Five years ago, Michael Mooradd, MD, was recruited to join Doylestown Hospital's medical staff as the hospital prepared to open its new Heart Center.

"I moved from a busy practice in Massachusetts because I wanted to be at a hospital that was establishing a new program. I was part of the overall growth of the cardiology staff. For me, it was a fantastic move," says Dr. Mooradd. He specializes in non-invasive procedures to diagnose and treat heart disease."

Why did you choose to specialize in cardiology?

"Cardiology was a rapidly expanding specialty that allowed me to have an immediate impact on heart disease in ways besides surgery," says Dr. Mooradd. "I have a special interest in nuclear cardiology, which involves injecting small doses of radioactive material in the body to see how the heart is functioning.

"With nuclear cardiology, you can assess coronary artery disease in a non-invasive way. You can also assess the long-term results of bypass surgery and angioplasty without doing another cardiac catheterization."

How has Doylestown's Heart Center grown?

"Two years after my arrival, the Heart Center opened with the hope of treating 100 surgical patients in the first year. In just over three years, our surgeons have treated more than 1,000 heart patients. Today, complex procedures like angioplasty, cardiac ablations and advanced cardiac imaging are routinely performed at Doylestown Hospital. The quality of the physicians has lived up to the billing, and our outcomes have been spectacular. The community has embraced the program."

What breakthroughs are on the horizon?

"In nuclear cardiology, we expect to be using new radioactive isotopes that will allow us to shorten testing time considerably. We are also developing techniques to assess the viability of heart muscle, to distinguish scar tissue from hibernating muscle. Hibernating muscle may look like a scar, however it recovers function once blood flow is re-established."