Clin. Cardiol. 27, 247–248 (2004)
This section edited by J. Willis Hurst, M.D. and W. Bruce Fye, M.D., M.A.
Edmund H. Sonnenblick PIERO ANVERSA, M.D. Cardiovascular Research Institute, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, USA
Edmund H. Sonnenblick, M.D., (Fig. 1) currently the Edmond J. Safra Professor of Medicine and former Chief of the Division of Cardiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1932. He was raised in Hartford and graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., with highest honors in 1954 and cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1958. He received his training in internal medicine at Presbyterian Hospital in New York. In 1960, he joined the Cardiovascular Research Laboratories of Dr. Stanley Sarnoff at the National Heart Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. There he initiated studies on the function and structure of heart muscle that have formed the basis upon which modern understanding of ventricular function relies. In 1963, he joined the Cardiology Branch at the National Heart Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, directed by Dr. Eugene Braunwald, where these basic studies were extended to the intact heart, both in experimental animals and in humans. With Drs. Braunwald and John Ross, among others, the entire field of cardiovascular research was greatly expanded with several studies of cardiac function, structure, and energetics. These studies were extended to develop new views of heart failure and coronary heart disease. In 1968, Dr. Sonnenblick joined Dr. Richard Gorlin, and subsequently Dr. Braunwald, at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, where he was the Director of Cardiovascular Research in the Cardiac Unit and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. This unit extended the studies pursued in Bethesda while continuing to train many of the future leaders in academic cardiology.
Address for reprints: Piero Anversa, M.D. Cardiovascular Research Institute New York Medical College Vosburgh Pavilion, Room 303 Valhalla, NY 10595, USA e-mail:
[email protected] Received: May 21, 2003 Accepted: May 21, 2003
In 1975, Dr. Sonnenblick accepted the position of Olson Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Cardiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, where he was also the Director of the Cardiovascular Center. In 1996, he stepped down from directing the division while remaining an active clinical cardiologist and investigator at this institution. Dr. Sonnenblick has been a major contributor to the basic and clinical literature in cardiology, authoring over 650 scientific articles and chapters as well as serving as a senior editor of the Hurst’s The Heart for four editions. He has received many honors, including the Distinguished Scientist Award of the American College of Cardiology, and has been an editor of all of the major cardiology journals. Among other societies, he is also a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the American Association of Physicians, the American Heart Association, and he is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Physicians. With Dr. Michael Lesch, he has edited Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, which remains one of the premiere review journals regarding cardiology. He also co-edits the text Cardiovascular Pharmaco Therapeutics with Dr. William Frishman, Chairman of Medicine at New York Medical College. Dr. Sonnenblick’s research accomplishments have been fundamental to the development of cardiology. His initial and extended studies of the mechanics of cardiac muscle have been used to characterize and quantitate ventricular performance. For example, he brought such terms as “preload” and “afterload” into use and concept. His structural studies with Dr. David Spiro, extended by his long and continued association with my laboratory, have served to improve our understanding of cardiac function to the sarcomere; other studies of energetics and coronary physiology have also stood the test of time. Dr. Sonnenblick and I have been collaborators and friends for more than 25 years. Ed’s profound knowledge of cardiac pathophysiology has dramatically influenced my scientific growth and that of many cardiologists and cardiovascular scientists. His ability to integrate basic physiologic principles with quantitative parameters of the diseased heart and with the more recent and popular aspects of molecular cardiology is remarkable. Dr. Sonnenblick has challenged established dogma
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One of Dr. Sonnenblick’s extraordinary analytical qualities is his ability to recognize and retain the appropriate pieces of information from which he generates interesting associations of ideas. As an outstanding scientist, he has a special perception for distinguishing the significant from the trivial and possesses the ability to design and execute adequate experiments, a prerequisite for obtaining and identifying relevant results. For Dr. Sonnenblick, science has provided a wonderful way of life. Dr. Sonnenblick has been married to Linda Blaud for 48 years and has two daughters, Charlotte and Emily, the latter a radiologist. He continues as an active cardiologist, investigator, and editor.
Selected Publications
FIG. 1 Edmund H. Sonnenblick, M.D.
and has proposed new paradigms concerning cardiomyocyte growth and death and the etiology of heart failure. His presence at our weekly laboratory meetings and collaboration in studies of isolated myocardium and myocytes constitutes a continuous and priceless inspiration for novel and challenging scientific problems. The most impressive personal quality I have always admired is his tremendous curiosity for understanding, which never wanes and remains intact today. This attribute, in combination with his desire to communicate and teach, makes him an unusual individual and a perennial leader in cardiology.
Sonnenblick EH: Force-velocity relations in mammalian heart muscle. Am J Physiol 1962;202:931–939 Sonnenblick EH, Downing SE: Afterload as a primary determinant of ventricular performance. Am J Physiol 1963;204:604–610 Sonnenblick EH, Spotnitz HM, Spiro D: Role of the sarcomere in ventricular function and the mechanism of heart failure. Circ Res 1964;(suppl. II) 14 and 15:70–80 Sonnenblick EH: Instantaneous force-velocity-length determinants in the contraction of heart muscle. Circ Res 1965;16:441–451 Sonnenblick EH, Ross J Jr, Covell JW, Kaiser GA, Braunwald E: Velocity of contraction as a determinant of myocardial oxygen consumption. Am J Physiol 1965;209:919–927 Brutsaert DL, Sonnenblick EH: Cardiac muscle mechanics in the evaluation of myocardial contractility and pump function: Problems, concepts and directions. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 1973;16:337–361 Braunwald E, Ross J Jr, Sonnenblick EH: Mechanisms of contraction of the normal and failing heart. 2nd Ed. Boston, Mass.: Little Brown & Co., 1976 Anversa P, Palackal T, Sonnenblick EH, Olivetti G, Capasso JM: Hypertensive cardiomyopathy: Myocyte nuclei hyperplasia in the mammalian heart. J Clin Invest 1990;85:994–997 Olivetti G, Capasso JM, Sonnenblick EH, Anversa P: Side-to side slippage of myocytes participates in ventricular wall remodeling acutely after myocardial infarction in rats. Circ Res 1990;67:23–34
