N.A. Mark Estes, MD, Chosen to Present Prestigious Laennec Lecture at American Heart Association Scientific Sessions

N. A. Mark Estes, MD, FACC, FHRS, FAHA, program director of the EP fellowship of the UPMC Cardiac Electrophysiology Program, was selected by the American Heart Association’s Council on Clinical Cardiology (CLCD) to present the 2021 Laennec Lecture during the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions. This year’s sessions took place from Nov. 13-15. 

Established in 1970 by the Laennec Society, a section of the CLCD, the Laennec Lecture is presented annually at the sessions, which attract thousands of professional attendees from all over the world. Dr. Estes’ chosen topic for the lecture, “Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathies: Four Decades of Progress,” is one he is expertly suited to deliver given his contributions and achievements in the field of cardiac electrophysiology over the course of his career. 

Shaping the Field of Cardiac Electrophysiology

Dr. Estes, who also serves as professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and program director of the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship at UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute, has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts published in high-impact medical journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association. He is a world-renowned cardiac electrophysiologist, a master clinician, and a mentor to generations of cardiac arrhythmia specialists who trained under him. 

Throughout his career, Dr. Estes has been deeply involved with the American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC), Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), and European Cardiac Arrhythmia Society. He formerly served as Chairman of the CLCD. He has the distinction of winning the American Heart Association Distinguished Achievement Award, Distinguished Leadership Award, and the Paul Dudley White Award. He served as president of the Heart Rhythm Society from 2008-2009. He also served as the chair of the American Heart Association’s (2017-2021) Scientific Publishing Committee overseeing publication of the 12 journals in the AHA’s portfolio including Circulation, Circulation Research, and Stroke.

Dr. Estes has co-authored dozens of guideline and consensus statement manuscripts, an accomplishment that highlights his considerable influence in shaping the clinical practice of cardiac electrophysiology over the past four decades. Recently, alongside international cardiovascular experts, Dr. Estes co-authored updated guidelines on treating patients with supraventricular tachycardia and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM).

Dr. Estes co-authored a 2020 update by the AHA and ACC on clinical performance and quality measures for adults with atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. Performance measure sets defined by these scientific societies “serve as vehicles to accelerate translation of scientific evidence into clinical practice” and provide cardiologists with tools to measure quality of care. 

Additionally, Dr. Estes served on the HRS writing committee that published a 2019 international consensus statement on evaluation, risk stratification, and management of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. This statement – which experts from 12 professional societies including the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), and the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) collaborated to produce – provides guidance to health care professionals treating patients with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) based on an extensive literature review and expert clinical experience in the field.  

Decades of Expertise and Experience in Cardiac Electrophysiology

As an international leader in the treatment of conditions affecting the heart’s electrical activity, Dr. Estes provides world-class consultations, second opinions, diagnosis, and treatment for cardiac electrophysiology conditions. Under the leadership of Samir Saba, MD, co-director of the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute and chief of Cardiology, and Sandeep Jain, MD, director of Cardiac Electrophysiology, the UPMC Cardiac Electrophysiology Program offers convenient access to innovative electrophysiology laboratories and equipment, which includes advanced imaging capabilities for complex catheter ablations, intracardiac monitoring and recording, and 32-and 192-lead body surface mapping equipment. 

Before joining UPMC in 2018, Dr. Estes was the longtime director of the New England Cardiac Center in Boston. He received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1977 where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, before moving to Boston where he completed his internal medicine residency at the then New England Deaconess Hospital, now Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Estes then completed his training in cardiovascular diseases at Tufts-New England Medical Center, followed by a year of training focused on the then-nascent field of cardiac electrophysiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1983, Dr. Estes was recruited to Tufts-New England Medical Center (now the Tufts Medical Center) to establish an arrhythmia management service. Within a short time, Dr. Estes established the New England Arrhythmia Center (NEAC). Under his leadership, the NEAC achieved a leading stature in the Boston area and nationwide recognition for its impeccable quality of care.

For more information or to refer a patient with Dr. Estes, please call 412-770-4949.