Specialty: Interventional Cardiology
Board Certifications: Diplomate, American Board Of Internal Medicine; Diplomate, American Board Of Cardiology; Diplomate, National Board Of Medical Examiners
Residency: Long Island Jewish Medical Center
Fellowship: Maimonides Medical Center – Cardiology And Interventional Cardiology
Hospital Affiliation: Delray Medical Center
There was a time when patients would want a second opinion from their doctor back home in New York, Boston or another city in the Northeast. Now, it’s often the other way around, says Eric H. Lieberman, M.D., FACC, who is board certified in cardiology and one of six highly skilled and experienced cardiology specialists at the South Florida Heart Institute in Delray Beach.
“The patients here in South Florida have come to understand that the care they can get elsewhere is readily available in their own community,” says Dr. Lieberman, who trained at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School and is Vice Chief of Staff at Delray Medical Center and National Medical Director of Cardiology for Tenet Health. “This is incredibly important, especially when it comes to cardiology, you don’t always have the luxury of time.”
Lieberman, along with Mark Fisher, M.D., FACC; Jonathan J. Vafai, M.D., FACC, FASE; and Arthur P. Weiner, M.D., FACC, all received their training in the northeast but chose to make South Florida their home. In fact, Drs. Fisher and Weiner trained together at Long Island Jewish Hospital and Maimonides Medical Center and were the founding members of the practice in 1991. Dr. Lieberman joined them 22 years ago and Dr. Vafai has been with the practice for a decade.
“We work in an academic model, constantly interacting with each other so that we benefit from each other’s knowledge, rather than just one person caring for one patient at a time,” says Dr. Lieberman. “As a result, every patient gets a second opinion that is built in.”
They see patients with both routine and complex cases of heart disease and heart conditions including heart failure, angina, arrhythmias, hypertension, congenital heart disease and aortic disease, among others.
Because of their long-standing relationship, there is a level of communication and collaboration that is not common in other practices.
“That elevates the level of care for our patients,” says Dr. Lieberman, who, with Dr. Vafai, works in the growing field of cardio-oncology. Together, they help patients diagnosed with cancer manage the possible cardiovascular effects of cancer treatments.
“By working closely with patients’ oncologists, we are able to optimize their care,” says Dr. Vafai, who is chief of cardiology at Delray Medical Center. He also is board certified in cardiology, nuclear cardiology, echocardiography and internal medicine. A Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical school and Northwell Health trained noninvasive cardiologist, his interests also include echocardiography, nuclear cardiology and stress testing.
Dr. Fisher, who has 30 years of interventional cardiology experience, specializes in all aspects of cardiovascular disease including the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease. He is the Medical Director of the practice’s nuclear cardiology laboratory. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology.
“The field of interventional cardiology has made significant advances,” says Dr. Lieberman, who, along with his colleagues, is involved in a cardiovascular research program giving patients access to newer therapies.
Arthur P. Weiner, M.D., FACC, an interventional cardiologist, is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease. He specializes in cardiac catheterization and interventional cardiology, cardiac consultation, echocardiograph and nuclear cardiology. Dr. Weiner is able to perform advanced coronary interventions including rotational atherectomy in addition to traditional balloon angioplasty and coronary stenting.
All four also have taken on leadership roles within the medical center in an effort to elevate care and monitor quality of care beyond their cardiology practice.
In addition, the team includes Jonathan Kahan, M.D. and Benjamin Ravaee, M.D., both are board certified in cardiology, echocardiography and internal medicine. The entire team is core faculty of the Florida Atlantic University Fellowship.