Rancho Santa Fe resident honored at 2016 San Diego Heart Ball

The San Diego Heart Ball celebrated its 25th Anniversary May 21 at the Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa.

The event highlighted the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s efforts around stroke intervention, honored local doctors and researchers focused on stroke intervention, and shared a stroke survivor’s story.

RSF resident Dr. Justin Zivin received the “Breakthrough Award.” Zivin “played a major role in the development of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for treatment of acute stroke. Additionally, he was an influential voice in convincing NINDS to change the paradigm of clinical stroke research by organizing a study that required a complete rethinking of how stroke care is managed. His work on tPA paved the way to FDA approval of this thrombolytic agent for the treatment of acute stroke, and tPA is currently the only internationally-approved treatment for this condition.”

The pioneering efforts in stroke prevention of Dr. James Dunford and Dr. Thomas Chippendale were also honored at the event.