Albert Waldo

On Thursday, August 17, Dr. Albert Leon Waldo, 86, passed away in Key Largo, Florida, after a long battle with prostate cancer. A world-renowned cardiologist and researcher, Dr. Waldo was a pioneer in the field of electrophysiology, or heart rhythm disorders. He retired in 2022 at the age of 85 from his position as the Walter H. Prichard Professor of Cardiology, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. His research and writing for over fifty years helped map and describe cardiac entrainment, which led to a revolution in the pacemaker industry and the modern treatment of Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter. He published over 500 articles during his career and his work has been cited in other academic research publications over 36,000 times. He also trained multiple generations of national and international cardiology fellows and scientists.

Born in the Bronx in 1936, Dr. Waldo was the child of Polish and Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. He was raised in a working-class neighborhood in an apartment complex on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, two subway stops from Yankee Stadium. His father, Max, was a Juilliard-trained orchestra conductor and a classical English Horn player who made his living as a music teacher in NYC schools after the Depression. His mother, Susan, was a homemaker. After attending P.S. 64, Dr. Waldo attended the Horace Mann School, and earned a scholarship to Cornell University in 1954. After graduating from Cornell in 1958, Dr. Waldo was admitted to SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine, where he received his MD in 1962. He did his subsequent residency at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD before returning to Kings County as Chief Resident in 1965.

His professional life was transformed in 1966 at Columbia University. He began a fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology and met his mentor, Dr. Brian Hoffman, who first introduced him to cardiac research science. He stayed with Dr. Hoffman at Columbia until 1972, ascending to Assistant Professor of Pharmacology. As part of his work he began monitoring open heart surgeries and attaching electrodes during surgery to study irregular heart rhythms, a novel idea at the time. One of the surgeons saw the promise of his work and told him to "get found out." He did. In 1972, he was invited to join the University of Alabama, Birmingham's cardiology department as Associate Professor of Medicine in Electrophysiology.

But just before Dr. Waldo left New York, he met the love of his life, Rosin Torres. Waldo's best friend in NY had recently become engaged. The fiancee began regaling Al about her best friend at home in Caguas, Puerto Rico who would make a good match. She called Rosin. "Come visit quick because he's about to move to a far away place and you will never meet him." Rosin was attending law school at the time. She booked a flight to NY to go on a date with him. It was love at first sight.

He spent the next fourteen years in Alabama at UAB, raising three children and publishing his seminal work on cardiac entrainment. In 1986, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he spent the rest of his career, creating and leading the Adult Cardiac Electrophysiology Program at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Medical Center.

Throughout his career, Dr. Waldo served on multiple advisory boards, NIH clinical trials, and drug trials. Among his numerous honors, he was awarded the University Hospitals of Cleveland Distinguished Scientist Award in 2012.

Dr. Waldo also served as Associate Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine for Academic Affairs at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. He was a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and served as President of the Ohio Chapter; former President of the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (NASPE), now called the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS); a Fellow and founding member of HRS; a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American Heart Association and the American College of Chest Physicians. Dr. Waldo served as President of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society and held committee memberships with the National Institutes of Health.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Rosin, his three children: Miguel (Izabella), Richard (Emily), and Eric (Katie); his five grandchildren: Max, Sydney, Quinnie, Charlotte, Rosie; and his younger sister, Ellen.

A memorial service will be held in Cleveland, Ohio on October 22 at Amasa Stone Chapel (10940 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106) at Case Western from 1pm-2pm ET followed by a brief reception. In lieu of flowers, the family asks gifts of any size be made in memory of Dr. Waldo to the Albert L. Waldo Lectureship Fund at University Hospitals, which will support an honorary lecture series on important cardiology research. You can direct any gifts to:

www.uhgiving.org/WaldoLectureship or

Dr. Albert L. Waldo Lectureship Fund

University Hospitals

Institutional Relations and Development

P.O. Box 94554

Cleveland, OH 44101-4554