J. Willis Hurst

J. Willis Hurst, M.D. was a trainee in cardiology with Dr. Paul White, the father of American Academic Cardiology, at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Hurst taught and practiced cardiology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, for fifty eight years. He was professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine for thirty years. He was President Lyndon B. Johnson's cardiologist for eighteen years.

Dr. Hurst is known internationally as a skilled teacher and writer. He has published numerous medical books and articles. His book, THE HEART, now known as Hurst's The Heart, was translated into five languages. He has also written books on teaching, a children's book with his grandson, two novels with his son, and a novel, The Last Leaf Has Fallen, about the downfall of a young doctor. Although Hurst officially retired on January 1, 2009, Emory interns and residents meet with him the first Tuesday each the month for dinner and a teaching session.