Michael L. Hess | |
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| Born | 10 August 1942 |
| Died | 13 April 2019 (aged 76) |
| Education | |
| Known for |
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| Medical career | |
| Profession | Cardiologist |
| Institutions | Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) |
| Sub-specialties | Post heart transplantation medicine |
| Awards | 2020 ISHLT lifetime achievement award |
Michael L. Hess (10 August 1942 – 13 April 2019) was an American professor of cardiology and physiology at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) who was instrumental in founding the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), of which he served as its first president.
Early in his career he worked on the physiology of heart muscle, and in taking care of Richard Lower's patients after they had received heart transplants. His research included looking at the effects on a donor heart after reperfusion therapy following a period of low oxygen. In 1980, he had begun to contact people active in the field of heart transplantation for the purpose of gathering information on heart transplants and creating a transplant group. It led to the formation of the ISHLT. After retiring, he returned to the MCV to set up a cardio-oncology program in 2013, before retiring again in 2017.
Hess was posthumously awarded the 2020 ISHLT lifetime achievement award in April 2021. The cardiology library at the MCV, the Dr Michael Hess Library, is named for him.