Can We Do It Better: Managing Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Structural Heart Disease

Bruce Stambler, M.D., earned his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine.  He completed his internal medicine residency and clinical and research fellowship in cardiology at Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.  He then completed a clinical and research fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

Prior to joining Piedmont Heart, Dr. Stambler practiced at University Hospitals of Cleveland, where he served as Director of Clinical Electrophysiology and Pacing and Director of the Electrophysiology Fellowship Program. He was a Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.  He is board certified in cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology. He was consistently selected as a Best/Top Doctor in America from 2004-2014.  A fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and the Heart Rhythm Society, Dr. Stambler is very active in research and education in cardiac electrophysiology.  At Piedmont Heart, he serves as Director of Cardiac Arrhythmia Research and Education. 

Peter R. Kowey, MD, is a graduate of St Joseph’s University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at Penn State University and was a Fellow in cardiovascular medicine and research at the Harvard University School of Public Health, the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, and the West Roxbury VA Hospital. After this training he joined the faculty at the Medical College of Pennsylvania as Director of the CCU and Arrhythmia Program, and rose to the rank of full Professor. He went on to become Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at the Lankenau Hospital Main Line Health System and President of the Main Line Health Heart Center and is the William Wikoff Smith Chair in Cardiovascular Research. He also is Professor of Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology at Jefferson Medical College.

Dr. Kowey is a Fellow of several professional organizations including the Clinical Council of the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Physicians, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the American College of Chest Physicians, and the American College of Clinical Pharmacology. He was a founding member of the Philadelphia Arrhythmia Group and a charter member of the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. He has served on numerous committees for each of these organizations including program and abstract review committees for national and international programs. He spent 9 years as a member of the Cardiorenal Drug Advisory Committee, 4 years on the Cardiovascular Devices Committee of the Food and Drug Administration, and was on the Expert Advisory Panel of the US Pharmacopeial convention.

Dr. Kowey’s principal area of interest has been cardiac rhythm disturbances. He has been the recipient of over 150 grants and has authored or co-authored over 400 papers and scientific reports. His group has participated in a large number of pivotal clinical trials, many directed by Dr. Kowey himself. He is the co-editor of 3 textbooks regarding cardiac arrhythmia. He is a referee for manuscript review for 25 journals and sits on the editorial boards of the Heart Rhythm Journal and the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. He has provided consultation to over 60 international pharmaceutical companies and chaired several data and safety monitoring boards for clinical trials.

While working with industry, he has pioneered the development of many antiarrhythmic drugs and antitachycardia devices that are used around the world for the treatment of patients with life-threatening cardiac rhythm problems. Dr. Kowey also maintains a busy consultative arrhythmia practice and has been recognized as a leader in his field in several international publications.

Dr. Ty J. Gluckman is Director of Clinical Excellence at the Heart and Vascular Institute of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon and an adjunct member of the The Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Gluckman graduated summa cum laude with highest honors from Brandeis University. He received his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School and did his internal medicine training at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, where he remained for additional years as chief resident and an Instructor in Medicine. He completed his cardiology fellowship training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and served as chief fellow during his final year there. His principal clinical and research interests include the management of acute coronary syndromes, the evaluation of premature graft failure after coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and variability in responsiveness to antiplatelet agents. Dr. Gluckman serves as co-editor of the National Preventive Cardiology CME Newsletter Cardiology News and Issues in the New Millennium, which has a circulation of nearly 100,000 physicians and has recent publications in the Archives of Internal Medicine, JAMA, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. He is an active councilor and Director of Quality for the State of Oregon Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, a board member of the Portland Metro and SW Washington Chapter of the American Heart Association, and associate editor for clinical documents and practice guidelines for Cardiosource.