Stamatios Lerakis, MD, FACC

Clinical Trials

• Edwards Cardioband System ACTIVE Pivotal Clinical Trial (ACTIVE)

Media Releases

Get to know Cardiologist Dr. Stamatios Lerakis, who serves patients in New York, New York.

Helping patients maintain a heart-healthy life, Dr. Lerakis is a recognized multimodality cardiac imager & a national and international expert in imaging for structural and valve interventions. 

On September 1st, 2018, he joined the Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, full time faculty, in the role of Professor of Medicine and Director of Noninvasive Cardiology for  The Lauder Family Cardiovascular Center of Mount Sinai Heart & as Director of Imaging for Structural and Valve Interventions for the Mount Sinai Health System. 

Holding academic appointments, Dr. Lerakis serves as a Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and as a Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. 

Growing up in the village of Kalamoti in the island of Chios, it was there that Dr. Lerakis finished high school. He then graduated with his medical degree from the Medical School of Athens and went to the United States for his medical training. 

He continued doing clinical research in nuclear cardiology at Mount Sinai Hospital. Subsequently, he did his internal medicine training in the Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia, and then completed a year of fellowship in critical care at Brown University. 

Thereafter, Dr. Lerakis completed his fellowship in cardiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and then did a one-year fellowship in echocardiography at Emory University. 

After his fellowship, he stayed on as faculty in the Division of Cardiology at Emory University where he was a Professor of Medicine, Radiology and Imaging Sciences, the Director of Imaging for the Structural and Valve Interventions in Emory Healthcare, the Medical Director for Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac MRI at Emory University Hospital and Emory Clinic, and as the Fellowship Program Director for the Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Fellowship (CMR and CCT).

Level 3 trained and certified in all cardiovascular imaging modalities, Dr. Lerakis is board-certified in cardiovascular disease by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Moreover, he is board-certified in cardiovascular computed tomography by the Certification Board of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography™ (CBCCT™), in cardiovascular magnetic resonance by the Certification Board of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CBCMR), in nuclear cardiology by the Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology, and in echocardiography by the National Board of Echocardiography.

Among his professional affiliations, Lerakis is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC) and a member of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with the disorders of the heart, as well as some parts of the circulatory system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, and electrophysiology. Cardiologists are doctors who diagnose, assess, and treat patients with diseases and defects of the heart and blood vessels (the cardiovascular system).

An expert in his field, Dr. Lerakis has been regularly invited to faculty and guest lecturer in multiple national and international conferences. He has also been the PI and Co-PI in multiple structural and valve trials, and has conducted more than 200 publications. 

His various accolades include 2017 Distinguished Physician Award, Department of Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine; 2010 Gerald Pohost Journal Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Best Manuscript Award, the Society of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance; 2001 Excellence in Teaching, Emory University School of Medicine; and 1982 Scholarship-Patera, National Philanthropic Organization in Athens, Greece.

Happily married, Dr. Lerakis and his wife, Ioanna Dafermou, have a son named Alexandros. 

Recommended Articles

• A New Form of Spaghetti Has Been Designed to Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease

  Scientists have developed ‘super spaghetti’, a variant of the normal form made from barley flour and this new form of noodles is supposed to reduce the risk of heart disease. Super spaghetti was developed by the scientists in Italy and Spain and the report is published in, Journal of...

• What Are the Best Ways to Lower Blood Pressure?

  Blood pressure above 140/90 mm Hg is considered hypertension, and is one of the most prevalent and preventable conditions. High blood pressure is one of the causes of about 15% of deaths in the country, and also increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Not to mention the risks of aneurysms,...

• What is the Ideal Cholesterol Level?

  Ideal Cholesterol LevelLast week when you went for the regular check up the doctor told you that your ‘bad’ cholesterol levels are high. What does that mean? Is good and bad cholesterol the same thing? Yes, cholesterol is needed for maintaining good health. If the levels of low density...

• Sons Can Inherit Heart Disease from Their Fathers

  A recent study has shown that some of the genes present in the Y chromosome increases the chances of heart disease by as much as 50%. Men inherit a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases directly from their fathers. This adds to the increasing evidence as to why men are more susceptible to heart...

• Lightheadedness

  What is lightheadedness?Lightheadedness or feeling faint may not always be a cause for concern. However, it may also indicate an underlying health problem and can increase the risk of falling and fall-related injuries. If you feel lightheaded, drink water or fluids containing electrolytes and take...

• What are Atrial Fibrillation Blood Clots?

  What are Atrial Fibrillation Blood Clots?Perhaps the terms Atrial Fibrillation Blood Clots are familiar with your ears or may be not, as the opposite applies to many and may be you are one of them. If you are in the latter group of people, then worry only if you have not read this article to the end...