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A Conversation with E. Murat Tuzcu, MD
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In this issue, Dr. Bhatt poses five questions to E. Murat Tuzcu, MD, professor of medicine and vice-chairman at the department of cardiology in the Sydell and Arnold Heart & Vascular Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, and an interventional cardiologist at the Clinic.
Tuzcu received his medical degree from Istanbul Medical Faculty in Turkey, where he also completed his internship and residency in internal medicine. He was awarded fellowships by Cleveland Clinic in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology and was eventually appointed to the Cleveland Clinic as a staff member in 1992.
Tuzcu’s clinical interests span a wide range of areas in interventional cardiology, from percutaneous treatment of CAD and adult congenital heart defects to the emerging field of transcatheter aortic valve replacement. He maintains an active involvement in the training of young cardiologists and, through his work at the International Center at the Clinic, has contributed to the medical education of doctors from all over the world.
Deepak L. Bhatt
E. Murat Tuzcu
What are your hobbies outside of practicing medicine?
Dr. Tuzcu: I read a lot of books about history and politics, particularly pertaining to Europe and the Middle East. I am a classical music fan. I write a weekly health column in Milliyet, a major daily newspaper published in Turkey. I also try to find time to run or bicycle maybe not every day, but at least 4 or 5 days a week.
Who has had the greatest influence on your career?
Dr. Tuzcu: That would be Umit Aker, MD. Dr. Aker was trained in the 1950s at the Washington University in St Louis. In the 1960s, he established the invasive cardiology services at the Istanbul Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Center. During my medical school years, I worked at that center on weekends and nights. By that time, Dr. Aker was back in St. Louis, but his work, including the systems and processes he put in place, staff he trained and the library he established, left a legacy that was felt every day. Also, the stories I heard from his colleagues and patients about him impressed me profoundly.
What was the defining moment that led you to your field?
Dr. Tuzcu: When I was in medical school, I started to work and volunteer at the cardiothoracic center mentioned earlier, which, at that time, was the most prominent center for heart disease in Turkey. After a while, I became a fixture at the hospital and spent most of my spare time there — weekends, nights, summer vacations. During those years, I thought I was going to be a cardiac surgeon because, in the 1970s, cardiac surgery was big and moving forward. However, I learned about the developing field of invasive cardiology and interesting catheterization techniques and saw the tremendous potential. Hence, the seeds of interventional cardiology were planted.
What advice would you offer a student in medical school today?
Dr. Tuzcu: The fundamentals are critically important, as is a wide and deep knowledge base. At any age and in any country, being a good doctor will always be extremely valuable no matter what your specialty is. Even if you are not going to be an academician, without a working understanding of scientific methodology and having some familiarity with scientific research, you will have a very difficult time being a good doctor. Additionally, I would also say well-rounded individuals are best suited for the profession of medicine.
What’s up next for you?
Dr. Tuzcu: I’m going to continue my research activities with transcatheter valve therapies. Although we have made much progress in this field, there are a lot of things we have to do to move the field forward. The devices and techniques still have a long way to go before transcatheter therapeutics become an alternative to surgery for large patient populations with aortic and mitral valve disease.
Along those lines, I have and will continue to be actively involved in a new way of keeping track of the procedures, which is the new multiparty initiative of the TVT Registry. In this registry, cardiac surgeons from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and cardiologists from the American College of Cardiology are working together with the FDA and CMS and many other stakeholders to develop a tool to gather all the transcatheter valve procedures performed. This will allow us to assess the quality and outcome data and show our weaknesses. We will have a valuable tool to improve and expand the utilization of not only the currently available transcatheter device (Sapien, Edwards Lifesciences), but also the upcoming devices. The TVT Registry, which started to enroll patients who underwent TAVR, is actually a new platform that can be used as a model for other tools, devices and therapies not only in cardiology, but also in other disciplines of medicine.
Disclosure: Tuzcu is a non-paid member of the executive committee of the PARTNER trial; he reports no relevant financial disclosures.