Member Spotlight: David M. Capuzzi, MD, PhD, FNLA, FACP, FACE

David Capuzzi, MD, PhD, FNLA currently works with the cardiology group at the Lankenau Medical Center (Main Line Health) as an advisor to the cardiovascular disease prevention program, where he participates in clinical research and the cardiology fellows training program.

Dr. Capuzzi values this opportunity to educate other physicians and physicians in training in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and related disorders.

He has always been interested in clinical lipidology because early heart disease runs in his family and he was aware of this at a young age.

Dr. Capuzzi says he remembers being a medical student and seeing patients die of heart attacks in their 40s and 50s that we now know were preventable.

"There's an adage, 'a man is as old as his arteries'," Capuzzi said. "I have taught trainees and patients how to manage lipid disorders and what to do with lipoprotein therapy. What we do early on prevents premature cardiovascular disease."

Dr. Capuzzi attended St. Joseph’s University for his undergraduate degree and Jefferson Medical College before completing his doctorate, residency and fellowship at The Johns Hopkins University Hospital. His doctoral dissertation was on biosynthesis of lipids, proteins and low density lipoproteins by hepatocytes.

He says throughout his career he has treated many patients and seen more effective medicines develop, and has always enjoyed the opportunity to teach and guide other physicians so that they effectively understand that the patients they see have preventable occurrences of heart disease and stroke.

He states that an important element of his career is simply being able to help people to regain or continue a healthy life.

As is widely known, Dr. Capuzzi has been involved with the NLA from the very beginning and even chaired the first meeting of the Northeast Lipid Association.

Dr. Capuzzi says he would like to see scientific advances include a greater understanding of the integrity of the artery wall and its role in cardiovascular disease.

"I think there needs to be a greater awareness in the field because it is so important to prevent recurrence of a heart attack, stroke, or blockage in the arteries." Capuzzi said.

In the past year, Dr. Capuzzi has retired from clinical practice. While he still speaks at different meetings and enjoys teaching, he has many other interests.

Through the years he has built quite a train collection, a hobby he started as a child. He also enjoys outdoor activities such as crabbing and fishing at the Jersey Shore. Dr. Capuzzi stresses the importance of attending meetings and CME/CE sessions for health care providers.

"I think it is very important for physicians and healthcare providers to participate in educational activities to learn the very latest in the field of managing lipoprotein disorders," Capuzzi said. "It’s better to prevent the problem than correct it. At any stage it is preventable. There are varying degrees of training and experience but you need education at every level because you never know which one of various healthcare providers will see something in a patient that the others did not see."