Heart Attacks, Blockages & Stents: Why & How You Should Care for Your Coronary Arteries for a Healthier Heart

Dr. Emmanouil S. Brilakis is Director of the Center for Complex Coronary Interventions at the Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute and Chairman of the Center for Coronary Artery Disease at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.

After graduating from Lycée Léonin de Patissia, Dr. Brilakis earned his medical degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. He completed training in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases, and interventional cardiology at the Mayo Clinic, where he also earned a Master’s in Clinical Research. He later obtained a PhD in Clinical Research from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. From 2004 to 2016, he served as Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at the VA North Texas Health Care System and was a faculty member at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School from 2004 to 2018.

Dr. Brilakis leads a robust clinical research program focused on chronic total occlusion interventions, prevention and treatment of saphenous vein graft disease, lipid‑lowering therapies, management of procedural complications, intracoronary imaging, optimization of antiplatelet therapy following coronary stenting, and radiation safety in the catheterization laboratory. He has authored or co‑authored more than 600 peer‑reviewed manuscripts and is the author of The Manual of CTO Interventions (now in its third edition) and The Manual of PCI. He also created the Manual of CTO Interventions and Manual of PCI YouTube series.

Dr. Brilakis serves on the board of the Cardiovascular Innovations Foundation, is an Associate Editor for Circulation, and sits on the editorial boards of multiple journals and grant review committees. He is also an active international lecturer and procedural proctor. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), the American Heart Association (FAHA), the European Society of Cardiology (FESC), and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (FSCAI).