The world of cardiology has lost a great scientist, teacher, physician, and friend: Ralph Shabetai, who died on October 15, 2010. Dr. Shabetai’s interest in the heart developed from a very young age in his hometown of Manchester, England, as both he and his twin brother had heart murmurs. Evaluations by many consultants disclosed a wide range of opinions about the significance of the murmurs as well as about the twins’ prognoses. Ralph became fascinated with biology and specifically with the circulation of the frog while in grade school. He went on to medical school in Edinburgh, Scotland, and subsequently moved to the United States to the University of Cincinnati and the University of Kentucky. Like his mentors at these institutions, Ralph soon became a great clinician-scientist.

Dr. Shabetai’s first paper, “Pulsus Paradoxus,” was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in 1965. It proved to be a seminal work, as were many of Ralph’s 165 publications. He wrote numerous papers on the pericardium in health and disease in both humans and nonhumans. His experimental investigations on the pericardium involved hemodynamic and Doppler echocardiographic studies in different animal species, including teleost fishes (also known as sharks!). Dr. Shabetai wrote >70 book chapters and a single-authored textbook titled The Pericardium , first published in 1981 and revised in 2003. This book is considered a “classic” and remains a major reference for those seeking to learn about pericardial disease.

Dr. Shabetai was recognized internationally and well appreciated as an expert in pericardial, myocardial, and valvular heart disease and heart failure. He was a master physiologist and an expert and curious investigator. He used cardiac catheterization, hemodynamics, Doppler, echocardiography, and flow probes for his clinical and experimental studies.

While in Cincinnati and Kentucky, Dr. Shabetai developed a respected and international reputation for his research on pericardial disease. In 1970, he went to the University of California San Diego Medical School as a visiting professor. In 1976, he was recruited to be the associate chief of cardiology at San Diego and chief of cardiology at the Veterans Affairs hospital. There, Ralph established an excellent cardiology program. He was a gifted teacher. He mentored numerous physicians who have subsequently become prominent leaders in academic cardiology and in clinical practice. Beyond academics and administration, Ralph was a skilled, insightful, and dedicated physician. Exhibiting strong humanitarian and service ideals, he cared deeply about his patients.

Outside of his medical life, Ralph was in many ways a renaissance man, with a diversity of interests that extended well beyond medicine. He was an avid reader, and he loved poetry, literature, and classical music. Ralph was predeceased by his daughter Karen in 2000, and he is survived by his wife Estelle, 3 children, and 6 grandchildren, as well as countless students and colleagues whom he mentored and inspired.

I was most fortunate to have had Ralph as both a friend and a mentor. He was an inspiration to me by example, for his kindness, caring, wisdom, empathy, truthfulness, humility, and humor. Frequently, after The American Journal of Cardiology annual editorial board meetings in the spring, Ralph and I would have dinner together, catching up on our lives and sharing experiences and perspectives. I truly missed meeting with him at the April 2011 American College of Cardiology meeting.