Dr. Heather Leah Gornik, MD

Heather L. Gornik, MD, is a Staff Physician in the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Section of Vascular Medicine and Medical Director of the Non-Invasive Vascular Laboratory of the Heart and Vascular Institute. She is board-certified in cardiovascular disease and has been certified in vascular disease by the American Board of Vascular Medicine. She is also fully trained in vascular ultrasound and is a registered vascular technologist. Dr. Gorniks clinical specialty interests include general cardiology, atherosclerotic vascular disease, peripheral artery disease, deep vein thrombosis, fibromuscular dysplasia, unusual vascular disorders, and vascular ultrasound. A native of Chicago, Dr. Gornik completed her undergraduate work at Johns Hopkins University, double majoring in public health and Spanish literature. She received a Masters degree in biostatistics from Johns Hopkins University and her medical degree from The University of Chicago/ Pritzker …School of Medicine, where she graduated with honors. She continued her education at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she received an M.M. Sc. in clinical investigation. Dr. Gornik received an academic appointment as an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gornik completed a medical internship and residency at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, where she became Chief Medical Resident. Her clinical training continued with a fellowship in cardiology from Brigham and Womens Hospital. In 2005, she completed a fellowship in vascular medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital and was appointed to Cleveland Clinic as a staff cardiologist in the Tomsich Family Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Sections of Clinical Cardiology and Vascular Medicine. Among her many awards, Dr. Gornik was honored with the Calvin Fentress Research Award, the the Arnold Dunne Medical Intern Award and the Starfish Award for Compassionate Patient Care from Brigham and Womens Hospital, and the Founders Award of the Fibromuscular Dysplasia Society of America. In 2010, Dr. Gornik was named an American Red Cross of Greater Cleveland Hero Award Finalist.

As a clinical investigator, Dr. Gornik has focused her research studies on optimizing the diagnosis and management of patients with peripheral vascular disorders. She is involved in clinical trials of new treatments for peripheral artery disease and deep vein thrombosis and is working on developing new tools to diagnose vascular disorders by non-invasive means. Her interest the care of patients with fibromuscular dysplasia has led to the creation of a dedicated clinic for FMD patients, and she is highly active in multiple research programs related to FMD. In this regard, Dr. Gornik serves as the Cleveland Clinic site principal investigator for the United States Registry for Fibromuscular Dysplasia. Dr. Gornik has lectured frequently on her clinical specialty interests and her research work. She is author or co-author of book chapters in medical textbooks and she has published articles and abstracts in leading, peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Gornik is a member of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the Society for Vascular Medicine, and the Society for Vascular Ultrasound.