Dr. Eugene Braunwald is often called the father of modern cardiology. He calls that an exaggeration.
"Maybe I've been around longer, but there are a lot of people who have made major contributions to cardiology," the 95-year-old Braunwald said. Despite risking his disapproval, people around the world who know his work continue to use such terms. Even an abbreviated summary of his career makes clear why.
Over the past three-quarters of a century, Braunwald: – showed that fast action could limit damage from heart attacks, paving the way for modern treatments. – organized and led large, groundbreaking studies that showed the value of, among other things, clot-dissolving drugs and cholesterol-lowering statins that have become standard care. – wrote and edited influential textbooks in internal medicine and cardiology that remain in use around the globe.
– led the department of medicine at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, mentoring generations of top cardiologists. Those who know him say Braunwald, whose family made a daring escape from Nazi-controlled Austria, accomplished so much through a mix of sharp observation and hard work. They also describe someone whose insights are coveted on matters personal as well as professional, who is not just a groundbreaking scientist but a passionate opera fan and an affectionate parent.
Dr. Elliott Antman, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, learned from Braunwald as a cardiology.