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Peter Libby, MD, says shifting demographics will shape the future of cardiology
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An avid admirer of classical music and French literature, Peter Libby, MD, is also responsible for landmark research in inflammation and atherosclerosis.
Libby received his undergraduate degree at Berkeley and his MD from the University of California San Diego in 1973. He also holds honorary degrees from Harvard and Lille University. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital/Harvard Medical School in 1976, and completed fellowships at Harvard Medical School and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. Libby’s chief clinical interests include general and preventive cardiology.
Libby is the Mallinckrodt Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and serves as chief of cardiovascular medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He has served as a consultant to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and has served on numerous research councils at the American Heart Association.
In addition to his numerous original research articles, Libby writes on atherosclerosis in Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine and is editor-in-chief of Braunwald’s Heart Disease.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not practicing medicine?
I enjoy spending time with my wife, Beryl Benacerraf, MD. I also enjoy listening to music.
If you had not gone into cardiology or medicine, what would you have done?
I cannot imagine doing anything other than medicine, although I could imagine doing other things in medicine other than cardiology. I was trained for laboratory research, but I also find the translational work that I do very gratifying.
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The Mallinckrodt Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. |
What would you consider one of your biggest successes in your specialty?
I have derived great satisfaction from shepherding the concept of inflammation in atherosclerosis from the basic laboratory through experimental animals and ultimately seeing it take wing in the clinic as a practically useful concept. Our lab conceived and has substantiated molecular mechanisms of arteriosclerosis plaque disruption. We proposed the prevailing pathogenic pathway of accelerated ateriorsclerosis in transplanted hearts. Inflammation has been my major research focus for over a quarter century.
What is the last book you read / art collection you saw / CD you bought? Why, and what did you think of it?
I like to devour historical novels when I have the time. I prefer to read in French to make it more escapist. I am now reading Alexander Dumas’ “The Queen’s Necklace.” I attended a Tintoretto exposition at The Prado last year. I also savor big boxed collections of classical music. I recently purchased a box set of 100 symphony CDs. I have so far listened to 55 of them. I recently loaded my CD jukebox with another 30 discs from Mendelssohn through Mahler.
Who do you most admire, and what would you ask if you had five minutes with that person?
I do have heroes who I think have contributed to Western culture. I worship the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, but across the centuries, I think that there probably would not be that much of a connection between an 18th century devout Lutheran and a 21st century cardiologist, aside from the art. If we were to have that imaginary interview, it might disappoint both of us. I worship heroes like Bach, but I would not expect the hero in the flesh to speak to me in the same way their creations do.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
I was coaxed by Eugene Braunwald, MD, when I was a medical student to keep your eyes on the moving target. I have spent the rest of my medical career trying to hit that moving target.
Who do you consider a mentor?
Braunwald has been my mentor since 1969, and I still learn from every encounter I have with him - and they are frequent.
What kind of diet and exercise regime do you have?
I enjoy and try to adhere to a Mediterranean diet. Over the years, I have shied away from red meat. I start my weekdays with indoor cycling while poring over the newspapers to the accompaniment of those large CD collections. I have found that at my stage in life, cross training is very important. So in addition to my addiction to aerobics, I have a personal trainer to supervise strength, balance and flexibility training several times per week. I do 10K and 12K runs for fun, as well as half marathons, having completed three this year. The races give me goals to train for during the year.
What do you think will have the biggest influence on cardiology in the next 10 years?
Demographics on both sides of the age spectrum will have a big influence. We will be seeing an accumulation of the elderly, and that will become an increasingly important part of our practice as we become better at stemming early CVD. I am also very concerned on the other end of the spectrum that we are going to see an epidemic of CVD in younger people because of the obesity–physical inactivity–diabetes nexus and the attendant CV burden that I fear will follow if the society does not turn the course. We as physicians have a responsibility not only to care for our patients but also to use our position as community leaders to bring about societal changes that will lead to a healthier environment. Examples would include lobbying to get high-sugar drinks out of high schools and diets and dietary education in the public school curricula and cafeterias, along with lobbying for bicycle paths in communities so that physical activity can reintegrate into daily life. Each of us should do our part to effect societal change and improve public health. We tend to communicate poorly to the public as a profession. That is why I have devoted efforts to projects like instigating and advising David Grubin’s three-part Public Television series, “The Mysterious Human Heart,” that recently won an Emmy, and blogging for The New York Times.
What is your favorite travel destination?
Unfortunately, most of us who are in academic cardiology spend all too much time on the road. It becomes an obligation for us, so a weekend at home with my wife is absolutely precious.
What is your favorite restaurant?
We live in a downscaled gentrified area known as Jamaica Plain that is abounding with ethnic restaurants; on Sunday nights, you will likely find us at one of these restaurants with nonmedical friends.