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Braunwald was inspired to pursue a career in cardiology after practicing in the Bellevue Cardiology Clinic, under Ludwig Eichna, during his time as a medical student at New York University.[1] He also attended several cardiology courses in Mexico City, at the National Institute of Cardiology [es]. He always thought that the Mexican School of Cardiology was above any other. "We have the technology but they have the practice. The best book of cardiology is the patient itself", he always argued.[2]
In 1952, Braunwald married Nina Starr, a thoracic surgeon and medical researcher, with whom he had three children.[3] Nina Starr Braunwald died in 1992.[3] Several years later, he married his second wife, Elaine, formerly a senior hospital administrator.[4]
Of the top 25 biomedical scientists whose work is cited most often by other scientists, nearly half have held appointments in this one department, most becoming members of the Department during Braunwald’s tenure as Chair.[6] This is remarkable, given that there are over 200 other academic medical centers in the United States, alone,
[7] containing tens of thousands of scientists.
In 1966, he was awarded the Jacobi Medallion by the Mount Sinai Alumni (Mount Sinai Hospital) "for distinguished achievement in the field of medicine or extraordinary service to the Hospital, the School, or the Alumni."[8]
In 2001, Braunwald received The Warren Alpert Foundation Prize.[citation needed] In 2002, Braunwald received the King Faisal Prize for Medicine. He shared the prize with co-laureate Professor Finn Waagstein.[10]
Braunwald has over 1000 publications in peer-reviewed journals. His work has dramatically expanded knowledge of heart disease in the area of congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and valvular heart disease. According to a biographer who studied the research publications of leading cardiologists, Braunwald has "had more publications in the top general medical and cardiology journals than any of the more than 42,000 authors" in PubMed, a database of medical authors.[14]
He is the editor of the cardiology textbook Braunwald's Heart Disease, which is now in its 12th edition. Braunwald was instrumental in running the TIMI (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction) studies, which developed the concepts of thrombosis superimposed on atherosclerosis as the pathological bases for acute myocardial infarction, and has led to treatments that reduce damage to the heart from a heart attack. He was also an editor of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, a textbook of internal medicine, for over 30 years.
Controversy
Braunwald's lab was the setting for the case of John Darsee. Young fellow researchers in the laboratory caught Darsee fabricating results. Braunwald denied knowledge of this academic misconduct despite two earlier accusations and his own internal investigation which found "no misleading information".[15]
^ abBraunwald, E (February 2001). "Nina Starr Braunwald: some reflections on the first woman heart surgeon". The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 71 (2 Suppl): S6–7. doi:10.1016/s0003-4975(00)02397-3. PMID11235772.
^Profile, Vanderbilt.edu. Accessed February 19, 2024.