The Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute embodies the myriad dreams of many minds. To the trustees and officers of The Mount Sinai Hospital, the Cardiovascular Institute represents the continuation of a century-old commitment to excellence in patient care, education, and medical research. To our patients, our community in New York, and society, it stands as a glowing resource for those seeking better ways to overcome heart disease.
To its faculty, the Cardiovascular Institute is a swift conduit for advancing the art and science of cardiovascular medicine and surgery, enabling those with the spirit and ideas to fulfill their professional commitments to improving cardiovascular health. For me, the Institute represents the culmination of a life dedicated to understanding cardiac disease and demystifying coronary atherosclerosis, the condition responsible for more deaths and disability than any other affliction.
Over the course of the 20th century, great strides have been made in the struggle against coronary artery disease, the root cause of most cases of heart attack and sudden death. Yet despite these gains, we are still unable to prevent fully three-fourths of these coronary events. A more effective system must be created to apply the prevention strategies we already have at hand.
Fundamental is the need to expand our knowledge of the origins of cardiovascular pathology at the molecular and genetic levels — a quest that calls for intellectual vigilance, financial resources, and a commitment to the future. The need to develop powerful new scientific and clinical tools is great, and the Cardiovascular Institute is dedicated to fulfilling these needs.
An academy for learning and teaching, a laboratory for investigation and testing, a proving ground for the development and application of new technologies, and most of all, a symbol of our hope and confidence, the Cardiovascular Institute is indeed a cloak of many colors. But its mission is single and unmistakable — to extinguish the spread of cardiovascular disease and replace it with a shining focus on health for our children and grandchildren.
Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD
Director, Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute
