Christopher K. Zarins (born on in

Tukums Tukums (; german: Tuckum; liv, Tukāmō) is a town in the Zemgale region of Latvia. History The historical center of Tukums developed between trade routes leading from the mouth of the Daugava River to Prussia. The oldest part is today's T ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

) is an American-Latvian surgeon and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

who specializes in vascular biology and

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

Family background and education

Zarins was born during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1943 in the family of Tukums

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

pastor Rihards Zariņš (1913–2006) and English teacher Maria Zarinš. In October 1944 he fled to Sweden with his parents and in November 1946 he moved to the United States. In 1960, he graduated from the

Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is an elite public high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is one of th ...

in New York, in 1964 he graduated from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Ep ...

with B.A. in biology. In 1968, he received his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

in Baltimore. From 1968 to 1973 he worked at the

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 ...

, from 1974 to 1979 at the US Navy Medical Center in San Diego. From 1976 to 1993 he taught at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, was a vascular surgeon at the

Medical Center Medical center or medical centre may refer to: Medical care * A collection of medical services on the same site, such as the services of a general practitioner, pharmacist, pathology, radiology, dentist etc. * Clinic * Hospital * Academic medic ...

, in 1982 he became a professor. In 1993, he moved to California where he began working as a vascular surgeon at

Stanford University Medical Center Stanford University Medical Center is a medical complex which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. It is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the United States and serves as a teaching hospital for the S ...

Scientific work

Zarins is an author or co-author of more than 15 books and more than 350 scientific articles in the fields of vascular biomechanics and pathobiology of

atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usually ...

carotid stenosis Carotid artery stenosis is a narrowing or constriction of any part of the carotid arteries, usually caused by atherosclerosis. Signs and symptoms The common carotid artery is the large artery whose pulse can be felt on both sides of the neck ...

aortic aneurysm An aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. They usually cause no symptoms except when ruptured. Occasionally, there may be abdominal, back, or leg pain. The prevalence of abdominal aorti ...

s and endovascular therapy.

HeartFlow

In 2007, Zarins together with

biomedical engineer Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

Charles Anthony Taylor founded HeartFlow, Inc., a

medical technology Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of li ...

company based in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

, that developed non-invasive, real-time virtual modeling tool for

coronary artery disease Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial ischemia, or simply heart disease, involves Ischemia, the reduction of blood flow to the myocardium, heart muscle due to build-up o ...

(CAD) intervention using estimation of

fractional flow reserve Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a diagnostic technique used in coronary catheterization. FFR measures pressure differences across a coronary artery stenosis (narrowing, usually due to atherosclerosis) to determine the likelihood that the stenosis ...

(FFR).

References

External links

Christopher Zarins - Stanford Profiles

HeartFlow website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarins, Christopher American people of Latvian descent Latvian physicians 1943 births Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Lehigh University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Stanford University School of Medicine faculty Living people 21st-century American businesspeople American technology company founders Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area