Overview

Athena Poppas, MD, FACC, FASE is Chief of the Cardiology Division; Director of Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute for Rhode Island, Miriam, and Newport Hospitals; Professor of Medicine, Brown University School of Medicine and Vice President of the American College of Cardiology. 

She specializes in echocardiography and in treating patients with valvular heart disease and heart disease during pregnancy.  She has presented and published internationally on topics such as valvular heart disease, cardiovascular properties in pregnancy and the role of new technologies in echocardiography, among others.

She was named a Top Doctor by Rhode Island Monthly magazine and has received numerous teaching awards at Brown and Rhode Island Hospital.

With the American College of Cardiology (ACC), Dr. Poppas was the Chair of the ACC Scientific Session ’15 and ’16 and Chair of the ACC Sections Steering Committee 2013-2016.  She was Chair of the Governance Committee and part of the Health Systems Strategy Task Force.

Previously, she served as governor and chapter president for Rhode Island 2004-2007, chair of the Women in Cardiology Section and member of the Board of Trustees of the American College of Cardiology 2010-2015. 

Dr. Poppas is a fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography, where she served on committees, including ethics, nominating and scientific programs. She has also worked with American Heart Association and European Society of Cardiology among others.

She received a Bachelor of Science from Brown University and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Dr. Poppas completed her residencies in internal medicine at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at University of Chicago Hospital.

Brown Affiliations

• Medicine