Former UC Cardiologist to Hold Book Signing March 17

CINCINNATI—Donald Harrison, MD, a local cardiologist and former senior vice president and provost of health affairs at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Academic Health Center, will sign copies of his new book "Mending Broken Hearts: One Cardiologist’s Journey through a Half Century of Discovery and Medical Change" on Tuesday, March 17. 

The event, free and open to the public, will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Stanley J. Lucas, MD, Board Room of the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions, which is located in the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library.

In his memoir, Harrison describes the changes in medicine and cardiology that he has experienced personally and that he has influenced over a career spanning 50 years.

His drive for excellence came from his mother's early, strong hand, although she later rejected his choice of careers. Much of his life's work has been to heal broken hearts, even his own in his relation to his mother.

The significant guidance of Harrison’s parents and teachers as he grew up in Alabama's Appalachian area motivated him to reach for outstanding career achievements. He became one of the most respected and well-known cardiologists in the world, most notably in building a world-class cardiology program at Stanford University.

He then moved to UC here he served as senior vice president and provost for health affairs from 1986-2002 and launched the transformation and expansion of the Academic Health Center.

Highlights of Harrison’s 50-year career include: being the cardiologist for the first heart transplant performed in the United States by his Stanford University colleague and friend, Norman Shumway, MD; performing medical research and training cardiologists at Stanford University and UC; treating royalty with cardiac diseases in the United States and around the world; visiting China and the Soviet Union to treat patients and open diplomatic doors; and developing new drugs and technology for treating patients with heart disease.

Almost half of the book deals with Harrison’s work at UC. Highlights of his UC career include: developing a plan for increasing the national visibility of the Academic Health Center, privatizing University Hospital, creating the Health Alliance, increasing research funding from $30 million to $240 million, doing more than $1 billion in building and renovations, creating new departments, organizing university physicians, and founding the College of Allied Health Sciences.

Mending Broken Hearts is available from Orange Frazier Press. In addition, copies will be available for purchase at the book-signing. For more information, contact (513) 558-5656.