Elliot Rapaport, MD, gave lectures that could change a career path

Rapaport has taught and guided a generation of physicians who tell him his lectures inspired them to become cardiologists.

Elliot Rapaport, MD, always had a backup to cardiology if it did not work out; he said he’d become a professional musician.

But Rapaport has had a successful career in cardiology, one spent traveling the world participating in international organizations and programs to help advance international cardiology practice, lecturing, researching, teaching, attending international meetings and events and, most importantly to him, influencing medical students.

Rapaport has spent most of his academic and professional career at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF); he received his medical degree from the institution in 1946. After his postgraduate training, he spent time on the faculty at Albany Medical College before returning to San Francisco and UCSF, where he was appointed and served as a professor of medicine until his retirement in 2001. He also served as Chief of Cardiology and Associate Dean at San Francisco General Hospital. Rapaport is now a Professor Emeritus of Medicine at UCSF and continues on the active medical staff at San Francisco General Hospital.

Elliot Rapaport, MD Professor Emeritus, at the University of California, San Francisco. Member of the CHD and Prevention section of the Cardiology Today Editorial Board.

Rapaport has also served on the editorial board of many academic journals, including a five-year tenure as editor-in-chief of Circulation. He has authored over 160 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and 34 book chapters. His research interests focus on the pathophysiology of valvular disease and ischemic heart disease.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not practicing medicine?

I like to play chess against my computer. I enjoy the legitimate theater a lot, and have attended many plays and musicals over the years. I like to watch a good classic movie on TV such as the ones on Turner Classic Movies. I also enjoy world travel and seeing different parts of the world.

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

When I was younger, I studied music seriously and actually was fortunate enough to play as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under Otto Klemperer when I was 12 years old. I also was a soloist with the Portland Junior Symphony when I was 14 and gave a number of violin recitals in California and Texas. It gave me a sense of security that if I did not make it as a physician, I could work as a concert violinist or perhaps play in a symphony orchestra somewhere.

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

On a number of occasions over the years, I have had the unexpected satisfaction at medical meetings or a CME lecture I have given to have a physician in the audience come up to me afterwards and identify himself or herself as one of my prior students, and to proceed to tell me that listening to my second-year physical diagnosis of the heart and pathophysiology lectures played a pivotal role in his or her decision to go into a career in cardiology.

What is the last book you read / art collection you saw / CD you bought?

The last book I read was Diane Ackerman’s book called The Zookeeper’s Wife. It dealt with what happened to the Warsaw Zoo in terms of the zookeeper’s family and how they helped smuggle out and protect Jews and Polish intellectuals, the slaughter and theft of animals, and the day-to-day life after the Nazis invaded Poland. It’s quite a book.

Being involved extensively with international cardiology means attending many meetings around the world, and I have traveled to many countries where I have had the opportunity to visit a number of art museums. I particularly enjoyed French impressionism. I guess my favorites are the museums in Paris, but the British Art Museum is great, too. I enjoy our own National Gallery at Washington, D.C., and I love the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Chicago Art Institute.

As for CDs, I must confess that the only time I am likely to buy one is on the way out of a Broadway musical if there was a wonderful performance by the cast. I listen to classical music on the radio, and I also like jazz.

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

That’s a difficult question to answer because I have admired a number of persons over the years who championed the cause of the underdog or the disadvantaged and persecuted, often at great risk to their own lives. I guess if you pin me down, among those alive today, I would choose Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader who got the Nobel Peace Prize several years ago. She has chosen to live under house arrest in her country for over a dozen years rather than accepting voluntary exile, and that takes a lot of character.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

It is important to take the time and effort to acknowledge and encourage people for the things they are doing or attempting to do. I like to think I changed my behavior in that respect after hearing that advice, and hope I have been at least somewhat successful.

Who do you consider a mentor?

The first was Louis Dexter, MD, in whose laboratory at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital I was a research fellow for a little over two years. Lou taught me the importance of looking at the signs and symptoms of cardiac disease in terms of their pathiophysiologic basis, rather than memorizing what happens in a given disease state. He also trained me on how to do cardiac catheterizations.

The second person was Julius Comroe, MD, who invited me to join the senior staff of our Cardiovascular Research Institute at UCSF in 1958, and who in the subsequent 25 years was always there to help guide me in my work and help me obtain funding for my studies. He was an amazing investigator, educator and a fine human being.

What kind of diet and exercise regime do you have?

I do normal things like avoiding food with high total and saturated fats. I have always thought it important to be on the lean side of one’s weight and not to have an excessive caloric intake. We have fish once a week or so, chicken, an occasional lean steak and some pasta. We also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I must confess that I have not been an exercise buff over the years, but the most important exercise could be just pushing away from the dinner table.

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

It is safe to say the biggest influence is likely to come from the field of genomics and genetics, particularly pharmacogenetics. We will see an era where we will clearly identify many genetic alleles that will govern how a patient responds to a specific drug, and we may even expect drugs that may be tailored to a patient’s specific needs depending on the genetic make-up of that patient.

What is your favorite travel destination?

Probably New York City, because there is so much one can enjoy there, from the Broadway theaters to museums and restaurants, and so many interesting places to visit from the Battery to Harlem.

What is your favorite restaurant?

I would have to say that the single most memorable dinner my wife and I had was in the Café de Paris in Monaco 20 years or so ago. From the ambience to the presentation to the gourmet dinner, nothing has ever surpassed that experience. We are actually afraid of going back because the experience would have to be a disappointment. It was truly unique.