Sacco, the first neurologist to serve as president of the AHA, died of an advanced brain tumor.
Ralph Sacco, the first neurologist to serve as president of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the AHA’s longtime editor-in-chief, strokedied today from an advanced brain tumor, the AHA announced today. Sacco was 65 years old.
His former mentor and friend, Jay P. Moll (Columbia University, NY, NY), called him a valiant “resistor” to the cancer that claimed his life. “While he had a known brain tumor, he continued to perform at a very high level as the journal’s editor. stroke I am also the director of the Neurology Program at the University of Miami,” Mohr told TCTMD. “Probably because the tumor affected the side of the brain that doesn’t control speech and language, he was able to go through all this activity.”
According to a profile posted on lancet In 2010, Sacco was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, “to a family of two generations of successful restaurateurs.” He earned his first degree in bioelectrical engineering from Cornell University, New York, and his medical degree from Boston University, Massachusetts, where he worked with Philip A. Wolf, M.D., on his Framingham Heart Study. It was through an introduction from Wolf that Sacco came to study with Mohr. He holds a residency in neurology and a master’s degree in epidemiology from Columbia University.
“Phil Wolfe and I were his foster parents, I think,” Mohr said. “When Ralph came to New York, he started as an intern. [St. Luke’s] Mr. Roosevelt, I got a call from Phil. “I have someone to send to you. I think you will be pleased.”
At the time of his death, Sacco was professor and chairman of neurology at the University of Miami, Orenberg, executive director of the McKnight Brain Institute, director of neurology at Jackson Memorial Hospital, and the University of Miami Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences. was the director of
With a long-standing interest in what he called “brain health,” epidemiology, and later genetics and transcription medicine, Sacco was principal investigator of the Northern Manhattan Study funded by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke for 26 years. was a person , Florida He-Puerto Rico Collaboration to Reduce Stroke Disparities, and Family Study of Stroke Risk and Carotid Atherosclerosis. He has also served as a collaborator on several other National Institutes of Health grants.
Mohr singled out the North Manhattan study, calling it “the model for most epidemiological studies in the world.”
Sacco has received numerous accolades throughout his life, including the 2022 Distinguished Scientist, the 2015 Gold Heart Award, the 2011 Distinguished National Leadership Award, and the 2006 William Feinberg Award, according to an AHA statement. . The AHA statement read, “Dr. Sacco’s spouse Scott Dutcher, family and loved ones, and the many patients, colleagues and friends who were fortunate enough to experience his extraordinary love and service to humanity. We extend our deepest condolences to the family,” the AHA statement said.
“The Society is forever grateful that he chose to share his time and extraordinary talent with us. We will continue to honor his memory through the work we do to help people live longer, healthier lives,” said AHA/American Stroke Association CEO Nancy Brown. increase.
Moll also said he “considered himself lucky” to have mentored and collaborated with Sacco over the course of his career. So does the field: What I do wish is that the American Heart Association has the flair to create a foundation in his name that acts as a funding mechanism for future stars like him. , played a role in their development.”
