ACC Past President Alfred A. Bove, MD, PhD, MACC, a true cardiovascular innovator, educator and patient advocate, passed away on Oct. 17.

Bove earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University in 1962 and earned his medical degree and doctor of physiology degree from Temple University Medical School in 1966 and 1970, respectively. Following a medical internship and residency at Temple Hospital, and a post-doctoral fellowship at both Temple and the Mayo Clinic, Bove served for two years in the U.S. Navy as an undersea medical officer and at the Naval Medical Research Institute. He remained in the U.S. Naval Reserve for 33 years, during which he served as part of a mobile hospital staff in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, before retiring in 1998.

Aside from a short period of time at the Mayo Clinic in the early 1980's, Bove spent the majority of his cardiovascular career at Temple, serving in positions ranging from associate dean to section chief in Cardiology. Bove focused on coronary endothelial function, myocardial function in valvular heart disease and heart failure, exercise physiology, diving and hyperbaric medicine, and medical informatics. During his career, he published well over 200 original research papers; authored texts on coronary disease, exercise medicine, and diving medicine; and received numerous awards for his work in cardiovascular medicine and environmental medicine.

In addition to his role as president (2009-2010), where he emphasized the importance of the patient in all aspects of the College's work, Bove's contributions to the ACC are many. He served on the College's Board of Trustees from 2002 to 2013 and was the first editor-in-chief of ACC's original CardioSource.com website. Until recently, Bove also held the positions of editor-in-chief of ACCEL, the College's audio journal, and editor-in-chief of ACC's Cardiology member magazine. He also participated in a number of ACC Member Sections, including the Sports and Exercise Cardiology Section, along with numerous committees, task forces and work groups throughout his career. His vision and leadership helped to shape the College's programs and policies in areas like appropriate use criteria implementation, health information technology, advocacy, sports and exercise cardiology and more.

"Fred Bove advocated for patients every day, even dedicating his ACC Presidential Year to a focus on the patient," said ACC President Richard Kovacs, MD, FACC. "This approach, and his humility, has had a lasting effect my own career."

"Dr. Bove was committed to ensuring the College was prepared to meet the needs of cardiovascular clinicians and patients around the world, whether it was harnessing the latest technology for information sharing and learning, encouraging the development of International Chapters and on-the-ground programming, or training the next generation in areas like sports and exercise cardiology," said ACC CEO Tim Attebery, DSc, MBA, FACHE. "His legacy is woven into the very fabric of the College and all of those whose lives he touched."

"Fred was very proud of his engineering background and was always trying to find ways to make things better. For example, when he took on ACCEL his goal was to make it easily accessible to everyone, which meant leveraging new technologies and moving it from CD to SmartPhone," said ACC Past President C. Richard Conti, MD, MACC.

In his "spare time," Bove was an avid runner and possessed a true passion for sports and exercise cardiology, serving at one point as the team cardiologist for the Philadelphia 76ers. Having been trained in diving and submarine medicine while in the Navy, diving medicine was another personal and professional passion, leading him to found Underwater Medicine Associates, an educational organization devoted to diving medicine.

"Aside from his obvious talent as a cardiologist and an investigator, Fred was a spectacular human being and a bit of a Renaissance man who was as enthusiastic about deep sea diving as he was cardiology," said past ACC President and former JACC Editor-in-Chief Anthony N. DeMaria, MD, MACC. "He had a deep down integrity and his thoughtfulness and kindness were unmatched. He epitomized everything you could ever want in a leader."

Bove touched the lives of everyone he met. "Dr. Bove was a consummate professional, leading by example and inspiring patients and clinicians alike," said John Gordon Harold, MD, MACC, ACC past president and co-editor of Cardiology, along with Bove and Peter Block, MD, FACC. "Advocacy for quality patient care, education, and science were always his "True North" and provided an unsurpassed moral compass for his patients, friends and professional colleagues. The reach of Dr. Bove extended from well below the surface of the oceans to the stars and he will be missed."

"Dr. Bove was a warm, sincere, and beneficent physician who always put the interest of the patient first," said ACC Executive Vice President William J. Oetgen, MD, FACC. "He is, and always has been, an inspiration to those cardiologists who follow behind him."

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Keywords: Acute Coronary Syndrome, Anticoagulants, Arrhythmias, Cardiac, Cardiac Surgical Procedures, Metabolic Syndrome, Angina, Stable, Heart Defects, Congenital, Dyslipidemias, Geriatrics, Heart Failure, Angiography, Diagnostic Imaging, Pericarditis, Secondary Prevention, Hypertension, Pulmonary, Sleep Apnea Syndromes, Sports, Angina, Stable, Exercise Test, Heart Valve Diseases, Heart Valve Diseases