Dr Lavie graduated from Louisiana State University Medical School, LA, USA, in 1983 and performed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Ochsner Medical Institution, LA, USA. He subsequently completed a fellowship in cardiovascular diseases at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA, where he also served as a member of the faculty in 1989. He is boardcertified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases and nuclear cardiology. Dr Lavie is a staff cardiologist at the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, LA, USA, and currently is Medical Director for Cardiac Rehabilitation and Preventive Cardiology, Director for the Exercise Testing Laboratory and Staff Cardiologist for the Echocardiographic Laboratory at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation, LA, USA. Dr Lavie's research interests include the fields of cardiac rehabilitation and prevention, including lipids, hypertension, obesity and exercise, as well as noninvasive testing, encompassing echocardiography, exercise testing and nuclear cardiology. He is the author or co-author of nearly 600 medical publications, including one cardiology textbook and over 30 book chapters. During 2003-2004, he served as Chairman of Vascular, Hypertension and Prevention for the American College of Cardiology and he has been an elite reviewer for the college.