Maurice Lev

Maurice Lev was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Russian immigrants, and was raised by his grandfather to become a rabbi. He obtained his B.S. degree from New York University in 1930, graduated from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, in 1934, and did his residency in pathology at Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. He served in the army during World War II, and retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1946. He worked at the University of Illinois and later at Mount Sinai Hospital, Miami Beach, Florida. He was Director of the Congenital Heart Disease Research and Training Center at Hektoen Institute, Chicago, Illinois from 1957 to 1982. During this time he taught at all six medical schools and practically all the hospitals in Chicago; he was professor of pathology at all the medical schools. Dr. Lev was the Director of the Clinical Laboratories at Deborah Heart and Lung Center, Browns Mills, New Jersey, from November 1982 to March 1988.

Dr. Lev's pioneering contributions in pathology of congenital heart disease and the conduction system of the heart has helped not only the cardiac surgeons but also the pediatric and adult cardiologists in the understanding and management of congenital cardiac malformations and various types of arrhythmias. He authored or coauthored several books, two of them published in the last 3 to 4 years, and published more than 500 articles.

Since 1988, until the very end, he was the Associate Director of the Congenital Heart and Conduction System Center, Heart Institute for Children, Christ Hospital and Medical
Center, Oak Lawn, Illinois and Professor of Pathology, Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois. He worked 7 days a week; his philosophy of life was to work and to teach. At the age of 58, he earned a Master's degree in Philosophy. He was admired and loved by all. He received honors and awards from practically all cardiovascular societies for his teachings and research. His monumental contributions will remain a guiding light to serious students in cardiovascular medicine.

The above information taken from the biography of Maurice Lev by Saroja Bharati, on the website of the Hearth Rhythm Society.

Saroja Bharati, M.D., is affiliated with The Congenital Heart and Conduction System Center, Palos Heights, Illinois.

• Saroja Bharati:
  Maurice Lev, M.D. November 13, 1908-February 4, 1994.
  Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, 1994, 5 (6): 561-561.

• Saroja Bharati and Maurice Lev:
  The Pathology of Congenital Heart Disease. A Personal Experience With More than 6300 Congenitally Malformed hearts.
  Wiley-Blackwell 1997. 1567 pages.
• Saroja Bharati, Maurice Lev, John W. Kirklin (1917-) ; illustrations by John Desley:
  Cardiac surgery and the conduction system.
  New York : John Wiley, 1983. XI, 107 pages.