A bold vision for continued growth in providing comprehensive cardiac and circulatory care
Eric Elgin, MD, became the new Chief of Cardiology at Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute in June 2022.
Here’s what he had to say about his background and vision for growing cardiovascular clinical care, research and education in
his new role.
A: I earned my medical degree at the University of Chicago and spent five years practicing non-invasive cardiology with the military, including serving as a battalion surgeon in Iraq. Next, I completed a fellowship in interventional cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, and knew I’d found my specialty. Most recently, I was Chief of the Division of Cardiology at Reading Hospital and Director of Cardiovascular Services for Tower Health System in West Reading.
A: I enjoy the people side of medicine and working with my hands. I love that, as a team, we fix people. Many return to their usual daily activities, and that’s very gratifying.
A: I’m excited to be leading the growth of Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute and working with a talented team of physicians and advanced practice clinicians who provide high-quality, leading-edge care for patients.
A: One area of focus is growing our heart failure program to meet increasing demand. We will do that by enhancing cross-specialty collaboration and incorporating innovative tools and approaches, including new pharmaceuticals and devices in the electrophysiology space, interventional cardiology/CT surgical procedures and advanced mechanical support, such as destination left ventricular assist device therapy. We will also expand our already robust transcatheter program, which includes transcatheter aortic valve replacement and mitral valve repair.
A: We are exploring getting involved in early phase clinical research of transcatheter valve therapy for tricuspid valve regurgitation. We’ll also be looking into emerging artificial intelligence applications for analyzing echocardiographic and cath lab images to identify patients with a higher risk of progressing to serious problems.
A: Medical training is an essential part of our mission. We will continue our three-year cardiology fellowship, training five specialists a year, and we are investigating adding new programs in the future.
