Marco Mercader, MD, Recognized for Excellence in Cardiology

    WASHINGTON, DC, July 20, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marco Mercader, Associate Professor of The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, has been recognized for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in cardiology.

Dr. Mercader has two decades of experience in the field of cardiovascular medicine. As associate professor of The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, he has given lectures to many of the students, residents and fellows of the university. He mentors cardiology fellows and helps them improve their skills in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, pacemaker and defibrillator placements and follow up, as well as electrophysiology studies and catheter ablations. Dr. Mercader also acts as is director of the clinical cardiology and electrocardiogram electives for The George Washington University School of Medicine.

As director of arrhythmia research for the hospital's cardiology division, Dr. Mercader has been at the forefront of atrial fibrillation research. He is one of the chief developers of a real-time lesion visualization monitoring tool to be used during cardiac ablation procedures. This device, which could radically improve the speed and outcome of procedures, will be used to ensure cardiologists are effectively treating the right parts of the patient's heart. His research findings have been presented at national and international conferences, including American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, Heart Rhythm Society and Cardiostim.

Going above and beyond his duties, Dr. Mercader has found success through hard work, persistence, passion for the medical field, being a good teacher, and understanding the fundamentals of research. He has has written numerous abstracts, peer-reviewed papers and books in the field of cardiology. His most recent research project involves stimulation of a specific region of the heart that slows down the heart rate of atrial fibrillation and was the first prize winner of The George Washington University Office of Technology Transfer's Innovation Competition in 2014. Also involved in community service, Dr. Mercader has participated in and raised funds for a medical mission to a remote area in Comayagua, Honduras, providing a free two-week heart clinic to identify and treat patients in need of pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators. The only medical mission to address these acute cardiac needs in Honduras, the brigade has evaluated more than 400 patients and implanted more than 130 heart pacemakers and defibrillators since it began. Up to now, the GW Heart and Vascular Institute has collected more than $500,000 in donated pacemakers and implantable defibrillators from the medical device industry.

Dr. Mercader is also an inventor and currently has six patent applications with his research collaborators. He is the first named inventor of a recently awarded patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office on 'Systems and Methods for Visualizing Ablated Tissue.' He is also the lead cardiologist for a startup medical device company, LuxCath LLC. The company had their first national exhibit at the 2015 Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Sessions.

Dr. Mercader is an elected Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and of the Heart Rhythm Society. He graduated magna cum laude from the Biomedical Engineering program at Syracuse University in the top 5% of his class. He went to the State University of New York for his medical school training where he received the distinguished American Federation for Clinical Research Award. He has completed his internship, residency, cardiology and electrophysiology fellowships at George Washington University. Recognized for excellence in cardiologic medicine, he was recently inducted into Worldwide Registry. Additionally, he is a member of the Heart Rhythm Society, the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the Pan-American Medical Association.

In 2012, Dr. Mercader was selected to Washingtonian Top Doctors. US News and World Report named him in the Top 10 Percent of Doctors. He was also named as one of the Most Compassionate Doctors in the DC Area, as well as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor. An outstanding medical educator, he has been frequently nominated for teacher of the year awards and his elective has been recognized as one of the top five electives of the medical school. He has also given lectures at national and international meetings.

For more information about The George Washington University Hospital School of Medicine and Health Sciences, please visit http://smhs.gwu.edu.

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