71. PROACT Xa: A Multicenter, Randomized Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Apixaban vs. Warfarin in Patients with a Mechanical Bileaflet Aortic Heart Valve

Professor and Chairman, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine

Cardiothoracic Surgeon-in-Chief, New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center

Dr. Svensson is the Chairman of the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic and served on the Cleveland Clinic Health System Operations Council. Dr. Svensson is an internationally known cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon. His research has led to many innovative surgical treatments and techniques. He is a Professor of Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Svensson previously served on the AATS Council, has Chaired the AATS Guidelines Committee. He has chaired multispecialty guidelines writing committees for endovascular treatment with stents for the thoracic aorta, aortic valve surgery, and for the treatment of thoracic aortic disease.Dr. Svensson was born in Barberton, South Africa. He completed his undergraduate work at Treverton College in Mooi River, South Africa. He earned his medical degree and PhD in blood flow pathophysiology from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where he received numerous fellowships and awards. He received his training in cardiology and general surgery at the Johannesburg Hospital, South Africa, and his training in cardiothoracic surgery at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, for which he received a fellowship. He also completed a cardiovascular surgery fellowship and residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. In 2005, Dr. Svensson was named King James IV Professor of Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. His academic appointments have included Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston, TX; Clinical Instructor in Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; Clinical Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Tufts University, Boston; and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.