Bruce Wilkoff, MD, is the Director of Cardiac Pacing and Tachyarrhythmia Devices, Associate Section Head of the Pacing and Electrophysiology Section, Medical Information Officer of the Heart and Vascular Institute a staff cardiologist in the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Section of Cardiac Pacemakers and Electrophysiology at Cleveland Clinic. He is Professor of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University.
Dr. Wilkoff has a special interest in the removal of pacemaker and implantable defibrillator leads, biventricular pacing for congestive heart failure and other arrhythmia device technologies. In addition, he specializes in treating cardiac arrhythmia, implanting defibrillators and the computerized analysis of cardiac pacemakers and electrophysiologic studies. He is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease, and he has served since 1988 on the examination writing committee for Special Competency in Cardiac Pacing and Defibrillation.
Dr. Wilkoff did his undergraduate work at Northwestern University earning a Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical engineering. He received his medical degree from the Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus. He completed his clinical training in internal medicine at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland, followed by a fellowship in cardiology from University Hospitals and a fellowship in research from the Ohio State University Hospital and School of Veterinary Medicine. He was appointed to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 1986 as a clinical associate and in 1987 as full staff in the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and as Professor of Medicine in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2005.
Dr. Wilkoff is recognized as an international expert in the design of new technologies to improve the performance of pacemakers and defibrillators. He is involved in numerous clinical multi-center trials to study medical applications for pacemakers and defibrillators. He holds six U.S. patents including a special algorithm for defibrillator tachycardia detection and an efficient controller for pacemaker rate responsiveness.
He has authored or co-authored over 250 articles in scientific journals. He serves as a reviewer for many leading professional journals including American Heart Journal, American Journal of Cardiology, Circulation, and he serves also on the editorial board for Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, Heart Rhythm, and the Journal of Interventional Electrophysiology. He is associate editor of Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology.
He is co-editor of "Clinical Cardiac Pacing, Defibrillation and Resynchronization Therapy" (2007), which is the most comprehensive and authoritative text in the field of implantable cardiac rhythm devices which published the 4th edition during 2011. From 2004-2007, he co-authored the annual "Coding Guide for Heart Rhythm Procedures and Services" for the Heart Rhythm Society.
Dr. Wilkoff is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, Heart Rhythm Society and of the American Heart Association. He has held leadership positions on committees and councils in each of these organizations and currently serves as the President and member of the Board of Trustees and Executive committees of the Heart Rhythm Society.
In his leisure time, Dr. Wilkoff enjoys using his computer, listening to music, ballroom dancing and spending time with his wife, children and 2 grandchildren.