Henry Spotnitz


Henry M. Spotnitz is George H. Humphrey II Professor of Surgery, chairman of the Columbia University Medical Center Conflict of Interest Committee, co-chair of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Information Systems Clinical Advisory Committee, chair of the Information Technology Committee of the Faculty Practice Organization, and Vice-Chair for Research and Information Systems in the Department of Surgery.
Supported by National Institutes of Health funding, Spotnitz pioneered quantitative echo studies during cardiac surgery. This research has documented substantial improvements in cardiac output among heart surgery patients undergoing biventricular pacing, which involves installation of pacemakers to fix delays in heart ventricle contractions and keeps the left/right ventricles pumping together.

Current research

Spotnitz has been awarded a five-year grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study the effects of biventricular pacing on heart function after cardiac surgery.
The first of two trials being conducted by Spotnitz investigates the use of biventricular pacing in patients who develop acute heart failure. The second seeks to maximize the effectiveness of the biventricular pacemaker by altering the location of pacemaker lead wires and the timing of their electrical stimulation.

Selected publications