Cardiovascular Services

Meet our Cardiology Team

Larry Stephenson, MD

"Breaking New Ground in Healing Failing Hearts"

Several decades ago, the idea of transplanting a human heart was the stuff of science fiction. Yet in the mid 1960s a South African surgeon successfully performed the feat-fascinating the world and changing the life of a young medical school student. Larry Stephenson, M.D. embarked on an extraordinary research career that has brought him international fame and personal satisfaction.

Dr. Stephenson is the head of cardiothoracic surgery at Harper University Hospital. His clinical skills are saving lives and his innovative research may one day revolutionize the treatment of heart failure. Dr. Stephenson is one of the world's pioneers in a relatively new area of medicine called skeletal-muscle cardiac assist. Basically this experimental technique involves using the patient's skeletal muscles-the ones we use to move-to make a weakened heart beat stronger. This groundbreaking research has brought him national and international recognition.

Under Dr. Stephenson's direction, Harper University Hospital's cardiothoracic surgery program has become one of the strongest in the country. The government, through the National Institutes of Health, has consistently funded its research. Clinically, Dr. Stephenson and his colleagues get results and some of the toughest cases are referred to them from throughout Michigan and other states.

Meanwhile, Dr. Stephenson's newly published book, "The State of the Heart," is earning rave reviews. "There was a need," he says. "No one had written a comprehensive heart book for the general public." In addition, he has written more than 300 papers for the scientific community.

Dr. Stephenson studied medicine at Marquette University. He completed his surgical residency at the University of Alabama and a residency in cardiac thoracic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania.

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