Morteza Naghavi, M.D.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Naghavi is an innovative medical doctor and researcher with interests in preventive cardiology, medical technology, and home healthcare. He graduated as a M.D. from Tehran University and was trained as a cardiovascular physician scientist under distinguished cardiologists Dr. S. Ward Casscells III and Dr. James T. Willerson at the Texas Heart Institute and the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Dr. Naghavi is internationally recognized as a leader in heart attack prevention initiatives. Through his years of efforts in advancing the field of preventive cardiology, Dr. Naghavi founded the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE) and is the Executive Chairman of the SHAPE Task Force, an international non-profit coalition to overhaul the traditional (ineffective) methods of identifying individuals at risk of a near future heart attack. In 2009, the SHAPE organization helped pass Texas legislation HB1290 as the first heart attack preventive screening law in the United States. Dr. Naghavi has a number of collaborative academic research projects including NIH and NSF funded studies. He has numerous publications in scientific journals, most notably two major consensus statements (Part I and Part II) and the SHAPE Guidelines. He is also the editor of “Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis: Pathophysiology, Detection and Treatment”, the most comprehensive textbook on risk assessment of the Vulnerable Patient. Along with academic activities, Dr. Naghavi is also an inventor and entrepreneur with over 30 patents and 5 companies one of which is listed on NASDAQ: VOLC. He is currently the President and CEO of Fairway Medical Technologies and IN3 Ventures. Dr. Naghavi is passionate about transforming new ideas into healthcare solutions, and welcomes innovative proposals from physicians, engineers, and entrepreneurs.

Email: morteza.naghavi@fairwaymed.com

1.     Naghavi, M. Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis. Pathophysiology, Detection and Treatment. ISBN: 978-1-60327-178-3. Springer Inc. Editor: Morteza Naghavi, M.D., Co-Editors: Mathew Budoff, M.D., Daniel Berman M.D., Erling Falk, M.D., Ph.D., Zahi Fayad, M.D., Harvey Hecht, M.D., Khurram Nasir, M.D., Prediman K. Shah, M.D.

2.     Ahmadi, N., Budoff, M., Naghavi, M., et al. Low Fingertip Temperature Rebound Measured By Digital Thermal Monitoring Strongly Correlates with the Presence and Extent of Coronary Artery Disease Diagnosed by 64-Slice Multi-detector Computed Tomography. Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomograpy. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2009 Oct;25(7):725-38.

3.     Ahmadi, N., Budoff, M., Naghavi, M., et al. Vascular Function Measured by Fingertip Thermal Reactivity is Impaired in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes Mellitus. Journal of Cardiometabolic. J Clin Hypertens. 2009 Nov;11(11):678-84. 

4.     Ahmadi N, Tirunagaram S, Hajsadeghi F, Flores F, Saeed A, Hecht H, Naghavi M, Budoff M. Concomitant insulin resistance and impaired vascular function is associated with increased coronary artery calcification. Int J Cardiol. 2009 Feb 2.

5.     Ahmadi N, Usman N, Shim J, Nuguri V, Vasinrapee P, Hajsadeghi F, Wang Z, Foster GP, Nasir K, Hecht H, Naghavi M, Budoff M. Vascular dysfunction measured by fingertip thermal monitoring is associated with the extent of myocardial perfusion defect. J Nucl Cardiol. 2009 Jan 6.

6.     Ahmadi N, Hajsadeghi F, Gul K, Vane J, Usman N, Flores F, Nasir K, Hecht H, Naghavi M, Budoff M. Relations between digital thermal monitoring of vascular function, the Framingham risk score, and coronary artery calcium score. J Cardiovasc Comput Tomogr. 2008 Nov;2(6):382-8.

7.     Naghavi M, Falk E, Hecht HS, Shah PK; for the SHAPE Task Force. The First SHAPE (Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education) Guideline. Crit Pathw Cardiol. 2006 Dec;5(4):187-190. 

8.     Naghavi M, Hecht HS. Vulnerable patients are between a 'ROC and a hard place': yes, it's time to screen for coronary artery disease. Cleve Clin J Med. 2007 Oct;74(10):757-8. Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther. 2007 Sep;5(5):917-25.

9.     Naghavi M. Preventive Cardiology: the SHAPE of the future. A Synopsis from the Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education (SHAPE) Task Force report. Herz. 2007 Aug;32(5):356-61.

10.  Jamieson M., Naghavi, M. Multi-Constituent Cardiovascular Pills (MCCP) – Challenges and Promises of Population Based Prophylactic Drug Therapy for Prevention of Heart Attack, Current Pharmaceutical Design Journal. In Press

11.  Naghavi M., Falk E., Hecht H, Shah PK. The First SHAPE (Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education) Guideline. Critical Pathways in Cardiology. 2006 Dec;5(4):187-190

12.  Naghavi M, Falk E, Hecht H, Jamieson M, Kaul S, Berman D, Fayad Z, Budoff M, Rumberger J, Naqvi T, Shaw L, Faergeman O, Cohn J, Bahr R, Koenig W, Demirovic J, Arking D, Herrera V, Badimon B, Goldstein J, Rudy Y, Airaksinen J, Schwartz R, Riley W, Mendes R, Douglas P, Shah PK. From vulnerable plaque to vulnerable patient: Part III. Executive Summary of the Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education (SHAPE) Task Force. Am. J. of Cardiology, Vol. 98, No 2A, 1-15H

13.  Khan T, Soller B, Naghavi M, Casscells W. Tissue pH determination for the detection of metabolically active, inflamed vulnerable plaques using near-infrared spectroscopy: an in-vitro feasibility study. Cardiology. 2005;103(1):10-6.

14.  Carlier S, Kakadiaris IA, Dib N, Vavuranakis M, Stefanadis C, O'Malley SM, Hartley CJ, Metcalfe R, Mehran R, Falk E, Gul K, Naghavi M. Vasa vasorum imaging: a new window to the clinical detection of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2005 Mar;7(2):164-9.

15.  Naghavi M, Libby P, Falk E, Casscells SW, Litovsky S, Rumberger J, Badimon JJ, Stefanadis C, Moreno P, Pasterkamp G, Fayad Z, Stone PH, Waxman S, Raggi P, Madjid M, Zarrabi A, Burke A, Yuan C, Fitzgerald PJ, Siscovick DS, de Korte CL, Aikawa M, Airaksinen KE, Assmann G, Becker CR, Chesebro JH, Farb A, Galis ZS, Jackson C, Jang IK, Koenig W, Lodder RA, March K, Demirovic J, Navab M, Priori SG, Rekhter MD, Bahr R, Grundy SM, Mehran R, Colombo A, Boerwinkle E, Ballantyne C, Insull W Jr, Schwartz RS, Vogel R, Serruys PW, Hansson GK, Faxon DP, Kaul S, Drexler H, Greenland P, Muller JE, Virmani R, Ridker PM, Zipes DP, Shah PK, Willerson JT. From vulnerable plaque to vulnerable patient: a call for new definitions and risk assessment strategies: Part II. Circulation, 2003 Oct 14;108(15):1772-8

16.  Naghavi M, Libby P, Falk E, Casscells SW, Litovsky S, Rumberger J, Badimon JJ, Stefanadis C, Moreno P, Pasterkamp G, Fayad Z, Stone PH, Waxman S, Raggi P, Madjid M, Zarrabi A, Burke A, Yuan C, Fitzgerald PJ, Siscovick DS, de Korte CL, Aikawa M, Airaksinen KE, Assmann G, Becker CR, Chesebro JH, Farb A, Galis ZS, Jackson C, Jang IK, Koenig W, Lodder RA, March K, Demirovic J, Navab M, Priori SG, Rekhter MD, Bahr R, Grundy SM, Mehran R, Colombo A, Boerwinkle E, Ballantyne C, Insull W Jr, Schwartz RS, Vogel R, Serruys PW, Hansson GK, Faxon DP, Kaul S, Drexler H, Greenland P, Muller JE, Virmani R, Ridker PM, Zipes DP, Shah PK, Willerson JT. From vulnerable plaque to vulnerable patient: a call for new definitions and risk assessment strategies: Part I. Circulation, 2003 Oct 7;108(14):1664-72

17.  Madjid M, Naghavi M, Litovsky S, Casscells SW. Influenza and cardiovascular disease: a new opportunity for prevention and the need for further studies. Circulation. 2003 Dec 2;108(22):2730-6. Epub 2003 Nov 10.

18.  Naghavi M, Madjid M, Gul K, Siadaty MS, Litovsky S, Willerson JT, Casscells SW.  Thermography basket catheter: In vivo measurement of the temperature of atherosclerotic plaques for detection of vulnerable plaques. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2003 May;59(1):52-9.

19.  Casscells W, Naghavi M, Willerson JT.  Vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque: a multifocal disease. Circulation. 2003 Apr 29;107(16):2072-5.

20.  Litovsky S, Madjid M, Zarrabi A, Casscells SW, Willerson JT, Naghavi M.  Superparamagnetic iron oxide-based method for quantifying recruitment of monocytes to mouse atherosclerotic lesions in vivo: enhancement by tissue necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, and interferon-gamma. Circulation. 2003 Mar 25;107(11):1545-9.

21.  Naghavi M, Wyde P, Litovsky S, Madjid M, Akhtar A, Naguib S, Siadaty MS, Sanati S, Casscells W.  Influenza infection exerts prominent inflammatory and thrombotic effects on the atherosclerotic plaques of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice. Circulation. 2003 Feb 11;107(5):762-8.

22.  Naghavi M, Madjid M, Khan MR, Mohammadi RM, Willerson JT, Casscells SW. New developments in the detection of vulnerable plaque. Curr Atheroscler Rep 2001 Mar;3(2):125-35

23.  Naghavi M, John R, Naguib S, Siadaty MS, Grasu R, Kurian KC, van Winkle WB, Soller B, Litovsky S, Madjid M, Willerson JT, Casscells W.  pH Heterogeneity of human and rabbit atherosclerotic plaques; a new insight into detection of vulnerable plaque. Atherosclerosis. 2002 Sep;164(1):27-35.

Naghavi M, Barlas Z, Siadaty S, Naguib S, Madjid M, Casscells W. Association of influenza vaccination and reduced risk of recurrent myocardial infarction. Circulation 2000; 102 (25): 3039-3045

Published Patents: