General Info

Mario J. Garcia, MD, is an internationally known leader in the development and clinical advancement of cardiac diagnostic technology, including cardiac CAT, echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. His pioneering work with CAT coronary angiography, a noninvasive technology that has revolutionized the diagnosis of coronary artery disease, has led to establishing a new standard of care. Cardiac CAT can detect the smallest atherosclerotic plaques that can cause narrowing of the coronary vessels and lead to heart attacks.As a practicing cardiologist and professor of medicine and radiology, Dr. Garcia continues to make significant research and clinical advancements to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with diastolic heart failure, cardiomyopathies and valvular heart disease. Dr. Garcia is board-certified in cardiovascular medicine, internal medicine and echocardiography.In addition to his global research, Dr. Garcia has an intense interest in the clinical heart problems that directly affect patients in the tri-state area, especially in the Bronx, which has an extremely high prevalence of heart disease risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis and hypertension."We are facing a new paradigm in healthcare today," says Dr. Garcia. "We see an explosion of risk factors for heart disease, coupled with a demand to practice evidence-based medicine and to lower costs. The Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care has forged an intelligent, model solution to combat this enormous challenge by offering comprehensive care to patients in prevention, noninvasive diagnostic imaging, interventional medicine, electrophysiology, cardiovascular surgery and clinical research. My goal as co-director is continuously to set new standards for technology, diagnosis and treatment for heart patients in the metropolitan New York area."Over the past two decades, Dr. Garcia has been awarded? href="http://www.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">National Institutes of Health,? href="http://www.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">National Aeronautics and Space Administration?d industry funding to explore novel, noninvasive methods that improve our ability to evaluate the cardiovascular system. These methods have been used to study humans in the hospital environment, on manned space flights and on the battlefield through telemedicine.Dr. Garcia was Director of Echocardiography and Director of Cardiovascular Imaging at the Cleveland Clinic from 2000 to 2006. He subsequently joined Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York as Director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Institute and Professor of Medicine and Radiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.Dr. Garcia graduated with a doctorate in medicine from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Ure??n Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He completed his postgraduate education in internal medicine, cardiology and cardiac imaging at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School, and the Cleveland Clinic. He is fluent in Spanish and English. Dr. Garcia has authored several medical textbooks and penned over 160 peer-reviewed journal articles. He sits on the boards of directors of several prestigious professional societies as well as national and international scientific committees.