Third Annual Mario S. Verani, MD, Memorial Lecture: The future of clinical nuclear cardiology

It is a great honor and privilege to present the Third Annual Mario S. Verani, MD, Memorial Lecture. Mario Verani (1943-2001) will be remembered foremost for his major contributions to the field of nuclear cardiology (Figure 1).1, 2 For instance, he was one of the first investigators to recognize that fixed thallium defects were often not just scar but could be reversed by coronary revascularization. This led to an extensive revision of accepted traditional concepts on the meaning of image patterns. Mario's work on risk stratification by myocardial perfusion and function imaging after acute myocardial infarction was equally pioneering. He also laid out the basic principles for the safe use of adenosine for pharmacologic stress testing. Adenosine is now the preferred procedure all over the world in millions of patients. Dr Verani was a founding member and past president (1996-1997) of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC). The day before he died, he received the ASNC Distinguished Service Award. Personally, I will remember Mario as a very dear friend. We spent many hours together at meetings and gatherings all over the world. I still miss his outgoing personality, his warmth, his humor, and his enthusiasm. Above all, I enjoyed his comfortable friendship. That this friendship extended itself naturally to our wives, Regina and Marjan, made it all the more special. One of the best times we had was during a cardiology meeting in Recife, in the country of his birth, Brazil. I was greatly amused and, at the same time, impressed by the admiration and respect bestowed on him by his fellow Brazilians. One evening, we were going some place in the street on foot. We could not walk down the street without Mario being stopped by one or another Brazilian cardiologist who wanted to speak and consult with him. He was clearly greatly admired and appreciated in his country. I jokingly called him “King of Recife,” and the king was holding audience. We arrived rather late where we were going. . . . I will always cherish the memories of our times together. I am grateful that I could visit Mario at his sickbed on the day before he passed away. He was so fragile and, at the same time, so courageous. I felt sad that there was so much that we could have discussed that we did not. Life seems sometimes full of missed opportunities. . . .