Hakob (Jacob) G. Davtyan, MD, Emory cardiothoracic surgeon and Medical Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Service at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, GA, will be recognized as the Heart of Columbus Honoree at the 2022 Greater Columbus Heart and Stroke Ball on April 22nd. The event is sponsored by the American Heart Association of Georgia, and will be held at the Georgia Convention & Trade Center from 6:00-10:00 p.m.
In 2016, Dr. Davtyan came to Emory to lead the initiation of the affiliation of St. Francis Hospital's Cardiac Surgery Service with Emory's Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, expanding the Columbus-based program and aligning it with Emory's three existing CT surgery services at Emory University Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown, and Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital. Dr. Davtyan was already well acquainted with Emory, having been mentored during his Emory CT surgery residency and fellowship by Robert Guyton, MD, former chief of Emory CT Surgery from 1990-2017.
Under Dr. Davtyan's tutelage, St. Francis' CT Surgery Service has grown into the only program in the Chattahoochee Valley that provides a full range of cardiac surgeries, including open-heart surgery, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and heart valve replacement, with the hospital's surgical teams performing over 300 major heart and general thoracic procedures per year. Dr. Davtyan himself specializes in surgical treatment of complex and advanced disorders of the heart, lungs, and chest.
The AHA sponsors Heart Balls in communities across the country to celebrate regional successes in driving change, funding science, and improving health, as well as to raise the critical funds needed to ensure that its work can continue.