Catherine Mary Otto is an echocardiography specialist who serves as J. Ward Kennedy-Hamilton Endowed Chair in Cardiology at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

Medical Center. She has authored echocardiography textbooks. The major fields she works in are

valvular heart disease Valvular heart disease is any cardiovascular disease process involving one or more of the four valves of the heart (the aortic and mitral valves on the left side of heart and the pulmonic and tricuspid valves on the right side of heart). These ...

, adult congenital heart disease, and echocardiography.

Education

She obtained a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

in 1975, an

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

from the

in 1979, and did her

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgra ...

at The New York Hospital-

Cornell Medical Center The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...

from 1979 to 1982 in internal medicine and a

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular h ...

at the University of Washington from 1982 till 1985.

Career

Otto is an expert on calcific (

aortic stenosis Aortic stenosis (AS or AoS) is the narrowing of the exit of the left ventricle of the heart (where the aorta begins), such that problems result. It may occur at the aortic valve as well as above and below this level. It typically gets worse ov ...

) and received the 2011

American College of Cardiology The American College of Cardiology (ACC), based in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949. It bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet its qualifications. Education is a core component of the ...

Distinguished Scientist Award (Clinical Domain) for her research on this subject. In addition, Otto is the author of several cardiology books. In January, 2014, she was appointed

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''Heart'', the official journal of the

British Cardiovascular Society The British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) is a United Kingdom-wide health organisation based in London. It aims to represent all healthcare professionals working in the field of cardiology, set standards for prevention, diagnosis, and clinical care, ...

Personal

On 29 March 1979, Otto married Robert Frederick Leach in

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the ...

Selected publications

* C. Otto and B. Bonow. ''Valvular Heart Disease, 3rd ed,''

Elsevier Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as '' The Lancet'', ''Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', ...

/Saunders, 2009 * C. Otto. ''Textbook of Clinical Echocardiography'', 4th ed, Elsevier, 2009 * D. Oxorn and C. Otto. ''Atlas of Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography: Surgical and Radiologic Correlations'', Elsevier, 2006 * C. Otto. ''The Practice of Clinical Echocardiography'', 3rd edition. Elsevier, 2008 * C. Otto, B. Schwaegler and R. Freeman ''Echocardiography Review Guide'', 2nd ed., Elsevier, 2011 * C. Otto and L. Gillam. 'Advanced Echocardiographic Approaches', Elsevier, 2012

References

External links

Interview with Catherine Otto about echocardiography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Catherine M. 1953 births Living people Reed College alumni University of Washington School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Washington (state) American cardiologists Women cardiologists University of Washington faculty Medical journal editors