Laurence Sperling MD
Overview
Laurence S. Sperling, M.D., FACC, FAHA, FACP, MASPC is the Founder and was the Director of The Heart Disease Prevention Center at Emory (1997-2019). He is currently the Katz Professor in Preventive Cardiology at the Emory University School of Medicine, and Professor of Global Health in the Rollins School of Public Health. Dr. Sperling is the current Executive Director of Million Hearts for the Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He served as the President of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology from 2014-2016, served on the writing committee of the 2018 ACC/ AHA/ Multi-society Guideline on the Management on Blood Cholesterol, serves as Associate Editor for the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, and the Chair of the World Heart Federation writing group on the Roadmap for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention among People Living with Diabetes. He served on the Writing Committee of the American Heart Association Cardiovascular Kidney Metabolic Health (CKMH) Initiative which has brought forth the importance of an integrated approach to prevention and treatment in this high-risk population.
Dr. Sperling founded (in 2004) and directs the first and only LDL apheresis program in the state of Georgia, and was the PI for The National FH Registry site at Emory. He has received awards for excellence in both teaching (including 4 Apple Awards and The Deans Teaching Award) and mentorship (Emory SOM 2018 Mentorship Award). He has received the Emory School of Medicine Alumni Award of Honor (2017), and the Pioneer in Prevention Award from the American Society of Preventive Cardiology in 2023. He is an elected member of the Association of University Cardiologists. He has been an investigator in a number of important clinical trials and has authored over 400 manuscripts, abstracts, and book chapters.
Dr. Sperling is originally from New York. He received his undergraduate degree from Emory College where he was accepted into Emory University School of Medicines Early Acceptance Program as a college sophomore. He graduated with his M.D. in 1989, and subsequently completed 8 additional years of training at Emory including a residency in internal medicine, chief resident year at Emory University Hospital, an NIH-supported research fellowship in molecular and vascular medicine, and a clinical fellowship in cardiovascular diseases.
Dr. Sperling was awarded The American College of Cardiology Harry B. Graf Career Development Award for Heart Disease Prevention and The American Heart Association Council on Clinical Cardiology Scholarship for Physical Activity and Public Health in 2001.
Dr. Sperling serves or has served as medical director for a number of unique programs at Emory including The HeartWise Risk Reduction Program, InterVent Atlanta, Staying Aloft, and has served as special consultant to The Centers for Disease Control. He founded (in 2004) and directs the first and only LDL apheresis program in the state of Georgia. He has been voted one of Americas and Atlantas Top Doctors and appeared often on local and national TV, newspaper, radio, and magazines. In 2011 he was chosen as one of 20 national dietary experts by U.S. News and World Report to evaluate and rank Americas popular diets. He has received awards for excellence in both teaching (including 4 Golden Apple Awards and The Deans Teaching Award) and mentorship. He was chosen by the Dean at Emory University School of Medicine to be among the first faculty society advisors for the schools new curriculum. He had served as Associate Director of the Cardiovascular Fellowship Training program at Emory for over a decade. He has been an investigator in a number of important clinical trials including JUPITER, COURAGE, and BARI-2D and has authored over 200 manuscripts, abstracts, and book chapters. He is co-editor of the American College of Cardiologys Diabetes Self Assessment Program, was a member of the American College of Cardiology Prevention Committee, and currently serves as Co-Chairman of the American College of Cardiologys Diabetes and Cardiometabolic Working group, in addition to Chairman of the National Cardiometabolic Alliance. He also serves on the ACCs Population Health Policy and Health Promotions committee, as well as the research and publications committee of the National Diabetes Collaborative Registry. He was a member of the steering committee and moderator for the Inaugural U.S. Familial Hypercholesterolemia Summit in September, 2013. Dr. Sperling is the Director the ESCAPE CV Prevention meeting, now in its 15th year. He has delivered invited presentations on every continent except for Antarctica.
Dr. Sperling has been a marathon runner having completed the New York, Prague, and Atlanta marathons. In 2010 he ran the original course from Marathon to Athens, Greece to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of this event. He lives in the Druid Hills neighborhood of Atlanta with his wife, Sidney, and 2 sons, Mathew and Daniel.
Academic Appointment
- Master Clinician, Emory University School of Medicine
- Professor of Global Health, Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University
- Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
Education
Degrees
- MD from Emory University School of Medicine
- BA from Emory College
Research
Focus
- Research efforts focused in preventive cardiology. Diets and cardiovascular disease, utilization of omega 3 fatty acids, and effects of therapeutic lifestyle change on vascular risk. Other investigative pursuits include premature coronary disease and novel lipid therapies. Faculty member of Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute (ECCRI)
Publications
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Hypertension in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: insights into epidemiology, management strategies, and outcomes.
Curr Opin Cardiol Volume: 40 Page(s): 206 - 212
07/01/2025 Authors: Gupta P; Bast JA; Razavi AC; Canonico ME; Shahzad A; Naeem M; Bonaca MP; Sperling LS; Quintana RA -
Upfront lipid-lowering combination therapy in high cardiovascular risk patients: a route to effective atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease prevention.
Cardiovasc Res Volume: 121 Page(s): 851 - 859
06/12/2025 Authors: Banach M; Surma S; Guzik TJ; Penson PE; Blaha MJ; Pinto FJ; Sperling LS -
AHA PREVENT Equations and Lipoprotein(a) for Cardiovascular Disease Risk : Insights From MESA and the UK Biobank.
JAMA Cardiol
06/04/2025 Authors: Bhatia HS; Ambrosio M; Razavi AC; Alebna PL; Yeang C; Spitz JA; Patel J; Tsai MY; Sperling L; Shapiro MD -
Sex and racial differences in prevalence and clinical characteristics of people living with LDLR and PCSK9 familial hypercholesterolemia genetic variants: Data from the All of Us Research program.
Am J Prev Cardiol Volume: 22 Page(s): 101024
06/01/2025 Authors: Osei J; Razavi AC; Quyyumi AA; Eapen DJ; Sun YV; Khoury MJ; Sperling L -
Corrigendum to "Association of thoracic aortic calcium with incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality across the spectrum of coronary artery calcium burden" [American Journal of Preventive Cardiology 21 (2025) 100916].
Am J Prev Cardiol Volume: 22 Page(s): 100989
06/01/2025 Authors: Razavi AC; Dzaye O; Cainzos-Achirica M; Dardari Z; Van Assen M; Quyyumi AA; Nasir K; Carr JJ; Budoff MJ; Blumenthal RS -
Employment status as a predictor of adverse outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease.
Volume: 22 Page(s): 100997
06/01/2025 Authors: Wilson TM; Yadalam AK; Sakr S; Gold ME; Jain V; Razavi AC; Vatsa N; Gold DA; Ko Y-A; Chen Y -
Prevalence and Correlates of Lipoprotein(a) Testing in a Diverse Cohort of U.S. Adults.
JACC Adv Volume: 4 Page(s): 101826
05/30/2025 Authors: Razavi AC; Richardson LC; Coronado F; Vesper HW; Lyle A; Bhatia HS; Tsimikas S; Quyyumi AA; Vaccarino V; Eapen DJ -
Cardiac allograft vasculopathy mediates the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular mortality following heart transplantation.
Am Heart J Volume: 289 Page(s): 138 - 146
05/16/2025 Authors: Gold ME; Kulkarni S; Yadalam A; Patel KJ; Gold DA; Vatsa N; Jain V; Razavi A; Ko Y-A; Liu C -
Sustained Monomorphic Ventricular Tachycardia Accurately Detected by Wearable Technology.
JACC Case Rep Volume: 30 Page(s): 103273
05/07/2025 Authors: Guynn N; Regis K; Eckert A; D'souza M; Turbow S; Westerman S; Sperling L; Lloyd M -
Use of Cardiac Rehabilitation in Older Patients With Myocardial Infarction Complicated by Cardiogenic Shock.
J Am Coll Cardiol Volume: 85 Page(s): 1614 - 1617
04/29/2025 Authors: Essa M; Decker SRR; Liang L; Song Y; Varghese MS; Figueroa JF; Sperling L; Fonarow GC; Keteyian SJ; Thompson MP