Director, Division of Cardiac Intervention
Co-Director of Cardiovascular Interventional Laboratories

Kirk Garratt, MD, MSc

Director, Clinical Research

Gary Giangola, MD

Director, Vascular Surgery

Richard Green, MD

Harvey S. Hecht, MD

Dr. Hecht is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in cardiac imaging and preventive cardiology.  After achieving acclaim as a leader in the fields of nuclear cardiology and stress echocardiography, Dr. Hecht established and directed successful Electron Beam Tomography screening centers in Phoenix and New Jersey, emphasizing physician referrals, and patient interaction and education. He has pioneered the development of noninvasive coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and is the driving force behind CTA guided percutaneous coronary intervention and the relationship between CTA and intravascular ultrasound.

Dr. Hecht's academic appointments have included Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Assistant Professor at UCLA, Associate Professor at the University of Southern California and University of California, San Francisco, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He served as Director of Cardiac Imaging at the San Francisco Heart Institute, followed by roles as Director of Electron Beam Tomography, Cardiac Imaging and Preventive Cardiology at the Arizona Heart Institute and Chairman, Department of Medicine at the Arizona Heart Hospital. He was Director of Electron Beam Tomography and Preventive Cardiology at the Heart & Vascular Institute in Morristown, NJ, the Princeton Longevity Center, and Beth Israel Medical Center, prior to his current position as Director of Cardiovascular CT at Lenox Hill.

Sriram Iyer, MD

Dr. Iyer, a nationally and internationally recognized interventional cardiologist, came to Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1997. In addition to coronary interventions, his expertise and focus extends to peripheral vascular interventions. Dr. Iyer is also well known for his pioneering work and original contributions in the development, research and practice of percutaneous interventional techniques for treatment of extracranial carotid artery disease. He was the National PI of two large multi-center carotid stent trials and co-investigator in several other device trials. A gifted teacher, he has been a principal organizer of Lenox Hill Hospital's Continuing Medical Education conferences and is recognized by the American College of Cardiology as a preceptor for training physicians in peripheral vascular interventions under the Foundation for Advanced Medical Education (FAME).

Manish A. Parikh, MD

Dr. Manish A. Parikh spent tens years at the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Medical College of Cornell University where he performed nearly 5,000 complex coronary interventions with one of the lowest complication rates in New York State. He has been nominated to the Best Doctors in America for the last several years, and has won numerous local and clinical awards. His former titles include Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program at the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Dr. Parikh enjoys a national and international reputation for excellence and expertise in clinical interventional cardiology, medical education, and scientific innovation. He has lectured extensively on complex coronary intervention throughout the US, Europe and India, and has dedicated his career to clinical education for trainees in cardiovascular medicine. He has directed the development of the Interventional Fellows Institute, a unique and comprehensive electronic core-curriculum (virtual textbook) currently used by nearly all 126 ACGME accredited interventional cardiology fellowship programs in the United States and available to practicing physicians worldwide. Also a biomedical/electrical engineer, Dr. Parikh has collaborated in the development of several new interventional devices and technologies, and has championed the use of medical simulation to train and strengthen procedural skills for physicians in training and practice.

Joseph Puma, DO

Dr. Puma is a Board certified Interventional Cardiologist whose clinical interests include complex coronary intervention, Intravascular Ultrasound & Virtual Histology, chronic total occlusion angioplasty, and endovascular intervention. His research has focused on clinical trials in Acute Coronary Syndromes & adjunctive pharmacotherapy during percutaneous intervention, and outcomes research comparing treatment strategies in patients with coronary artery disease.

Prior to joining Lenox Hill, Dr. Puma was Chief, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at New York Methodist Hospital-Cornell Heart Center. He previously served on the faculty of Duke University Medical Center from 1991 to 2003, and continues to hold the rank of Associate Consulting Professor of Medicine. Dr. Puma is a graduate of New York College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury, New York and completed his residency and fellowship at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.

Robert J. Rosen, MD

Dr. Rosen is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of interventional radiology and endovascular surgery, having pioneered several techniques and medical devices now in common use. After completing his fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 1980, he was recruited to establish the Division of Interventional Radiology at New York University Medical Center, where he remained for 25 years, performing over 70,000 interventional and endovascular procedures and training 45 fellows. In April 2005, Dr. Rosen joined the newly formed multidisciplinary cardiovascular group at Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute in New York, where he continues to treat patients, train fellows, and conduct clinical research.

Dr. Rosen is best known for his original work in the management of children and adults with congenital vascular malformations. He has also developed techniques and instrumentation for the treatment of patients with aortic aneurysms, atherosclerosis, and hepatic tumors.

Gary Roubin, MD, PhD

Dr. Roubin is an internationally renowned interventional cardiologist recognized for his groundbreaking work in the development of the first FDA-approved coronary stent, as well as for pioneering the techniques of carotid stenting and embolic protection devices. Dr. Roubin is currently at Lenox Hill Hospital, where he has been chairman of the Department of Interventional Cardiology and director of the Cardiovascular Interventional Suites since 2004. He has in recent years committed himself to establishing a new paradigm in cardiovascular care where the full integration and cooperation of interventional cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and radiologists will give rise to further innovations and excellence in patient treatment and care. 

Carlos E. Ruiz, MD, PhD

Professor of medicine and pediatrics at University of Illinois at Chicago, Dr. Ruiz recently stepped down as chief of pediatric cardiology to become director of the Structural and Congenital Heart Disease program of the Department of Interventional Cardiology at Lenox Hill Hospital of New York. He is an internationally renowned interventional cardiologist recognized for his pioneering work in the field of interventions for structural heart disease and congenital heart disease.

Dr. Ruiz is an accomplished clinician, educator, and researcher who has published over 150 articles on the subject of interventional cardiology, including interventions in coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and structural and congenital heart disease. He is a coeditor of several interventional cardiology books and numerous book chapters. He is one of the pioneers of the double-balloon mitral and aortic valvuloplasty technique and has been a pioneer in the emerging field of percutaneous cardiac valve implantations.

Daniel E. Soffer, MD

Dr. Soffer returned to Lenox Hill Hospital in 2004 to join his mentor, Dr. Gary Roubin and his interventional team after a two year tenure in North Carolina where he stamped his expertise in cardiac, carotid and peripheral interventions. Dr Soffer trained at the world renowned William Beaumont Hospital with Drs. William O'Neill, Cindy Grines and Robert Safian. He completed his residency and his cardiology fellowship programs at Lenox Hill Hospital and he is currently board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology.

Dr. Soffer brought with him extensive experience in primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction from Michigan and North Carolina where his program was the regional center for a tri-state area. In Michigan, Dr. Soffer participated in the first TandemHeart®, a percutaneous left ventricular assist device, performed in the United States. In North Carolina, he assembled a team of vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists to create a successful carotid stent program and he was one of the first physicians in the country to use a new atherectomy device, (SilverHawk made by Fox Hollow), in patients with lower extremity claudication and critical limb ischemia.

Valavanur Subramanian, MD

In 1987, Dr. Subramanian joined Lenox Hill Hospital, where he served as the director of the Department of Surgery and is now the chairman of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department. Dr. Subramanian is widely recognized in the United States and abroad as a distinguished academician for his pioneering work in advancing cardiac surgery. He is the originator of the percutaneous intraaortic balloon pump used as a temporary heart-assist device, which has saved over a million heart attack victims. He also co-developed an artificial heart at the University Hospital of Minnesota and The New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center. Dr. Subramanian worked on several intensive research projects with Dr. CW Lillehei, pioneer and father of open heart surgery. Since 1995, he has been developing various innovative techniques for minimally invasive (MIDCAB) and beating-heart coronary bypass surgery. Most recently, Dr. Subramanian and his colleagues started developing robotic heart surgery.

Jiri Vitek, MD, PhD

Dr. Vitek is an internationally renowned neuroradiologist and chief of neuro-vascular intervention in the department of interventional cardiac and vascular services. A neuroradiologist with special expertise in angiography and interventional procedures, Dr. Vitek was a professor of radiology, neurosurgery and neurology at University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham until 1997, when he relocated his practice to Lenox Hill Hospital.

A graduate of Charles University School of Medicine in the Czech Republic, Dr. Vitek practiced neurology and neurosurgery, and in 1976 became board certified in radiology. Dr. Vitek has published extensively in peer-reviewed national and international journals and has been invited as a lecturer to multiple national and international congresses and courses. Dr. Vitek is a member of multiple national and international radiological and neuroradiological societies.

James R. Wilentz, MD

Dr. Wilentz re-joined the Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute in 2006. He graduated AOA from the NYU School of Medicine after receiving his BA in English from Columbia University. After his medicine residency at the Brigham and cardiology fellowship at Boston City, he did his Interventional fellowship with Dr. Gruentzig, and in 1986 became Associate Chief of the Cath Lab at Lenox Hill. From 1993 through 2006 he directed the Interventional Cardiology Labs at Continuum Heart’s Beth Israel and St. Luke's Roosevelt.

He is a Fellow of the American Heart Association's Council on Clinical Cardiology, the American College of Cardiology and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention. His research in the animal lab produced original understanding of the interaction of blood platelets and the vessel wall during angioplasty. He is an author of book chapters and original articles on carotid and subclavian stenting, and has been an investigator in clinical trials from the first TIMI trial of tPA to recent device development trials in carotid stenting with protection, coronary stenting, closure for PFO, hybrid revascularization, cutting balloons and peripheral vascular atherectomy.