Editor's Note: Interviewee Ileana L. Piña, MD, MPH, from Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, originally hails from Havana, Cuba. Dr Piña embodies the immigrant's story by overcoming early hardship through hard work and determination. This interview was recorded April 2, 2016.
The Early Years: From Havana to Tragedy in the United States
E. Magnus Ohman, MD: Hello. I'm Magnus Ohman, and I'm here today with Ileana Piña. She is a professor of medicine and associate chief of cardiology at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. She and I are going to talk about the life and times of leading cardiologists. It's fun to have you here, Ileana.
Dr Piña: Thank you. Thank you for thinking of me.
Dr Ohman: You have been a leader in many parts of medicine, not only in heart failure. You have spent a considerable amount of time in regulatory medicine, which is very unusual, so we look forward to hearing more about that. But before we get to that, you were born in Cuba?
Dr Piña:I was born in Havana, Cuba, and came to the United States when I was 6 years old. I turned 6 years old 2 weeks after we arrived.
