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Biographical Sketch
Altagracia Chavez, MD, is a Staff Cardiothoracic Surgeon with the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, practicing at Cleveland Clinic Elyria. Her specialty interest is the surgical treatment of adult acquired heart disease. Dr. Chavez is certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. She holds a Certificate of Added Qualifications in surgical critical care from the American Board of Surgery.
Dr. Chavez did her undergraduate work at the City College of New York and received her medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. During her medical training, she received a citation of honor from the American Medical Women’s Association. Her surgical residency was completed at New York University Medical Center, and she did a two-year clinical and research fellowship at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s Clinic of Surgery at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. She was Resident and Chief Resident in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Cleveland Clinic, which awarded her an additional fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery. Dr. Chavez’s current appointment to Cleveland Clinic as a Staff Cardiothoracic Surgeon was in 1998.
Prior to becoming a Staff Surgeon at Cleveland Clinic, she served as Cardiothoracic Surgeon at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland and at Cleveland Clinic Florida in Ft. Lauderdale.
Dr. Chavez has published chapters in medical books on such subjects as surgical treatment of coronary artery disease, choice of conduits and postoperative autotransfusion. Her published articles in professional journals include those in the American Journal of Pathology, Stroke, the Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery, and Circulation, on topics related to the results of mitral valve reconstruction, elective coronary surgery, and mitral valvuloplasty, a modern alternative, among other articles on her clinical interests.
Dr. Chavez is a Fellow of the American College of Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians. She is a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. She is Chair of the Institutional Review Board at Elyria Memorial Hospital.
Specialty Interests
Surgical treatment of adult acquired heart disease
Industry Relationships
Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists may collaborate with the pharmaceutical or medical device industries to help develop medical breakthroughs or provide medical expertise or education. Cleveland Clinic strives to make scientific advances that will benefit patient care and support outside relationships that promise public benefit. In order for the discoveries of Cleveland Clinic physicians' and scientists' laboratories and investigations to benefit the public, these discoveries must be commercialized in partnership with industry. As experts in their fields, Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists are often sought after by industry to consult, provide expertise and education.
To assure professional and commercial integrity in such matters, Cleveland Clinic maintains a program that reviews these collaborations and, when appropriate, puts measures in place to minimize bias that may result from ties to industry. The Cleveland Clinic publicly discloses the names of companies when (i) its physicians/scientists receive $5,000 or more per year (or, in rare cases, equity or stock options) for speaking and consulting, (ii) its physicians/scientists serve as a fiduciary, (iii) its physicians/scientists
receive or have the right to receive royalties or (iv) its physicians/scientists hold any equity interest for the physician's/scientist's role as inventor, discoverer, developer, founder or consultant.* In publicly disclosing this information, the Cleveland Clinic tries to provide information as accurately as possible about its physicians' and scientists' connections with industry.
As of 5/2/2012, Dr. Chavez has reported no financial relationship with industry that is applicable to this listing. In general, patients should feel free to contact their doctor about any of the relationships and how the relationships are overseen by the Cleveland Clinic. To learn more about the Cleveland Clinic's policies on collaborations with industry and innovation management, go to our Integrity in Innovation page.
Public Health Service-Reportable Financial Conflicts of Interest. Cleveland Clinic scientists and physicians engage in basic, translational and clinical research activities, working to solve health problems, enhance patient care and improve quality of life for patients. Interactions with industry are essential to bringing the researchers’ discoveries to the public, but can present the potential for conflicts of interest related to their research activities. Click here to view a listing of instances where Cleveland Clinic has identified a Public Health Service (PHS)-Reportable Financial Conflict of Interest and has put measures in place to ensure that, to the extent possible, the design, conduct and reporting of the research is free from bias.
* Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists subscribe to the guidance presented in the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals and the AdvaMed Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals. As such, gifts of substantial value are generally prohibited.