Father of Modern Cardiology, Dr Eugene Braunwald, Passes Away at 96

Washington DC: Dr. Eugene Braunwald, a legendary cardiologist, passed away on April 22, 2026, at the age of 96. Recognised for his groundbreaking work in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and other specialities, he transformed the understanding of heart disease over a career spanning more than seven decades.

Dr Braunwald, a long-time member of the ACC and scholar, leader and mentor, has often been referred to as the father of modern cardiology. 

Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1929, he left Austria as a child during the Nazi occupation and immigrated to the U.S. as a refugee, an experience he later described as formative in shaping his outlook and work ethic.

He received both his undergraduate and medical degrees from New York University and completed his internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Braunwald went on to serve as Chief of Cardiology and Clinical Director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and served as founding Chair of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego; Chair of the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA; and Distinguished Hersey Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. 

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It was Braunwald's, along with his longtime collaborator Andrew Morrow, MD's, 213-page 1964 Circulation monograph that first described HCM as a unique clinical entity. In a 2021 Cardiology magazine article, Martin S. Maron, MD, described the two men as "like Lewis and Clark – they had no idea what was around the next corner, without any cardiovascular imaging to guide them, and they were able to put all the pieces together about this complex disease in a way that still stands true today."

Braunwald went on to found the Thrombolysis in MI (TIMI) Study group in 1984, revolutionizing large-scale cardiovascular clinical trials. He was the founding editor of Braunwald's Heart Disease and long-time editor of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, shaping medical education worldwide. He also authored more than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications, becoming one of the most highly cited cardiologists in history.

Former JACC Editor-in-Chief Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, MACC, reflected on Braunwald's pragmatic nature and keen eye for the future of medicine, which led to some of the most important advancements in cardiovascular disease, including through his work chairing the TIMI Study Group. "Eugene was my very good friend for many decades and was one of the most talented people that I have ever met. He was pragmatic and an observer of everything evolving in medicine. He could predict the future and was right in most situations."

Marc Steven Sabatine, MD, MPH, FACC, chair of the TIMI Study Group, said, "Dr. Braunwald was my treasured mentor and good friend. His vision to create the TIMI Study Group profoundly shaped the practice of cardiovascular medicine across the world. While he touched many lives, we at TIMI were truly blessed to directly work with and learn from him over decades. There could be no greater gift. We will deeply miss him, but gain some comfort in knowing that we will carry forward his legacy and continue his lifelong mission to advance cardiovascular care."

The ACC awarded Braunwald with its Distinguished Scientist and Lifetime Achievement awards, and when ACC asked its members who should receive a Nobel Prize for cardiovascular advancement, Braunwald was one of the top answers.

"He was a legend of all legends: the 'father of modern cardiology,'" said ACC President Roxana Mehran, MD, FACC. "His contributions span decades and his legacy will live on with all of the many lives he touched through his work as a clinician, researcher, mentor, teacher, editor and academic leader/administrator."

In a 2022 interview, Braunwald described the advances in cardiology and medicine he had seen throughout the past 70 years and viewed the future with optimism, saying that he did not believe heart disease would still be the most common cause of death in the U.S. fifty years from now. His contributions to cardiology have built an incredible legacy that pave the way towards making that prediction a reality.

"You always wanted to hear what he had to say," said Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM, MACC, Editor-in-Chief of JACC. "I remember a recent lecture of his on the future of cardiology, still looking ahead, still steering the field. He did what he loved, and he did it his entire life, and we are all the better for it. He will be missed dearly."

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