cardiovascular medicine at the CardioVascular Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), will be honored for his revolutionary work in the field of cardiac electrophysiology by the American Heart Association (AHA) next month.
On April 27 at the AHA Ball, Josephson will be given the AHA’s Paul Dudley White Award, a prize given in honor of the late Paul Dudley White, a former Boston cardiologist. The award is given to a Massachusetts physician whose work has contributed to the fight against heart disease and stroke each year. In a report from BIDMC, Mark Estes, chair of the selection committee, says:
“The AHA is pleased to honor Dr. Josephson,” said N. A. Mark Estes III, MD, director of the New England Cardiac Arrhythmia Center at Tufts Medical Center, chair of the selection committee. The award “is a fitting tribute for his professional accomplishments, personal attributes, and contributions to the AHA.”
Cardiac electrophysiology, a branch of cardiology focused on diagnosing and treating abnormal heart beats (arrhythmias), was barely existent before Josephson began doing work in the field. Josephson’s work is present in nearly all aspects of electrophysiology: A textbook he wrote in the late 1970s is now in its fourth edition; he leads a bi-yearly seminar on arrhythmias that an astounding 85 percent of working electrophysiologists have taken; and he has trained countless up-and-coming doctors in his specialty. Josephson is also the author of more than 444 scholarly articles.
Pamela Lesser, one of Josephson’s patients, says in the BIDMC report:
“I don’t know how old he is, but he has an enthusiasm and love for what he does that is like he’s in his twenties, just out of medical school and ready to conquer the world. He’s on the edge of discovery. He has a passion for his work that spreads to the patient and that feeds into that whole feeling of ‘I’m in the best hands possible.’ ”
