Image courtesy of El Camino Health
June 13, 2024 — Frederick St. Goar, MD, medical director at the Norma Melchor Heart & Vascular Institute, was distinguished with the Andreas Grüntzig Ethica Award, the highest global honor in interventional cardiology. Dr. St. Goar received the recognition during a special ceremony in Paris, France, along with esteemed cardiothoracic surgeon, Professor Ottavio Alfieri of San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy. The Ethica Award is presented every year to outstanding colleagues for their achievements and contributions to the cardiovascular field. Andreas Grüntzig was a German cardiologist best known for being the first to develop successful balloon angioplasty for expanding lumens of narrowed arteries.
“Andreas Grüntzig was a pioneer in the field, so I’m grateful and honored to receive the Ethica Award,” said Dr. St. Goar. “It’s a celebration of the amazing innovation that has occurred in structural heart disease therapy over the last 20 years and I’m proud to be part of it. Improving patient care and outcomes is what drives my commitment to helping find new solutions in the field. It is also a celebration of the value of remarkable teamwork, as this progress has occurred only because of the close collaboration between the interventional cardiology and cardiothoracic communities, as well as major contributions from nursing and industry clinical support teams.”
In addition to being locally trusted for improving patient outcomes through his medical practice at El Camino Health, Dr. St. Goar is internationally recognized for remarkable career achievements which include the development of the MitraClip, a medical innovation used worldwide to reduce mitral regurgitation, a common heart condition that occurs when the mitral valve doesn't close properly. He also played a key role in developing intravascular ultrasound, as well as the U.S. standard-of-care for managing postpartum hemorrhage, the JADA System.
El Camino Health takes great pride in implementing a higher standard of care for patients. In 2024, the Heart & Vascular Institute was recognized as the fourth best heart-focused program in California and one of America’s 100 Best for Cardiac Care for the fourth year in a row by Healthgrades, an independent evaluator of clinical quality for hospitals.
For more information: www.elcaminohealth.org
October 23, 2024 
