Educating fellows, advancing interventional cardiology among Spencer B. King III, MD’s proudest achievements

King also has a keen interest in string music and architecture when not practicing medicine.

As a busy clinician, educator and grandfather, Spencer B. King III, MD, has worn many hats in the world of interventional cardiology.

King graduated from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta in 1963 and completed his cardiology training at Emory University in Atlanta in 1970. King worked in numerous academic capacities at Emory University between 1972 and 2000, including associate professor of medicine, a professor of medicine, director of interventional cardiology and director of the cardiac cath lab at Emory University Hospital. King also served as the Fuqua Chair of Interventional Cardiology at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta between 2000 and 2004. He is currently professor of medicine emeritus at the Emory University School of Medicine. He is also the executive director of academic affairs for Saint Joseph’s Health System and is the president of the Saint Joseph’s Heart and Vascular Institute in Atlanta.

King has served in leadership roles in many professional societies and organizations. He is a past president of the American College of Cardiology, and the first interventionalist to hold that position. King also served as president of the Georgia affiliate of the American Heart Association and as president of the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions. He is currently chairman of the scientific advisory board at AiHeart Medical Technologies.

King has also published more than 500 papers on cardiology and has served on the editorial boards of several scholarly journals, including Circulation, European Heart Journal, Journal of the American College of Cardiology and The American Journal of Cardiology.

Spencer B. King III, MD Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the Emory University School of Medicine. Executive Director of Academic Affairs for Saint Joseph’s Health System. President of the Saint Joseph’s Heart and Vascular Institute in Atlanta. Member, Vascular Medicine/Intervention section of Cardiology Today’s Editorial Board.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not practicing medicine?

I enjoy playing with my three grandchildren. That takes up a lot of my time, but I have a lot of other interests. I am co-chairman of an advisory board to a conservatory of string music at my alma mater. Concert violinist Robert McDuffy has started what we think will be the premier string music program in the South, so that is a lot of fun. I do not play violin at all, but my mother was a professional violinist. I have had a lifelong interest in music because of her.

If you hadn’t gone into cardiology or medicine, what would you have done?

When I was in high school, I thought architecture was interesting. I was good at math. I was actually a broadcaster in college and was briefly in radio but quickly found out that was not going to be my career. Fortunately, medicine rescued me from a career in either architecture or broadcasting.

What would you consider one of your biggest successes in your specialty?

The most important thing I have done was the training of fellows in cardiology and interventional cardiology for the past 30 years. I have trained well over 100 fellows who have gone into interventional cardiology. I am proud of the idea that I conducted the first National Institutes of Health trial to compare angioplasty with surgery, and I have always had an interest in that kind of comparison. More recently, I started the interventional cardiology boards, inaugurated them and served as the chair of the board for 10 years. I have to mention that my presidency of the ACC was the first by an interventional cardiologist. I am also proud to be the editor in chief of Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions.

What is the last book you read / art collection you saw / CD you bought? Why, and what did you think of it?

I just read a book called Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System by Robert Levine, MD. It tries to deal with this whole conundrum of how to reform health care, and it is pretty hard hitting. He contends that if it is not about the money, it is still about the money, and that costs are totally out of control. This, of course, is nothing new. It is easy and convenient for us to talk about other people, and one of the points that he makes is that it is easy to talk about the lawyers or the insurance companies, but he concentrates on the waste and excessive utilization. These are things that we as physicians have some ability to deal with. It is hard-hitting for everyone, and the message is that everyone participating in addressing this problem is going to have to give a bit.

When I traveled to the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2009 in Barcelona, I spent time looking at the Gaudi architecture in the buildings. It is not exactly an art collection, but they are amazing buildings. The message that I get from looking at Gaudi architecture is that we do not always have to stay within the lines to be successful.

I was in New York a while back and went to see a show called Next to Normal. It was a show about bipolar illness and it sounds strange, but it was interesting. I bought the CD at the show and listen to it frequently.

Who do you most admire, and what would you ask that person if you had five minutes with him/her?

This may sound trite, but the people I have admired most in my life were my parents. My father was a historian, and my mother was a musician. Most of the advice I have gotten has been from them. They are both gone, but if they were around, I would keep asking them for advice.

Spencer B. King III, MD, and his grandchild enjoy a hike. Source: Spencer B. King III, MD

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

My father once told me that giving without expectation of return is the ultimate gift. It is also the hardest advice to take, because with most of the things that we do and give, it is hard to hide the fact that we appreciate some feedback. It is great advice if you can do it. There was a great philanthropist in Atlanta who once said there is no limit to what one can accomplish as long as you do not care who gets the credit.

Who do you consider a mentor?

Clearly, my most important mentor was R. Bruce Logue, MD, who was chief of cardiology at Emory University Hospital. He was a clinician beyond peer, and a lot of what I learned, I learned from him.

What kind of diet and exercise regimen do you have?

I get an endorphin rush by getting into the gym about four or five days per week in the morning before work. I eat virtually everything, but not too much of it.

What do you think will have the biggest influence on cardiology in the next 10 years?

The biggest area right now is prevention (which is going to fail in some regards). HF is going to be the biggest therapeutic area, despite the advances in technology in the interventional field. The cost realignment of incentives is going to be important. Regenerative medicine is also going to be an important part of HF, along with biotechnology. Are we going to see real artificial hearts that are permanent within the next 10 years? One of the major interests of our research lab is in regenerative medicine (angiogenesis and biogenesis) and exploring those kinds of approaches to HF.

What is your favorite travel destination?

I was in the Army when my wife and I met and got married. We lived in Hawaii before I went to Vietnam, and we have been addicted to Hawaii ever since. We have a condo there and we go there a lot.

What is your favorite restaurant?

There is a great restaurant here in Atlanta called Restaurant Eugene. It is a somewhat upscale establishment serving nouvelle cuisine with a Southern flair, and it is run by one of my son’s friends from high school, who is a great chef. – by Eric Raible