Andrea Natale, MD Receives Prestigious Eric N. Prystowsky, MD Advocate for Patients Award From StopAfib.org

DALLAS and AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- World-renowned electrophysiologist Andrea Natale, MD, of Austin, received the prestigious Eric N. Prystowsky, MD Advocate for Patients award, which was bestowed by StopAfib.org at its annual Get In Rhythm. Stay In Rhythm.^® Atrial Fibrillation Patient Conference August 4 in Dallas.

"This award is special because it is driven by patients," said Mellanie True Hills, founder and CEO of StopAfib.org, based in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. "Patients nominate physicians who demonstrate outstanding service to and contributions for the benefit of afib patients and their families."

Patients who nominated Dr. Natale for the award lauded his patient-centered research, called him a "great humanitarian," and said, "He goes above and beyond what is expected of a doctor."

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Natale cited the Hippocratic Oath, saying, "I take pride in giving back quality of life to my patients, and always seek the best for them. This is why this award means a great deal to me."

Dr. Eric Prystowsky, the first recipient of the award and for whom the award is now named, presented the award to Dr. Natale. "I grew up in a medical family," he said. "I grew up with the concept that it is all about the patient. It doesn't matter how many honors I've been fortunate enough to receive in my career; getting honored by a patient organization is about the best you can get as a doctor."

"To have [the award] given to my friend for many years, Dr. Natale, is a double-honor, because Andrea has done so much for the field of afib. He's been innovative in the area of new techniques, and he's been a true advocate for patients." 

Dr. Natale said it has been his honor to learn from, work with, and train some of the best doctors in the field.

Dr. Natale is the Executive Medical Director of the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David's Medical Center in Austin, Texas and the National Medical Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology for HCA Healthcare. He was awarded the Frist Humanitarian Award in 2012 for outstanding commitment to the humanitarian values that are the foundation of HCA. He was previously the Medical Director for the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Atrial Fibrillation, and has held faculty positions at a variety of prestigious universities, including Duke and Stanford. He's also the author or co-author of hundreds of published articles on electrophysiology and serves on the editorial boards of numerous medical journals, including the Journal of Atrial Fibrillation, for which he is the editor-in-chief.

Dr. Prystowsky is an Electrophysiologist with St. Vincent Medical Group and Director of the Clinical Electrophysiology Laboratory at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital. He's a Consulting Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, previously held a full-time faculty position at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and is Past President of the Heart Rhythm Society. He is the co-author of two textbooks and author of more than 700 publications concerning cardiac arrhythmias. Dr. Prystowsky is editor-in-chief of The Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology and on the editorial board of 16 journals, including Circulation.

About StopAfib.org
StopAfib.org was founded in 2007 to improve the quality of life for those living with atrial fibrillation (afib) and to save lives by raising awareness of afib and thus decreasing afib-related strokes. StopAfib.org is the most visited arrhythmia site and has received the HON Code Certification from the Health on the Net Foundation, signifying a credible, trustworthy medical web site.

StopAfib.org is by patients for patients, and provides information about atrial fibrillation symptoms, causes, risks, treatments, resources, and the latest afib news and videos. To learn more about the organization and the annual Get In Rhythm. Stay In Rhythm.^® Atrial Fibrillation Patient Conference, visit www.StopAfib.org

Contact information
For more information, visit www.StopAfib.org or contact
Mellanie True Hills at 940-466-9898 or www.stopafib.org/contact.cfm

Contact:

Mellanie True Hills
940-466-9898
www.stopafib.org/contact.cfm

SOURCE StopAfib.org