Catherine Mary Otto is an

echocardiography Echocardiography, also known as cardiac ultrasound, is the use of ultrasound to examine the heart. It is a type of medical imaging, using standard ultrasound or Doppler ultrasound. The visual image formed using this technique is called an ec ...

specialist who serves as J. Ward Kennedy-Hamilton Endowed Chair in Cardiology at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Medical Center. She has authored echocardiography textbooks. The major fields she works in are

valvular heart disease Valvular heart disease is any cardiovascular disease process involving one or more of the four valves of the heart (the aortic and mitral valves on the left side of heart and the pulmonic and tricuspid valves on the right side of heart). The ...

, adult congenital heart disease, and

Education

She obtained a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

in 1975, an

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

from the

in 1979, and did her

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

The New York Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (abbreviated as NYP) is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City. It is the primary teaching hospital for Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. The hospit ...

Cornell Medical Center Weill Cornell Medicine (; officially Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University), originally Cornell University Medical College, is the medical school of Cornell University, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in Ne ...

from 1979 to 1982 in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

and a

fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

at the University of Washington from 1982 till 1985.

Career

Otto is an expert on calcific (

aortic stenosis Aortic stenosis (AS or AoS) is the narrowing of the exit of the left ventricle of the heart (where the aorta begins), such that problems result. It may occur at the aortic valve as well as above and below this level. It typically gets worse o ...

) and received the 2011

American College of Cardiology The American College of Cardiology (ACC), based in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949. It bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet its qualifications. Education is a core component of the ...

Distinguished Scientist Award (Clinical Domain) for her research on this subject. In addition, Otto is the author of several cardiology books. In January, 2014, she was appointed

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of ''Heart'', the official journal of the

British Cardiovascular Society The British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) is a United Kingdom-wide health organisation based in London. It aims to represent all healthcare professionals working in the field of cardiology, set standards for prevention, diagnosis, and clinical care ...

. During 2023, Otto was awarded by the American College of Cardiology with the Distinguished Teacher Award for her impact within the cardiology field.

Personal

On 29 March 1979, Otto married Robert Frederick Leach in

King County, Washington King County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of counties in Washington, most populo ...

Selected publications

* C. Otto and B. Bonow. ''Valvular Heart Disease, 3rd ed,''

Elsevier Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell (journal), Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, ...

/Saunders, 2009 * C. Otto. ''Textbook of Clinical Echocardiography'', 4th ed, Elsevier, 2009 * D. Oxorn and C. Otto. ''Atlas of Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography: Surgical and Radiologic Correlations'', Elsevier, 2006 * C. Otto. ''The Practice of Clinical Echocardiography'', 3rd edition. Elsevier, 2008 * C. Otto, B. Schwaegler and R. Freeman ''Echocardiography Review Guide'', 2nd ed., Elsevier, 2011 * C. Otto and L. Gillam. 'Advanced Echocardiographic Approaches', Elsevier, 2012

References

External links

Interview with Catherine Otto about echocardiography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Catherine M. 1953 births Living people Reed College alumni University of Washington School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Washington (state) American cardiologists American women cardiologists University of Washington faculty Medical journal editors