UT Southwestern Cardiologist Amit Khera Receives Prestigious American Heart Association Chairman's Award

Dr. Amit Khera, director of preventive cardiology and clinical chief of cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, will receive the 2025 Chairman's Award at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in November. The award recognizes his distinguished accomplishments and service to the organization, particularly his leadership in strengthening the annual Scientific Sessions as chair in 2023 and during the Association's Centennial year in 2024.

Lee A. Shapiro, J.D., the 2025-2026 volunteer chairperson of the National Board of Directors for the American Heart Association, emphasized Khera's exceptional volunteer leadership and significant contributions to strengthening the Association at national and local levels. As chair of the Scientific Sessions Program Committee, Khera facilitated greater collaboration among the Association's councils and committees to provide multidisciplinary educational content appealing to a broad range of healthcare professionals and scientists.

Khera's professional career has transformed preventive cardiology through groundbreaking clinical studies and significant contributions to cardiovascular risk assessment. His work includes impactful observations from the Dallas Heart Study on applications of coronary artery calcium scanning. He was funded by NASA to develop the Astro-CHARM calculator, currently used to screen astronauts for heart disease risks, demonstrating the practical applications of his research beyond traditional medical settings.

The cardiologist is committed to improving care for those with familial hypercholesterolemia and is leading an innovative study evaluating the use of the blood donation system to screen blood donors for this genetic condition. His clinical and research interests were sparked during his residency in Boston when caring for a 45-year-old man hospitalized for his seventh heart procedure, which inspired his passion for preventing coronary artery disease through risk assessment and modification.

Khera has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and served on the writing committee for the 2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. As a past volunteer president of the Association's Dallas and Southwest Region Board of Directors, he drove local engagement and strategic impact across the cardiovascular community. He has been an integral member of the Association's Cardiovascular Kidney-Metabolic Health Scientific Advisory Group since 2022, working to harmonize gaps in clinical care and establish new roadmaps for patients with CKM syndrome.

In addition to his clinical roles, Khera serves as associate editor for the Association's flagship peer-reviewed scientific journal Circulation and helped found the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology in 2020, where he also serves as associate editor. He founded the UT Southwestern Preventive Cardiology program in 2004 and led the Cardiology Fellowship Program at UT Southwestern for 15 years, winning numerous teaching awards. Khera was named a Master of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology in 2023 and is past president of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology.