Liliana Grinfeld, Pioneering Interventional Cardiologist From Argentina, Dies at 71

Liliana Rosa Grinfeld, MD, PhD, chief of interventional cardiology at Hospital Español de La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina), died May 17, 2015, after a long illness. She was 71 years old. 

In addition to being the first female cardiologist to perform angioplasty in Argentina, Dr. Grinfeld was the first female president of both the Argentina Society of Cardiology (1992) and the Argentine College of Interventional Cardiologists Association (2006-2009). She was a founding member of SOLACI (Latin American Society of Interventional Cardiology) and the Women in Innovations (WIN) initiative as well as a co-founder of Trials Argentina Group Organization Coordinating Center (TANGO CC), an organization dedicated to furthering clinical research in Argentina. 

Early Years

Following in the footsteps of her father, David Grinfeld, MD, a pioneer in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, Dr. Grinfeld attended medical school at the National University of La Plata, graduating in 1968. Soon after, she traveled to the United States for further training at the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH). There she began working with fellow Argentinian Rene Favaloro, MD, and F. Mason Sones Jr, MD, who were early pioneers of cardiac catheterization techniques. 

Like Dr. Favaloro, Dr. Grinfeld soon returned to Argentina to work toward ensuring that their country had the same healthcare and cardiology standards as the United States. Together they built a practice that later became known as the Favaloro Foundation. She was part of the team that conducted the first balloon angioplasty ever performed in Argentina and was the first female cardiologist to use stents in that country. In 1986, she completed her second specialization in interventional cardiology. 

Over the years, she actively participated in many research trials and collaborations, including HORIZONS-AMI and EVEREST. Dr. Grinfeld was a familiar figure within the interventional cardiology community who played an active role at numerous annual meetings around the world.  

A True Fighter Against Obstacles

“Liliana resonated pure class,” said Gregg W. Stone, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center (New York, NY). “She was a special person who was able to warm your heart while treating it. She helped spread the gospel of primary PCI care for patients with heart attack across a continent and had a profound effect on all with whom she interacted. She will be greatly missed and never forgotten.” 

Martin B. Leon, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center, described Dr. Grinfeld as “a loyal friend, an indomitable spirit, beyond courageous, and fiercely independent—a true pioneer and a role model as a physician and a person.” 

Jorge A. Belardi, MD, of the Instituto Cardiovascular de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires, Argentina), first met Dr. Grinfeld in the early 1970s when she was training at the Cleveland Clinic with Dr. Sones. They both were on the team that performed that first angioplasty in 1980. 

“Those were difficult times to get catheters, balloons, wires, etc, but we could overcome all inconveniences,” he said. “She had always had a very strong personality to cope with difficulties. Through her continuous effort and negotiable willingness to improve the practice of interventional cardiology in Argentina, she demonstrated she was a true fighter, against any obstacles.” 

Dr. Belardi recalled her fierce dedication to her medical career and her desire to continue to work throughout her illness. 

“Over the last years, she worked in conjunction with young interventional cardiologists in order to help them access new developments in this field around the world, in particular in connection with TCT,” he added. 

Those thoughts were echoed by Oscar A. Mendiz, MD, of Hospital Universitario Fundación Favaloro (Buenos Aires, Argentina), who recalled his first experience with Dr. Grinfeld, in 2010, when she was president of the SOLACI-CACI meeting.  

“Although we had never worked together before, she invited me [to be] scientific chair,” he said. “It was a significant experience for me, and we felt proud of our work together. The loveliest aspects of the Congress were the meetings at Liliana’s house, where she showed us that she was also an excellent hostess and wonderful cook. 

“We also shared the honor and experience of being part of the associated board of directors of TCT,” he continued, “and we enjoyed discussing the potentialities of increasing international participation of younger people with experienced physicians from all over the world.” 

Legacy of Caring

Dr. Mendiz added that he and Dr. Grinfeld shared enthusiasm about the creation of TCT Radio in Spanish, which debuted at the 2014 TCT meeting in Washington, DC. “This was perhaps the project where I could most appreciate what she was as a professional: an enthusiastic and extremely hard worker, an innovator, and a pioneer,” he said, noting that she was an inspiration for many young female interventional cardiologists.

Roxana Mehran, MD, of Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, NY), who started TCT Radio and hosts the English version of the show, recalled being a fellow and seeing Dr. Grinfeld in action at meetings. They became long-time friends. 

“I remember seeing this woman who was extremely knowledgeable, who was very determined and very strong on panels,” she recalled. “Liliana was up there, and she was able to respond to her male colleagues on an equal footing with a lot of determination and incredible enthusiasm and passion for cardiovascular care.” 

In addition to being a strong physician-scientist, Dr. Mehran noted, Dr. Grinfeld was a “quintessential physician” who cared deeply about patients and improving their outcomes. 

“She trained with the best of the best, and then when she went back to Argentina, she was in the minority not just by virtue of being a woman but because she was advocating for PCI in a country that was dominated by cardiovascular surgeons, who were on the other side of the fence,” Dr. Mehran observed. “Yet she stood strong because she always believed in less invasive means to treat patients.” 

When Dr. Mehran founded the WIN initiative in conjunction with the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions to address gender disparities in treatment and outcomes and to advocate for greater inclusion of women in clinical trials, she immediately thought of Dr. Grinfeld. 

“Liliana was the very first person I called, and she was right there supporting the effort, not just in Argentina but in all of South America,” she said. “That initiative gained its momentum in South America through Liliana’s energy and passion to make certain that women were well represented in clinical trials and that we would have equal footing on so many fronts.” 

Another part of Dr. Grinfeld’s legacy that will not be forgotten by those close to her is that she was a passionate mother, she added. 

“For as hard as she worked in her career and for all the travel she did, her focus was always on her children,” Dr. Mehran said. “As she became more and more ill she focused on making sure that they were okay, because she knew the time was coming when she could not be there for them anymore.” 

Dr. Grinfeld is survived by her husband, Dr. Norberto Pallavicini, and their children.