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Albert L. Waldo, MD, on collectibles, wisdom, medicine and more
Outside of the clinic, Waldo enjoys collecting art and traveling to London.
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Albert L. Waldo, MD, is the Walter H. Pritchard Professor of Cardiology, and a professor of medicine and biomechanical engineering at Case Western University School of Medicine in Cleveland.
He has published more than 600 works in the field of cardiac electrophysiology, in which he has worked and helped to advance since its inception several decades ago. In addition to serving on the editorial boards of Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, Heart Rhythm, and the American Journal of Cardiology, he is also a member of the Arrhythmia Disorders section of the Cardiology Today Editorial Board. He is a fellow of the ACC, a fellow of the American Heart Association and a fellow of the American College of Physicians.
What do you enjoy doing when you are not practicing medicine?
I have been a sports buff for a long time and I really enjoy sports. I have season tickets to the Cleveland Indians and I go win-or-lose. I am also a collector, along with my wife. I collect English art pottery, in addition to many other things. I also collect hand paintings of digitalis purpura. I have a collection in which my oldest picture is a 17th century painting of foxglove. Every cardiologist should have one in their backyard, and it is fun to collect.
If you had not gone into cardiology or medicine, what would you have done?
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The Walter H. Pritchard professor of cardiology. A professor of medicine and biomechanical engineering at Case Western University School of Medicine. A member of the Arrhythmia Disorders section of the Cardiology TodayEditorial Board. |
I probably would have done law. I was always interested in law as a springboard for public service. I enormously enjoy medicine and would not trade it for anything, but I probably would have also enjoyed law.
What would you consider one of your biggest successes in your specialty?
I come from a family that says SPS — self-praise stinks. I had the good fortune to be in the field of cardiac electrophysiology at its incipience as a clinical subspecialty. It was a great opportunity and there was so much to do. The one thing that most people would associate my name with is probably entrainment, which has been useful for localizing components of the re-entry circuit for ablation.
What is the last book you read / art collection you saw / CD you bought? Why, and what did you think of it?
The last book I read was “Warriors of God” by James Reston Jr. It is about Richard the Lionheart’s third crusade in 1187 when he battled Saladin. What’s fascinating is that it seems not much has changed. I collect the CDs of the Cleveland Orchestra, which is a wonderful orchestra and whose concerts are fantastic. The Cleveland Museum of Art is a great art museum, although it only recently opened from a three-year renovation. It is one of the best art galleries not only in the United States, but also the world.
Who do you most admire, and what would you ask that person if you had five minutes with him or her?
There are a lot of people whom I admire for different things. If I had to pick today, I would say Nelson Mandela. He is a remarkable person. Here is a guy who fought apartheid and spent 23 years in jail and came out of jail without bitterness. He was just a great man for his country and an example of what leadership should be about.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
The first thing that came to mind was something that a surgeon named Dr. Jim Malm told me a long time ago when I was switching job positions in Alabama. He just said, “Get found out.” I was also in the orbit of Dr. John Kirkland, from whom I learned many things. One of the things he told me was “Perfect is the enemy of good.” Another thing I like was from the great English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson who said, “knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.”
Who do you consider a mentor?
I have had many mentors, but clearly, Dr. Brian Hoffman was my favorite mentor, with whom I spent six years. He is one of the giants of the field of cardiac electrophysiology and in my opinion, the father of contemporary cardiac electrophysiology. He was not a clinician, but many of the people he trained went on to do great things. He was a great investigator and taught me the rigors of research. I still remember the first paper I wrote for him, which came back with the note, “I would love to believe you, but you have to provide me with some evidence.”
What kind of diet and exercise regimen do you follow?
I do my best to follow the South Beach diet. It has helped me lose a lot of weight and I still enjoy eating. It permits you to still enjoy some things like wine. If you follow it carefully, you can remain a gourmand and still keep your waistline. It is basically a Mediterranean diet.
What do you think will have the biggest influence on cardiology during the next 10 years?
Most of us think that genetics and genomics are going to make an enormous impact, and I think that it is already doing that in small ways. Another thing is stem cells. It is made possible by the extraordinary technology that we continue to develop. In my own field, it is incredible. The technology is what permits us to do some of the extraordinary things we are doing in science. The space program, for example, is the reason we have telemetry for electrocardiograms and things like that.
What is your favorite travel destination?
I always enjoy travel, but London is my favorite. It is a great city. My wife and I, being collectors of English art pottery, enjoy it in every respect. We love to go to Portobello and we have a lot of other haunts we visit. We have a lot of “antiquers” we have met in London and really enjoy it. It is a great city for medicine, cardiology, food, museums, history and the culture; it is just a great place.
What is your favorite restaurant?
The honest truth is that I love restaurants, but the best one is at home. My wife is a great chef and among the many things she collects are cookbooks. We have more than 500 cookbooks in our kitchen. My wife loves to cook, and, unfortunately, that is one of the reasons I am on the South Beach diet. Cleveland is also a great city for restaurants, and my favorite restaurant is Rosine’s. – by Eric Raible