News Release: January 13, 1997

Albuquerque, NM -- Last month, Neal Shadoff, MD, joined Presbyterian's newly formed and Albuquerque based Heart Group. Dr. Shadoff has been seeing patients in Grants for over 8 years. He will continue to consult on cardiovascular issues and see patients at Dr. Arnold W. Valdivia's office. The office is located at 1208 Bonita St., Grants Medical Center. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Shadoff, patients should call Presbyterian Heart Group at 1-800-734-4278.

"I've been in New Mexico for 13 years and my practice has been almost exclusively at Presbyterian. It's one of the best cardiovascular care delivery systems available in the United States. This gives me a chance to be involved at the ground level," said Shadoff. "It (the Heart Program) certainly was good enough for me to bring my father here from Florida and have Dr. Lagerstrom do the pulmonary bypass surgery."

The Heart Group consists of five cardiologists and two cardiothoracic surgeons. The seven physicians were already on the medical staff of Presbyterian Hospital and formerly practiced as independent physicians in Albuquerque. The Presbyterian Heart Group will become the corner stone of Presbyterian's heart program.

Dr. Shadoff earned his undergraduate degree with honors in Chemistry from Colby College. He received his Masters degree in Microbiology and medical degree at Boston University. Following his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado, Dr. Shadoff trained in cardiology at Duke University. He remained at Duke University and served as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, directing the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Durham Veterans Hospital. Dr. Shadoff is an internationally recognized interventional cardiologist. He is active in research projects that find new treatments for coronary artery disease.

Currently, he teaches at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine where he is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine. For the past nine years, Dr. Shadoff has conducted an annual education program, updating New Mexico primary care physicians on the recent developments in cardiology.

Presbyterian's Heart Program has been in existence since 1970 and currently ranks among the top 5% in the nation for volumes and quality outcomes of heart care. New Mexico's only option for comprehensive heart care, the Heart Center is the sole center for organ transplantation, provides adult and pediatric cardiology and surgery, as well as rehabilitation and cardiovascular laboratory services. The Heart Center is owned by Presbyterian Healthcare Services, the state's largest not-for-profit healthcare delivery organization.