SAN DIEGO – The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) presented its Master Interventionalists of SCAI (MSCAI) designations during the MSCAI Ceremony at the SCAI 2018 Scientific Sessions in San Diego, Calif. The MSCAI designation is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated excellence in invasive/interventional cardiology over the course of their career, manifested by a commitment to the highest levels of clinical care, innovation, publication, and teaching.

This year’s MSCAI designations were awarded to the following group of stellar interventionalists:

Zahid Amin, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Amin is a professor of pediatrics, a recipient of the William B. Strong endowed chair, and chief of pediatric cardiology at Children’s Hospital of Georgia at Augusta University. He has been an invited speaker at national and international meetings, having delivered more than 400 lectures. Dr. Amin has edited a book on patent foramen ovale (PFO) and has more than 200 publications/abstracts in peer-reviewed journals and abstracts. He serves on the editorial boards of Pediatric Cardiology, Cardiac Interventions Today, and the Pakistan Heart Journal. He also has mentored several fellows who have moved on to head cardiac catheterization laboratories in and outside of the U.S.

Lee N. Benson, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Lee N. Benson trained in pediatrics at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. His fellowship in cardiology was also at The Hospital for Sick Children, and he was a research fellow for Dr. Bill Friedman at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 1983, Dr. Benson joined the clinical staff at The Hospital for Sick Children as director of the cardiac catheterization laboratories, where he developed the Pediatric Interventional Program. He became a full professor in 1992 and has authored more than 375 articles, numerous book chapters, and several textbooks in pediatric and adult congenital interventional cardiology.

Kirk N. Garratt, MD, MSc, MSCAI
As a member of the first graduating class of interventional cardiology fellows trained at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Garratt remained on staff for 15 years where he participated in many Mayo firsts: the first directional coronary atherectomy, the first laser coronary angioplasty, the first coronary stent procedure, and the first coronary intervention at a Minnesota hospital without on-site bypass surgery. From 2002–2005, Dr. Kirk was the section chief of cardiology at Franciscan-Skemp Medical Center, a regional Mayo-affiliate hospital. In 2005, Dr. Kirk left Mayo Clinic and went into private practice at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where he was responsible for cardiovascular (CV) quality management, safety, and research. Since 2015, he’s been at the ChristianaCare and currently serves as the John H. Ammon chief of cardiology and medical director of the Center for Heart and Vascular Health. He is involved in many national cardiovascular organizations, including SCAI, where he currently serves as president.

William Hellenbrand, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Hellenbrand’s involvement in the earliest angioplasties for valve and vessel abnormalities made him a pioneer in interventional cardiology for congenital heart disease. He was one of the first principal investigators for nonsurgical closure of atrial septal defects and patent ductus arteriosus. He also served as a principal investigator for percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation with the melody valve. Dr. Hellenbrand is a course director for the Pediatric Interventional Cardiac Symposium, which educates cardiologists in the latest techniques and innovations in transcatheter therapy for congenital
heart defects.

Richard R. Heuser, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Richard R. Heuser is an internationally recognized cardiologist, inventor, educator, and author. A diplomat of the American Board of Cardiovascular Diseases and the American Board of Interventional Cardiovascular Diseases, he was an early pioneer of angioplasty and is one of America’s top cardiologists. Dr. Heuser is currently in practice at the Phoenix Heart Center/Physicians Group of Arizona. He is chief of cardiology and of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Phoenix, a professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and director of the Interventional Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Neil Kleiman, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Neal Kleiman’s research has been focused on the use of intracoronary stents and on mechanisms to modulate arterial thrombosis. He has been an investigator in clinical trials of intracoronary stents for the past 10 years and in approximately 100 clinical trials of antithrombotic medications, which have been sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and by industry and include many investigator-initiated trials.

David G. Rizik, MD, MSCAI
Board certified in interventional cardiology and internal medicine, Dr. David G. Rizik has practiced interventional cardiology in Scottsdale, Arizona, for more than 30 years. He is the founder and medical director of the Scottsdale Heart Group and serves as chief scientific officer and director of Structural and Coronary Interventions for HonorHealth.

Robert Vincent, MD, CM, MSCAI
Dr. Robert Vincent is a pediatric cardiologist and professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine. He completed his undergraduate and medical school education at McGill University in Montreal, his pediatric residency at Montreal Children’s
Hospital, and his cardiology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. He has been a member of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) since 1988 and SCAI since 1994. His primary interests are interventional cardiac catheterization and congenital heart disease. He has been a member of the IMPACT steering committee since its inception and chairman since 2014. He is currently a member of SCAI’s Board of Trustees and Political Action Committee (PAC) as well as SCAI’s Advocacy, Congenital Heart Disease, and Finance committees.