Dr. Robert A. Kloner reviews medical content for Healthwise, a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. Dr. Kloner is a Professor of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division, Keck School of Medicine, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He is also Director of Research at the Heart Institute of Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles and attending cardiologist at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center.

Among Dr. Kloner’s major research interests are cardiac cell transplantation, protection of ischemic myocardium, development of therapies for limiting myocardial infarct size, cardiac function following coronary artery occlusion, the effect of toxins on the heart, preventive cardiology, hypertension, and PDE5 inhibition. He is currently participating in studies funded by the National Institutes of Health on cardiac cell transplantation, doxorubicin cardiomyopathy, functional analysis of cardiac grafts, and stem cells. He has served on the NIH Cardiovascular Study Section A and has participated in a number of NIH Workshops.

A frequent contributor to the medical and scientific press, Dr. Kloner has contributed more than 530 original papers, over 205 chapters or monographs, and more than 430 abstracts. Dr. Kloner is the author and editor of 18 medical texts including: Cardiovascular Trials Reviews (10 editions), Guide to Cardiology, Stunned Myocardium, Ischemic Preconditioning, VIAGRA, and Heart Disease and Erectile Dysfunction. He is also the author of three novels: The Beta Virus, Mind Cure, and The Deity Genes.

Among his editorial responsibilities, Dr. Kloner serves as associate editor of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics and the International Journal of Impotence Research, and is on the editorial boards of Circulation, American Journal of Cardiology, Heart, Basic Research in Cardiology, and Regenerative Medicine. Among his many career distinctions, Dr. Kloner has been listed in Who’s Who in America and Best Doctors in America and in 2002 was identified by the Institute for Scientific Information as one of the world’s most highly cited scientific authors.

Board Certifications

American Board of Internal Medicine—1978

American Board of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases—1981

Healthwise Knowledgebase Topics Reviewed

Congestive Heart Failure

Coronary Artery Disease

Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, and Restrictive Cardiomyopathy

Hypertension

Mitral Valve Prolapse

Pericarditis and Endocarditis

Education

BS: Northwestern University Honors Program in Medical Education, 1971

PhD: Northwestern University, 1974

MD: Northwestern University Medical School, 1975

Internships and Residencies:

• Peter Bent Brigham Hospital:
  • Medical House Officer, 1975–1976
  • Assistant Resident Physician, 1976–1977
  • Senior Resident Physician, 1977–1978
• Harvard Medical School:
  • Clinical Fellow in Medicine, 1975–1978

Research Fellowship in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 1978–1979

Research/Clinical Fellowship in Medicine (Cardiology), Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, 1978–1979

Academic Appointments

Harvard Medical School:

• Assistant Professor of Medicine, 1979–1984
• Associate Professor of Medicine, 1984

Wayne State University School of Medicine, Professor of Internal Medicine, 1985–1988

University of Southern California School of Medicine, Professor of Medicine, 1988–present

Hospital Affiliations

Brigham and Women's Hospital:

• Junior Associate in Medicine, 1979–1982
• Associate Physician, 1982–1984

Director of Cardiac Research Laboratory, Harvard Medical School, 1979–1984

Director of Myocardial Ischemia Laboratory, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 1985–1988

Acting Co-director, Noninvasive Cardiology Laboratory, Harper Hospital, 1987–1988

Director of Research, The Heart Institute of Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, 1988–present

Attending Cardiologist, Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center, 1988–present

Professional Affiliations

American College of Cardiology

American Heart Association, Council on Clinical Cardiology

American Society for Clinical Investigation

International Society of Heart Research

Selected Publications

1. Dai W, Kloner RA (2007). Myocardial regeneration by human amniotic fluid stem cells: Challenges to be overcome. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, 42(4): 730-732.
2. Kloner RA (2006). Natural and unnatural triggers of myocardial infarction. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 48(4): 285-300.
3. Reffelmann T, Kloner RA (2006). Cardiovascular effects of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 12(27): 3485-3494.
4. Kloner RA, Dow J, Bhandari A. (2006) Postconditionining markedly attenuates ventricular arrhythmias following ischemia/reperfusion. Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 11(1): 55-63.
5. Kloner RA (2006). Can we trigger an acute coronary syndrome? Heart, 92(8):1 009-1010.

Financial Disclosure

Dr. Kloner is a speaker and consultant for Pfizer and Lilly, is a speaker for Novartis, and speaks and has a research grant from CV Therapeutics.