UT Southwestern Cardiologist Amit Khera Receives Prestigious 2025 Chairman's Award from American Heart Association
Dr. Amit Khera's recognition highlights his transformative contributions to preventive cardiology, including developing NASA's astronaut heart risk calculator and advancing cardiovascular disease prevention through innovative research and leadership.
Dr. Amit Khera, director of preventive cardiology and clinical chief of cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, will receive the 2025 Chairman's Award at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in November. The award recognizes his distinguished accomplishments and service to the organization, particularly his leadership in strengthening the annual Scientific Sessions during his tenure as chair in 2023 and the Association's Centennial year 2024.
Lee A. Shapiro, the 2025-2026 volunteer chairperson of the National Board of Directors for the American Heart Association, praised Dr. Khera's exceptional volunteer leadership and significant contributions at both national and local levels. As chair of the Scientific Sessions Program Committee, Dr. Khera facilitated greater collaboration among the Association's councils and committees to provide multidisciplinary educational content appealing to a broad range of healthcare professionals and scientists.
Dr. Khera's professional career has transformed the field of preventive cardiology through groundbreaking clinical studies and impactful contributions to cardiovascular risk assessment. His work with the Dallas Heart Study advanced applications of coronary artery calcium scanning, while his NASA-funded development of the Astro-CHARM calculator now screens astronauts for heart disease risks. He is currently leading an innovative study evaluating the use of the blood donation system to screen blood donors for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), demonstrating his commitment to improving care for those with genetic heart conditions.
The cardiologist's clinical interests stem from his residency experience caring for a 45-year-old patient undergoing multiple heart procedures, which sparked his passion for coronary artery disease prevention. Dr. Khera has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and served on the writing committee for the "2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease." His ongoing work with the Association's Cardiovascular Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) Health Scientific Advisory Group aims to harmonize gaps in clinical care and establish new roadmaps for patients with CKM syndrome.
As associate editor for the Association's flagship scientific journal Circulation and founder of the UT Southwestern Preventive Cardiology program in 2004, Dr. Khera has consistently advanced cardiovascular health through scientific discovery and clinical innovation. His recognition with the Chairman's Award underscores the critical importance of preventive cardiology in reducing cardiovascular disease burden and improving population health outcomes worldwide.