An Interview with Dr. Eugene Braunwald

In the early 1950s, when Eugene Braunwald was just entering cardiology, there was not a lot a doctor could do for a patient with a heart attack or heart failure. Some heart diseases were beyond diagnosis. Using cardiac catheters and other tools, Braunwald would literally probe the heart for answers to such basic questions as how the heart pumps blood and how it uses oxygen, laying the foundation for modern cardiovascular physiology. In 1959, he and colleagues identified a whole new disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He followed that up with an even more stunning discovery— that heart attacks could be arrested as they were happening. Braunwald has spent decades researching and testing ways to stop—and prevent— heart disease. He has taught, written over a thousand journal articles, authored and edited classic textbooks, held top administrative posts, and lectured around the world. He is a member of numerous societies, including the National Academy of Sciences. In 1984, he established the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) trials, where he works daily. His office walls are covered with awards and honorary degrees. The most treasured is his honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna. Braunwald, who is the Hersey Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Founding Chairman of the TIMI Study Group, spoke with me in his office.