VCU Pauley Heart Center Presents National Award for Woman Cardiologist of the Year

By Malorie Burkett

C. Noel Bairey Merz, M.D., a nationally recognized authority on preventive cardiology and women’s heart health, was recognized today by the Virginia Commonwealth University Pauley Heart Center as the 2008 Dr. Carolyn McCue Woman Cardiologist of the Year.

The McCue Award honors the memory of Dr. Carolyn McCue, one of the few female cardiologists of her time and a pioneer in the field of pediatric cardiology, who practiced at the Medical College of Virginia, now the VCU Medical Center, for 42 years.

McCue created and chaired the school's Pediatric Cardiology Division for 20 years, during which she was instrumental in establishing pediatric cardiology clinics in medically underserved communities throughout Virginia.

“It’s a special honor to receive the first Carolyn McCue award for female cardiologist of the year, and I cannot say enough about VCU for initiating this,” said Bairey Merz. “Acknowledging Dr. McCue’s pioneering passion and commitment is very fitting and I’m deeply honored to accept this award.”

Bairey Merz also presented a Medical Grand Rounds lecture at VCU that covered topics such as heart disease assessment in women, gender differences in cardiovascular disease and the women’s healthcare cost gap.

“Cardiovascular disease is the most costly and most preventable disease in women, yet we spend the least on screening and prevention,” said Bairey Merz, who emphasized the importance of raising awareness and taking advantage of treatment opportunities for cardiovascular disease in women.

Bairey Merz, the Women's Guild Endowed Chair in Women's Health, is director of the Women's Heart Center, director of the Preventive and Rehabilitative Cardiac Center and professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles.

Since 1997, Bairey Merz has been chair of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute-sponsored multicenter study, Women’s Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation (WISE), which is investigating the potential for more effective diagnostic, evaluation and treatment methods for ischemic heart disease in women and is considered the pre-eminent examination of women and ischemic heart disease.

Throughout her career Bairey Merz has served the medical community in countless ways. She is on the board of trustees of the American College of Cardiology, serves on the steering committees for the National Cholesterol Education Program and writing group and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and is chair of the American Heart Association Women in Cardiology committee. She has authored more than 170 peer-reviewed research papers and has been an invited presenter at more than 300 scientific meetings.

The McCue Award Program attracted nominations from top medical centers throughout the country. The award, which carries a $10,000 prize, is made possible by a grant from the McCue family to encourage and inspire other young women to pursue careers in cardiology.