Penn Medicine Cardiologist Named President-Elect of American Heart Association

Mariell Jessup begins her post on July 1st.

Penn Medicine announced today that one of its cardiologists, Mariell Jessup, has been named the president-elect of the American Heart Association. Jessup is the clinical director of the Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Center and a 20-year veteran with the AHA.

“I am honored to be so engaged with the nation’s leading health organization dedicated to the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease and stroke,” said Jessup in a statement.

She’ll begin her post on July 1st and will hold the president-elect title for a year. Then next year, on July 1, 2013, she’ll become the president of the AHA.

Much of Jessup’s career to this point has focused on optimizing management of patients with heart failure, including helping identify the best candidates for transplants and other procedures. She recently worked with the American College of Cardiology on updating care guidelines for heart-failure patients, and helped pioneer a new cardiology subspecialty, focusing specifically on heart failure and transplants.