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The Heart Institute can be traced back to 1964 when Dr. James Mason established his private practice in downtown St. Petersburg. Dr. Mason immediately assumed a leadership role in the community. He implanted the first pacemaker, performed the first cardioversion and directed the Bayfront Coronary Care Unit. Dr. Mason began the tradition of technical excellence carried on by the Heart Institute by acquiring the first equipment in the St. Petersburg area to perform electrocardiograms and echocardiograms. In 1978, Dr. Mason recruited Dr. John Hoche from the faculty of Columbia University in New York. Dr. Hoche was previously involved with aerospace medicine during his service in the U.S. Navy. Together, Dr. Mason and Dr. Hoche developed the first nuclear cardiology program in the St. Petersburg area. As demand of the programs grew, Dr. Dean Bramlet was recruited from Duke University. Dr. Jeffrey Witt came to the Heart Institute from a multi-specialty clinic and later became a senior partner of the Institute. Dr. Bramlet and Dr. Witt introduced balloon angioplasty, forming the first coronary intervention program for St. Petersburg area patients. Dr. Michael McIvor was recruited from Johns Hopkins Hospital because of his expertise in advanced interventions. Dr. Andrew Rosenthal came to the Institute from the University of Pennsylvania, then Dr. John Walsh from the University of South Florida, both of whom were added to the interventional team of the Heart Institute. Dr. Robert Sheppard was recruited in 1995 from the faculty of Hahnemann University in Philadelphia and became the first board- certified electrophysiologist in our medical community. To bolster our cardiac imaging services, Dr. James Post joined the Heart Institute from the University of Pennsylvania. Most recently, Dr. Peter Wassmer joined us from the Ochsner Clinic. Also from Ochsner is Dr. Reynaldo Mulingtapang, who has begun our successful peripheral vascular disease program. From Dr. Mason's solo practice in 1964, the Heart Institute of St. Petersburg has grown to a comprehensive resource for cardiovascular services with over 50 employees in office locations serving the entire St. Petersburg and surrounding areas. We have remained an organization that continually challenges itself to find new and better ways to treat patients. Through our 35 years, we have achieved a number of milestones for the community. The Heart & Vascular Institute of Florida looks back with pride on its history of growth and accomplishments. With our specialized programs in prevention, heart failure, interventions and research, we are confident that our patients are experiencing the highest standard of care available for their heart disease. Although we are proud of our accomplishments, we cannot be completely satisfied with what we have done. As an organization that thrives on learning, we embrace the exciting future that lies ahead for medical technology and the Heart Institute http://www.hvif.com/default2.asp http://www.hvif.com/aboutclinresrch.asp http://www.hvif.com/history.asp http://www.hvif.com/nuclear.asp http://www.hvif.com/replacement.asp http://www.hvif.com/saechocardio.asp http://www.hvif.com/wassmer.asp
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