Atlanta, Ga. (Nov. 4, 2019) — Vinod H. Thourani, M.D., who brings a rich background in academic surgery, education, and research, has joined Piedmont Heart Institute as the Marcus Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery for Piedmont Healthcare and the Marcus Heart Valve Center. Late next summer, Piedmont Healthcare will open the Piedmont Atlanta Tower thanks to a $75 million donation from The Marcus Foundation, which will create increased capacity for Piedmont to treat more patients suffering from cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Thourani is a national cardiovascular thought leader and is active in professional cardiac surgery and cardiology organizations. He is president-elect of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association starting in November 2019 and the Heart Valve Society, with his term as president starting in February 2020. He also serves on the national board of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, is on the board of trustees of the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery, where he serves as its Vice-President, and is on the Surgeons Council of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. He has authored over 400 articles in a variety of prestigious medical journals.
“Dr. Thourani’s reputation as a leading national cardiac surgeon precedes him and we believe he will be able to raise the quality of our heart program, which already is ranked among the top five percent of cardiovascular programs in the country,” said Charles L. Brown III, M.D., CEO of Piedmont’s Physician Enterprise. “We believe his multi-disciplinary approach will be a great compliment to the excellent care already delivered at Piedmont Heart Institute.”
Most recently, Dr. Thourani served for two years as Chairman, Department of Cardiac Surgery, MedStar Health, which includes MedStar Washington Hospital Center and MedStar Union Memorial Baltimore Hospital programs. That system includes MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, an academic hospital, where he was a Professor of Surgery.
Prior to that tenure, Dr. Thourani served the Atlanta community and surrounding region for more than a decade. While at Emory Healthcare, his roles included Co-Director of the system’s Structural Heart and Valve Center and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Emory University Hospital Midtown. He also held the title of Professor of Surgery and Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.
Dr. Thourani said he is excited to join Piedmont and to build on the heart program and to work closely with the physicians already serving as lead research investigators on a number of clinical trials. Dr. Thourani himself is the national co-principal investigator for the PASCAL IIF transcatheter mitral valve repair, the ACTIVE transcatheter mitral valve repair trial, PARTNER 2 SAPIEN 3 study, the SUMMIT transcatheter mitral valve replacement in mitral valve calcification trial, and the JenaValveTM TAVR study for aortic valve leakage. He is also on the executive committee for the coveted National Institute of Health (NIH) Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSN) Trials and for four other valve-related national trials.
“Piedmont not only is the preeminent program in Atlanta for multi-disciplinary cardiovascular care, but also is developing as the destination-for-therapy for excellent patient care beyond Georgia’s borders and in the Southeast. I am excited and honored to be a part of this incredible team and to help build on the current infrastructure,” he said. “With gifts like Piedmont has received from The Marcus Foundation that will lead soon to the opening of Piedmont Atlanta Tower and Marcus Heart and Vascular Center, everything is in place for Piedmont to continue its national leadership in cardiovascular care.”
Piedmont Heart Institute ranks in the top 5 percent in the country among cardiovascular organizations and is the only program in Atlanta consistently recognized with the Cardiac Care Excellence Award from Healthgrades – a mark of quality it has earned for 10 years. Piedmont is an international leader in cardiovascular research, enabling patients access to innovative therapies not otherwise available.