Ezra Amsterdam MD

Dr. Ezra A. Amsterdam is Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine and associate chief for academic affairs in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of California (Davis) Medical Center (UCDMC). He graduated from the School of Medicine of the University of ‘Rochester and did his cardiology fellowship at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (now Brigham and Women’s), Harvard Medical School.  He has more than 40 years of patient care to his credit and he specializes in the management and prevention of coronary artery disease as well focusing on , noninvasive diagnostic methods and exercise testing and training.  Among his multiple responsibilities, he chaired the 2014 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Management of Patients with non-ST Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome and was lead author on the AHA’s Scientific Statement on Cardiac Testing in Low Risk Patients Presenting to the ED with Chest Pain (Circulationm 2010.)

Dr. Amsterdam’s research contributions are extensive and include the remarkable total of over 800 scientific papers and 10 books. Amsterdam founded Preventive Cardiology, the first journal devoted to this sub­ject and he has been a member of the editorial boards of multiple leading cardiology journals. He is in demand as a lecturer and visit­ing professor nationally and internationally. 

Recognition of Amsterdam’s research and teaching contributions is reflected by numerous honors that include the Gifted Teacher Award of American College of Cardiology and Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cardiology Clinical Research of the Internaional Society of Cardiology. He has also received 35 additional other honors from local, national and international institutions including the Raymond D. Bahr Award of Excellence from the Society of Cardiac Patient Care, the Distinguished Teacher Award of UC Davis for Graduate and Professional Education, the Joseph Stokes Award from the American Society for Preventive Cardiology, and the 2015 Outstanding Clinician Award of UCDMC.  In its presentation of the Distinguished Teacher Award, the UC Davis Academic Senate declared that Amsterdam “is particularly noted for his ‘stellar’ teaching skills, especially in the clinical setting, and for displaying a ‘compassionate concern for patients.’”  His impact on students has been tremendous – one former student wrote, “This experience in clinical research with Dr. Amsterdam was, from start to finish, a fantastic culmination of my medical school education.”

Amsterdam says his passion for cardiology is reflected by the adage, “To the man who loves his work, there is no difference between work and play.” He continues his fulltime faculty role at UCDMC and on committees of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the American Society for Preventive Cardiology and as an invited lecturer at their national meetings.