John Higgins, MD, MBA (Hons), MPHIL, FACC, FACP, FAHA, FASNC, FSGC

Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
The University of Texas Medical School at Houston

John P. Higgins is an Associate Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Chief of Cardiology at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital, and Co-Director of Exercise Physiology, Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance, Memorial Hermann.

Dr. Higgins received his medical degree from the University of Queensland, Australia. He holds a Masters in Philosophy (Epidemiology) from the University of Cambridge, England. Also, he completed an M.B.A. at The George Washington University, Washington, DC graduating with Honors, and was Inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, The International Honor Society, recognizing business excellence.

He completed an Internal Medicine Residency (University of Missouri-Columbia, MO), a Cardiology Fellowship (Brigham and Women's Hospital-Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA), and a year as a Co-investigator in the Clinical Trials Center (BWH). For three years, he was a Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine (University of Oklahoma) and a practicing cardiologist. Dr. Higgins was on staff at the VA West Roxbury as an Attending Cardiologist for three years where he was Director of The Cardiac Stress Laboratory (Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School). Dr. Higgins sees patients at LBJ General Hospital.

He loves to teach and has received the prestigious Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston four years in a row (2008–2012). His Mission statement:

“I strive to kindle a passion for learning and expand capacity to excel in each student, resident, fellow and attending that I have the privilege to interact with, effectively imparting core concepts together with an emphasis on the importance of professionalism and a sustained quest for excellence.”

His new book, Cardiology Clinical Questions (McGraw-Hill 2011, ISBN-13: 978-0071748988), was written specifically to assist Cardiology Fellows with difficult diagnostic questions.

His clinical interests include exercise physiology, exercise prescription, sports medicine, non-invasive cardiology including nuclear cardiology, echocardiography, and positron emission tomography. Current research projects investigate early cardiovascular screening of school-aged children for congenital cardiac conditions associated with sudden cardiac death, and is Principal Investigator of HEARTS (Houston Early Age Risk Testing & Screening study) www.gohearts.org.

Dr. Higgins is the author of 21 manuscripts, 17 web based publications, 8 abstracts, and 11 review articles.

Dr Higgins loves to exercise, and he has completed 9 marathons. His favorite quotation is:

“To give anything less that your best is to sacrifice the gift.” Steve Prefontaine (1951-1975)