Elad Anter

Dr. Elad Anter was born and raised in Israel. After completing a three-year military service, he went on to obtain higher education at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. After earning his undergraduate degree in science and a Medical Doctor degree, he continued his education in a postdoctoral research fellowship at Boston University.

Dr. Anter completed medical residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. From there, he moved to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for advanced training in Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiac Electrophysiology. In 2011, he was recruited to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston by Dr. Mark Josephson, a pioneer in the field of Cardiac Electrophysiology.

Dr. Anter and Dr. Josephson made significant contributions to cardiac electrophysiology. Dr. Anter was promoted to Associate Professor of Medicine, where he later also assumed a directorship of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratories at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Over time, Dr. Anter was recruited to Cleveland Clinic as an Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine. As a Professor of Medicine he and his research group continued to innovate in the field of cardiac electrophysiology.

As a leading investigator, Elad Anter has mentored many promising Cardiology and Research fellows. Together, their contributions to cardiac electrophysiology continue to mount. Today, he is a frequent lecturer on both National and international platforms, and he has facilitated numerous opportunities for young doctors. Dr. Elad Anter Looks forward to continuing to foster unique skills and encourage research and development in his subspecialty.

When Dr. Anter is not working, he appreciates the opportunity to spend time with his family. Prioritizing his free time with family is important to him. He is a consummate learner and active researcher, even in his day today.

Where did the idea for your career come from?

I have always been fascinated by biology, physiology, and electrical engineering, so cardiac electrophysiology was a natural choice. However, it wasn’t before my father developed a heart disease that I decided to devote my life to medicine, trying to make meaningful contributions toward advancing the therapeutic options of patients with arrhythmias and their families.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My day often begins at 5:00 am in the morning. Typically, it starts with swimming or running, during which I find focus and consider various ideas. By 6:30 I arrive at the hospital for rounds, attend the teaching round, and go to the electrophysiology laboratory.

During the time in the lab, I perform electrophysiological studies and ablation procedures. Throughout the day, I make time to teach advanced fellows with a focus on the subspecialty. Postdoctoral research fellows have my focus later in the day before I head home.
Late evening, after my children are in bed, I spend time working on papers. It’s a difficult balance, but I am lucky to have a supportive family.

How do you bring ideas to life?

My laboratory focuses on the limitations of current medical therapies with the goal of creating new solutions. Reflecting on suboptimal options provides us with the stimulation of ideas, experiments, and continued research. The goal is to overcome some of the limitations we see in today’s therapeutic environment by providing better solutions.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I believe that pulsed field ablation treatment has progressed to the point of changing the landscape of possible treatment options. This could improve procedures, reduce risks to patients, and pave the way for better overall results. At the lab, we have seen firsthand how the new treatments can prove beneficial through the studies we’ve participated in. It’ll be fantastic when it’s applied to patients.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Being inquisitive and passionate about medicine and electrophysiology stimulates me to find new ideas, improve patient care, and never settle for the status quo. It’s been wonderful to be surrounded by many talented and knowledgeable people. We exchange ideas, learn from one another, and from that, we all grow. The knowledge we share allows us all to be more productive.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Always think about the patient and continue to be stimulated and a lifelong learner. Be more patient than I was, but continue to push the boundaries and never give up.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Human tendency is to oversimplify complex physiological behaviors to find an explanation an audience or patient can relate to. This can often become a barrier to research aimed at solving these issues.
One common example of this, in my field, is the notion that substrate mapping during sinus rhythm is sufficient for understanding the substrate for arrhythmias. I think this is an oversimplification that is responsible for too many failures in treating arrhythmias.

Being clear about the entire process, from start to finish, allows the patient and study participants to be completely informed. Most people are not as incapable of comprehending as the simplification often implies. An informed patient is an empowered patient.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Question your hypothesis. Don’t assume your idea or hypothesis is correct. Work to refute the idea. If you and possibly others are unable to do so, it’s worth developing.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

For many diseases we have incomplete understanding of the physiology and therefore suboptimal therapies. I strive to improve our understanding of certain rhythm-related diseases and find better therapies. To that end, physicians must provide their patients with accurate information about their disease, standard and experimental therapies. Through responsibility to my patients and genuine care for them, patient referrals continue to increase naturally.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

When you think you have a good (research) idea, however, detailed experimental investigation doesn’t support the hypothesis, re-think the hypothesis and try to explain the findings instead of repeating the experiments.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Perhaps something such as an Uber app for electrophysiologists where doctors can share a challenging patient care situation they have and receive instant advice from experts around the globe. This level of communication and idea sharing could challenge known practices to improve.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Paying a babysitter so I could take my wife on a long awaiting date. Work life balance is challenging for all of us, and it is easy to focus on work and take our family for granted. I try very hard to balance my work and family time.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

For people in the field of cardiac electrophysiology, basic software coding skills can be very helpful. I would recommend a basic course in MATLAB. This has allowed me to streamline communications and software activities.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

“Electrophysiological Foundations of Cardiac Arrhythmias: A Bridge Between Basic Mechanisms and Clinical Electrophysiology” by Andrew Wit, Hein Wellens and Mark Josephson. This book provides a comprehensive understanding of cardiac electrophysiology. This knowledge is vital for any electrophysiologist interested in having a deep understanding of the field or desire to innovate.

What is your favorite quote?

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein

Key Learnings:

• Patient care should always motivate our innovation.
• The pursuit of answers leads to solutions and advancements through science.
• Patient clarity ensures patient empowerment, allowing doctors to provide better care.
• Challenge yourself, your ideas, and hypothesis to always improve.
• Be an active learner in all available ways.