The Industry Remembers Barry L. Zaret, MD

October 31, 2022 —  The Yale School of Medicine announced the passing of Robert W. Berliner Professor Emeritus of Medicine Barry L. Zaret, MD, MASNC, professor of internal medicine (cardiology) and of diagnostic radiology, on October 20 at age 82. Dr. Zaret graduated summa cum laude from Queens College, New York, in 1962. He received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine in 1966, followed by internship and residency at Bellevue Hospital, New York, and fellowship training at Johns Hopkins University. He was recruited to Yale School of Medicine in 1973 after two years of military service. 

According to Yale’s tribute, Zaret made numerous contributions to cardiovascular medicine and arguably founded the field of nuclear cardiology. His 1973 paper in the New England Journal of Medicine, “Noninvasive Regional Myocardial Perfusion with Radioactive Potassium — Study of Patients at Rest, with Exercise and during Angina Pectoris,” set a precedent for the emerging field of noninvasive nuclear cardiology. He served as the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology for over a decade and chief of the Section of Cardiovascular Medicine for 26 years. His research has been instrumental to our current understanding of coronary blood flow physiology, ventricular function, management and risk assessment of cardiovascular disease, and molecular imaging. 

The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology added that his research led to the establishment of noninvasive nuclear cardiology. He was a founding member of ASNC, and the founding editor of its journal.