Biography
FRANK I. MARCUS, MD
Dr. Frank Marcus is Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, in Tucson, Arizona. His area of expertise is Clinical Cardiology, Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Clinical Electrophysiology. He graduated from Boston University School of Medicine cum laude in 1953. He did his internship and residency at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston from 1953-1954 and 1956-1958. He was a research fellow in cardiology at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital from 1957-1958 and then completed his cardiology training at Georgetown University Hospital in 1959. After a year as Chief Medical Resident at Georgetown University Hospital he was appointed Chief of Cardiology at the Georgetown University Medical Service, D.C. General Hospital. He held this position from 1960-1968. In January 1969, he became Professor and Chief of the Section of Cardiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. In 1982 he was appointed Distinguished Professor of Medicine and held this Endowed Chair until 1999. He is certified in the American Board of Internal Medicine and in the Subspecialty Board of Cardiovascular Disease.
Dr. Marcus was President of Association of the University Cardiologists from 1990-1991. Among his honors are the Laureate Award of the American College of Physicians in 1987, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Boston University School of Medicine in 2003; Master Clinician Award of the American Heart Association, Council on Clinical Cardiology in 2005; Outstanding Achievement Award of the European Cardiac Arrhythmia Society in 2011; and the Pioneer in Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology Award of the Heart Rhythm Society in 2011. He has been or is a member of the Editorial/Scientific Board of 14 Cardiovascular Journals and is a consultant and reviewer for 26 journals.
From 2001 to 2008 Dr. Marcus was the Principal Investigator of an NIH-sponsored study “The Multi-Disciplinary Study of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy/Dysplasia”. He is now one of the Principal Investigators of an NIH sponsored study “Genetics, Mechanisms and Clinical Phenotypes of Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy”. September 2013-June 2017.
He is the author of 165 abstracts, 318 articles in peer reviewed journals and has written 66 book chapters. He is coeditor with Dr. Gaetano Thiene of a book on Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy published in 2007; and coeditor with Drs. Aiden Abidov and Isabel Oliva of a book on Cardiac MRI in Diagnosis, Clinical Management and Prognosis of Arrythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy, published in 2016.
Degrees
- M.D.
- Boston University, School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- M.S. Physiology
- Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- B.A.
- Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States
Work Experience
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (1999 - Ongoing)
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (1988 - 1992)
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (1982 - 1999)
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (1969 - 1981)
- Georgetown University (1963 - 1968)
- Georgetwon University Medical Center (1960 - 1968)
- Georgetown University (1960 - 1963)
Awards
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Pima County Medical Society, Spring 2013
Licensure & Certification
- Controlled Substance/Regulated Chemical Certification, Drug Enforcement Administration (2015)
- Arizona Medical Board (1969)
Interests
No activities entered.
Courses
No activities entered.
Scholarly Contributions
Books
- Marcus, F. I. (2016). The cardiac MRI in diagnosis, clinical management and prognosis of ARVC/D.
- Janardhanan, R., Marcus, F. I., Janardhanan, R., & Marcus, F. I. (2014). Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia: Clinical presentation, Diagnostic challenges and Differential Diagnosis. Minneapolis, MN: Cardio Text Publishing.
Chapters
- Janardhanan, R., & Marcus, F. I. (2014). Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia: Clinical presentation, Diagnostic challenges and Differential Diagnosis. In Current Concepts in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy/Dysplasia(pp 49-58). Minneapolis, MN: Cardio Text Publishing.
Journals/Publications
- Calkins, H., Corrado, D., & Marcus, F. (2017). Risk Stratification in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy. Circulation, 136(21), 2068-2082.More infoArrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited cardiomyopathy characterized by ventricular arrhythmias and an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. Although structural abnormalities of the right ventricle predominate, it is well recognized that left ventricular involvement is common, particularly in advanced disease, and that left-dominant forms occur. The pathological characteristic of ARVC is myocyte loss with fibrofatty replacement. Since the first detailed clinical description of the disorder in 1982, significant advances have been made in understanding this disease. Once the diagnosis of ARVC is established, the single most important clinical decision is whether a particular patient's sudden cardiac death risk is sufficient to justify placement of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. The importance of this decision reflects the fact that ARVC is a common cause of sudden death in young people and that sudden death may be the first manifestation of the disease. This decision is particularly important because these are often young patients who are expected to live for many years. Although an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator can save lives in individuals with this disease, it is also well recognized that implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy is associated with both short- and long-term complications. Decisions about the placement of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator are based on an estimate of a patient's risk of sudden cardiac death, as well as their preferences and values. The primary purpose of this article is to provide a review of the literature that concerns risk stratification in patients with ARVC and to place this literature in the framework of the 3 authors' considerable lifetime experiences in caring for patients with ARVC. The most important parameters to consider when determining arrhythmic risk include electric instability, including the frequency of premature ventricular contractions and sustained ventricular arrhythmia; proband status; extent of structural disease; cardiac syncope; male sex; the presence of multiple mutations or a mutation in TMEM43; and the patient's willingness to restrict exercise and to eliminate participation in competitive or endurance exercise.
- Day, K., Oliva, I., Krupinski, E., & Marcus, F. (2017). Identification of 4th intercostal space using sternal notch to xiphoid length for accurate electrocardiogram lead placement. Journal of electrocardiology, 48(6), 1058-61.More infoPrecordial ECG lead placement is difficult in obese patients with increased chest wall soft tissues due to inaccurate palpation of the intercostal spaces. We investigated whether the length of the sternum (distance between the sternal notch and xiphoid process) can accurately predict the location of the 4th intercostal space, which is the traditional location for V1 lead position.
- Lampert, R., Olshansky, B., Heidbuchel, H., Lawless, C., Saarel, E., Ackerman, M., Calkins, H., Estes, N. A., Link, M. S., Maron, B. J., Marcus, F., Scheinman, M., Wilkoff, B. L., Zipes, D. P., Berul, C. I., Cheng, A., Jordaens, L., Law, I., Loomis, M., , Willems, R., et al. (2017). Safety of Sports for Athletes With Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators: Long-Term Results of a Prospective Multinational Registry. Circulation, 135(23), 2310-2312.
- Marcus, F., Hughes, T., Barrios, P., & Borgstrom, M. (2017). Clinical location of the fourth and fifth intercostal spaces as a percent of the length of the sternum. Journal of electrocardiology.More infoTo verify accurate placement of the precordial ECG leads by identifying the 4th and 5th intercostal spaces as a function of the length of the sternum. This should decrease the percentage of lead misplacement leading to misdiagnoses.
- Moss, A. J., & Marcus, F. I. (2017). Changing Times in Cardiovascular Publications: A Commentary. The American journal of medicine, 130(1), 11-13.
- Pérez-Riera, A. R., & Marcus, F. I. (2017). Evolution of the major discoveries in electrocardiology. Journal of electrocardiology, 48(5), 749.
- Sarma, A. A., Sanborn, D. Y., Picard, M. H., & Marcus, F. I. (2017). Authors' Reply. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography, 30(10), 1043-1045.
- Suryanarayana, P. G., Kandala, J., & Marcus, F. I. (2017). High incidence of ST-T changes in women during tilt-table testing. Journal of electrocardiology, 50(6), 884-888.More infoWe have observed electrocardiographic (ECG) changes primarily in women during tilt table testing.
- Brun, F., Groeneweg, J. A., Gear, K., Sinagra, G., van der Heijden, J., Mestroni, L., Hauer, R. N., Borgstrom, M., Marcus, F. I., & Hughes, T. (2016). Risk Stratification in Arrhythmic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy Without Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators. JACC. Clinical electrophysiology, 2(5), 558-564.More infoThe primary objective of this study is risk stratification of patients with arrhythmic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC).
- Choudhary, N., Tompkins, C., Polonsky, B., McNitt, S., Calkins, H., Mark Estes, N. A., Krahn, A. D., Link, M. S., Marcus, F. I., Towbin, J. A., & Zareba, W. (2016). Clinical Presentation and Outcomes by Sex in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy: Findings from the North American ARVC Registry. Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology, 27(5), 555-62.More infoSex differences in clinical presentation and outcomes of hereditary arrhythmias are commonly reported. We aimed to compare clinical presentation and outcomes in men and women with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) enrolled in the North American ARVC Registry.
- Corrado, D., Wichter, T., Link, M. S., Hauer, R., Marchlinski, F., Anastasakis, A., Bauce, B., Basso, C., Brunckhorst, C., Tsatsopoulou, A., Tandri, H., Paul, M., Schmied, C., Pelliccia, A., Duru, F., Estes, N. A., McKenna, W. J., Thiene, G., Marcus, F. I., & Calkins, H. (2016). Response to Letter Regarding Article, "Treatment of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy/Dysplasia: An International Task Force Consensus Statement". Circulation, 133(11), e437-8.
- Marcus, F. L. (2016). MY APPROACH to the diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia (ARVC/D)(⁎). Trends in cardiovascular medicine, 26(8), 733-734.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). Association of competitive and recreational sport participation with cardiac events in patients with ARVC – results from the North American multidisciplinary study of ARVC. European Heart Journal, 1735-43.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). Can right precordial T-wave inversion in healthy endurance athletes be examined?. JACCCEP, 92-93.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). Epsilon Waves Aid in the Prognosis and Risk Stratification of Patients With ARVC/D. Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). Evolution of the major discoveries in electrocardiology. J Electrocardiol, 101-109.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). Finding ECG readers in clinical practice. JACC.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). Identification of 4th intercostal space using sternal notch to xiphoid length for accurate electrocardiogram lead placement. Journal of Electrocardiophysiology.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). Improving clinical practice guidelines for utilization by practicing physicians.. American Journal of Cardiology, 1773-6.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). Risk stratification in ARVC without ICDs. JACC.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). The value of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in evaluation of pediatric patients for arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 873-4.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). Treatment of ARVC/D: an international task force consensus statement. Circulation, 441-53.
- Marcus, F. I. (2015). We’ve come a long way baby!. Trends Cardiovasc Med, 199-200.
- Spezzacatene, A., Sinagra, G., Merlo, M., Barbati, G., Graw, S. L., Brun, F., Slavov, D., Di Lenarda, A., Salcedo, E. E., Towbin, J. A., Saffitz, J. E., Marcus, F. I., Zareba, W., Taylor, M. R., Mestroni, L., & , F. C. (2015). Arrhythmogenic Phenotype in Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Natural History and Predictors of Life-Threatening Arrhythmias. Journal of the American Heart Association, 4(10), e002149.More infoPatients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) may present with ventricular arrhythmias early in the disease course, unrelated to the severity of left ventricular dysfunction. These patients may be classified as having an arrhythmogenic DCM (AR-DCM). We investigated the phenotype and natural history of patients with AR-DCM.
- Te Riele, A. S., Marcus, F. I., James, C. A., Murray, B. A., Tichnell, C., Zimmerman, S. L., Kamel, I. R., Crosson, J., Cramer, M. J., Velthuis, B. K., Hauer, R. N., Tandri, H., Bluemke, D. A., & Calkins, H. (2015). The Value of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Evaluation of Pediatric Patients for Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 66(7), 873-874.
- Indik, J. H., Smith, D., Sobonya, R., & Marcus, F. I. (2003). Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia: A case report of identical twins with heart failure. Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 1387-1390.More infoIndik J.H., Smith D, Sobonya R. and Marcus F. Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia: A case report of identical twins with heart failure. Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology 2003;25:1387-1390
