Meet St.Joseph Cardiovascular Associates
A World-Class Team of Heart Specialists
St. Joseph Cardiovascular Associates is a group of established, experienced and highly trained cardiologists and cardiac surgeons who practice at St. Joseph Medical Center the busiest heart center in the state of Maryland. This group practice features easy, prompt access to outstanding physicians who are dedicated to provide patients with compassionate, state-of-the-art diagnosis and cardiac treatment. St. Joseph Cardiovascular Associates can be reached at 410-427-2580.
Dr. Sidney Gottlieb
Dr. Gottlieb is the medical director of St. Joseph Cardiovascular Associates. Prior to that, he served as director of Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic Canada in Toronto. He has also been the director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at The Francis Scott Key Medical Center/Hopkins Bayview and of Preventive Cardiology at The Henry Ciccarone Preventive Cardiology Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital. At Hopkins, he was a full-time member of the cardiology faculty. His clinical interests include consultative cardiology and preventive cardiology, including new cardiac imaging techniques. He has authored more than 100 scientific articles and lectured worldwide. Board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases, Gottlieb received his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine and did his fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Dr. Stephen Pollock
Dr. Pollock is both the chief of Cardiology and the director of The Heart Institute at St. Joseph Medical Center. Board-certified in internal medicine and cardiology, he specializes in the care of patients with heart disease. He is a firm believer in being aggressive in diagnosing and treating coronary artery disease early. Pollock’s philosophy is that a successful cardiology practice should ensure easy, prompt access to physicians and state-of-the-art testing. A fellow of the American College of Cardiology, Pollock graduated from University of Maryland Medical School and did his internship, residency and fellowship training at the University of Maryland V.A. Medical Center. He advocates having life-saving AEDs in all public places, including work places and schools.
Dr. Stewart Finney
Dr. Finney is chief of Cardiac Surgery at St. Joseph Medical Center. His primary specialty is adult cardiac surgery with special interests in aortic valve and aortic aneurysm surgery, and the MAZE procedure. He believes in a system of care that ensures cardiac patients receive the best and safest surgical treatment.
He has been named one of Baltimore’s best cardiac surgeons for 2008 by Baltimore magazine. A practicing cardiothoracic surgeon for 14 years, Finney did his medical training and completed residency training in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at Johns Hopkins. He served as a visiting fellow in cardiac surgery at Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Finney is a member of the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, the American College of Surgeons and the American Medical Association.
Dr. Mahmood Alikhan
Board certified in cardiovascular disease and internal medicine, Dr. Alikhan has been in practice for more than 25 years. He specializes in cardiovascular disease, preventive cardiology, cardiac pacing and interventional cardiology. He believes in responding to patients’ emotional needs, as well as their cardiovascular needs, and is committed to disease prevention and quality improvement. He received his medical degree from Dow Medical College, did his internship at Union Memorial Hospital, his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and his fellowship at the University of Vermont. Previously, he served as the director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at GBMC. Alikhan is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American Society of Cardiac Angiography and Intervention, and the American College of Chest Physicians.
Dr. Peter Horneffer
A cardiothoracic surgeon who has performed more than 3,000 open-heart operations, Dr. Horneffer received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins and trained there in general and cardiothoracic surgery. He practices all types of open heart surgery, with a special interest in atrial fibrillation and mitral valve disease. After a clinical fellowship performing heart transplants at the Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England, he worked with worldrenowned mitral valve specialist Dr. Alain Carpentier in Paris doing mitral valve reconstruction. Horneffer was an assistant professor of Surgery at Georgetown University. Teaching is an important part of his care philosophy. He ensures that patients are well-informed about their options, their surgery and the recovery process. He belongs to the American College of Surgeons and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
Dr. James Ricely
A fellow of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American College of Cardiology, Dr. Ricely graduated from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, completed his internship at Albany Medical Center and served as chief resident at GBMC, followed by a cardiology fellowship at University of Maryland V.A. Medical Center. He served as clinical instructor at University of Maryland, director of GBMC’s Cardiac Care Unit and, twice, chief of Cardiology at GBMC. His interests include interpretation of echocardiograms, nuclear cardiology studies, cardiac disease in pregnancy, women’s health, heart disease in the diabetic and preventive cardiology. Ricely believes cardiac disease should be evaluated and treated promptly, with an emphasis on informing and reassuring patients, and brings a passion for evaluation and care of the total patient.
Dr. Ronald Schechter
Board certified in cardiology and internal medicine and trained as an interventional cardiologist, Dr. Schechter practices a “hybrid” type of cardiology. He can provide a continuum of acute care for patients that includes seeing them in the Emergency Department, performing angioplasty in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab, and providing follow up and preventive care. He prides himself on close patient relationships that span his 19-year practice. A graduate of University of Maryland Medical School, he completed the first dedicated interventional cardiology fellowship there. He did his residency and internship at Temple University Hospital. He was a clinical associate professor at University of Maryland School of Medicine and an instructor at the VA Hospital. Schechter belongs to the American College of
Cardiology and the American Heart Association.
