Biographical Sketch
Robert M. Savage, MD, FACC, is a Staff Physician in the Departments of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia and the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine. He serves as the Section Head of Perioperative Echocardiography in the Department of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia and is the Director of the Cardiac Medical Evaluation Team of the Clinic's Heart and Vascular Institute. Dr. Savage is a board-certified diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Anesthesiology, the Critical Care Subspecialty Board, and the National Board of Echocardiography (Adult Echocardiography and Perioperative TEE Boards). He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Chest Physicians. His specialty interests include valvular heart disease, perioperative echocardiography, and cardiovascular critical care.
Dr. Savage graduated summa cum laude from the University of Kentucky, and was awarded a U.S. Navy Health Professions Scholarship while attending Duke University School of Medicine. After receiving his medical degree, he completed his internship at the San Diego Naval Hospital and served as a Research Fellow at the University of California-San Diego with Dr. Colin Bloor. Dr. Savage completed his medical residency, cardiology fellowship and anesthesiology and critical care training at Emory University. Dr. Savage trained in cardiovascular anesthesia at Cleveland Clinic and was appointed to the Cleveland Clinic Staff in 1990.
Dr. Savage has served on the Boards of Directors for the National Board of Echocardiography, the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA). He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography and as an editorial reviewer for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Circulation, and Anesthesia & Analgesia.
Dr. Savage was the founder of the Joint American Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists- American Society of Echocardiography Comprehensive Review of Perioperative Echocardiography (currently in its 14th year) which he directed for over eight years. He is an invited member of the Association of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists and has been invited to lecture at numerous national and international conferences. He has published over numerous manuscripts, book chapters and abstracts in his specialty. He is the Editor of the Comprehensive Textbook of Perioperative TEE, Perioperative TEE DVD Self Assessment, and is a Junior Editor of e-Echocardiography , a web based perioperative echocardiography textbook
Dr. Savage is actively involved in the Cleveland City Stars - Ambassador in Sports Mission serving the youth of Cleveland. He is involved with the Cleveland Clinic?s High School Community Outreach Program and the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy where he mentors students interested in pursuing careers in healthcare. In his leisure time, he enjoys skiing (downhill and cross country) and fly fishing.
Professional Highlights
Department of Defense, TATRC Grant, Principal Investigator: Finite Element Computational Model for Mitral Valve Apparatus Repair
Specialty Interests
3D echocardiography, cardiac rapid response (CMET) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, cardiothoracic anesthesia, cardiothoracic anesthesiology, cardiovascular critical care, computational modeling, critical care medicine, fellow and resident education, intraoperative TEE, intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography, perioperative echocardiography, resident teaching, transcutaneous devices in cardiovascular disease, valvular 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 education about recent trends. The
collaborations are reviewed as part of the Cleveland
Clinic’s procedures. The Cleveland Clinic publicly
discloses payments to its physicians and scientists
for speaking and consulting of
$5,000 or more per year, and any equity, royalties,
and fiduciary relationships in companies with which
they collaborate. In publicly disclosing this
information, the Cleveland Clinic tries to provide
information as accurately as possible about its
doctors’ connections with industry and those of their
immediate family members. As of 9/4/2008, Dr.
Savage has reported the financial relationships
with the companies listed below. 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.
Royalty Payments. Dr. Savage has the right to receive royalty payments for inventions or discoveries related to the companies shown below:
e-Echocardiography
Lippincott Williams and Wikins
Equity. Dr. Savage owns stock or stock options in the following companies for activities as a founder, inventor, or consultant:
DME, LLC
Fiduciary Role. Dr. Savage serves in a fiduciary capacity, such as an officer or director, for the following companies or other entities:
DME, LLC
