Research & Publications †
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Biographical Sketch
William James Stewart, MD, has been, since 1984, a Cleveland Clinic staff cardiologist in the Section of Cardiovascular Imaging, in the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, at the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and of the American Society of Echocardiography, giving him the titles of FACC and FASE.
A native of Cleveland, Dr. Stewart is board-certified in cardiovascular disease, internal medicine, and echocardiography. His specialty interests include valvular heart disease, mitral valve repair, aortic valve repair, Doppler echocardiography, decisions regarding the timing of valve surgery, less invasive heart surgery, transesophageal echocardiography, three dimensional echocardiography, and intraoperative echocardiography. In the 1980's and 1990’s, he was one of the early pioneers in the development of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography, which is now used in most heart operations worldwide.
Dr. Stewart underwent fellowship training at Harvard Medical School's Massachusetts General Hospital and at Boston University Medical Center. His residency training in internal medicine was at the University of Michigan. He received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati, following undergraduate work at Harvard College.
An expert in echocardiography, Dr. Stewart has served on the Board of Directors, as Treasurer, and on the Intraoperative Echocardiography Council for the American Society of Echocardiography; and on the National Board of Echocardiography.
As an expert on heart valve problems, Dr. Stewart has helped hundreds of patients decide on the optimum timing for surgery for valve stenosis or valve regurgitation of the mitral or the aortic valve. He is involved in research and imaging for the emerging field of percutaneous valve repair and valve replacement; done with transcatheter (non-surgical) methods.
He is a reviewer for Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, and Echocardiography. He is on, or has been on, the editorial boards of the journal Echocardiography, the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography and Heart Advisor.
Dr. Stewart has published over 180 scientific articles in leading medical journals on his specialty interests and research. He has authored 35 chapters in medical textbooks, related mostly to treatment of valvular heart disease and its management and diagnosis with echocardiography.
As a Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM) of Case Western Reserve University, he is and has been Director of the Cardiovascular Disease Curriculum since the inception of the med school in 2004. He teaches in many seminars and serves on the Basic Science Education committee at CCLCM.
He has been named on the list of “Best Doctors in America” every year since 1998, a selection process polling over 28,000 doctors nationwide, and was honored in the Cleveland group, in Cleveland Magazine for the last several years. In 2007, he was given the Kaiser-Permanente Teaching Award for Basic Science Education, selected by the medical students at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.
Dr. Stewart is highly involved in family life, with his wife and two grown children, and is an avid exerciser, sailor, skier, amateur ornithologist and musician. He serves as a music worship leader for his church congregation. He is the faculty advisor to the Cleveland Clinic chapter of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA). He is a committed believer in the power of prayer, working together with scientific medicine. He has been featured on television for his interests in the integration of medicine and spirituality.
Specialty Interests
Cardiac Tumors, Endocarditis, Heart Valve Disease, Pericardial Disease, Pericarditis, Cardiovascular Imaging, Echocardiogram, Transesophageal Echocardiogram, Transthoracic Echocardiogram
Additional Training
Advanced Clinical and Research Fellow, Cardiac Ultrasound Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass., 1982-1984
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 4/27/2012, Dr. Stewart 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.