CEO named for Inova’s heart institute

Dr. Christopher M. O’Connor has been named CEO of the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute.

In his role, O’Connor will direct the institute’s cardiovascular strategy and expand the clinical, research and education programs of the institute.

O’Connor has been at Duke for 31 years, where his research earned him worldwide recognition for his knowledge on heart failure. Most recently he was the director of the Duke Heart Center as well as chief of the hospital’s cardiology division and the Richard Stack Distinguished Professor of Medicine. He also co-owns a company named BisCarida, which holds a patent for the use of bisphosphonate, a drug commonly used to treat osteoporosis, to improve heart function.

Under his leadership, the Duke Heart Center grew 5 to 10 percent a year.

O’Connor has led more than 20 clinical trials and published at least 400 manuscripts. His work has uncovered links in how mood disorders and stress affect heart disease.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Maryland College Park and his medical degree from the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore. He is editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure.