Remembering Craig Murdoch Pratt, MD, FACC: July 18, 1945 – August 28, 2021

Long-time Houston Methodist cardiologist and Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal editorial board member Craig Pratt, MD, FACC, passed away this summer after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He is preceded in death by his parents, John and Ruth Neilsen Pratt, and his brother, John Pratt. He is survived by his beloved wife, Carmen; son, Alberto, and his wife Michelle; daughter, Amanda, and her husband Corey; son, Nicolas; and four granddaughters, Catalina, Carmen, Mila, and Charlotte.

In his five-decade career, Pratt was a leader in clinical and research cardiology, serving as director of the Houston Methodist coronary intensive care unit (1978-2011), ambulatory ECG monitoring & stress testing laboratories (1978-2020), and ECG laboratory (2003-2020), and director of research and program director of cardiovascular diseases at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center. A keen researcher, Pratt focused on the analysis and treatment of ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias.

However, one of his most lasting achievements is as an educator. For many years, he supervised the educational programs in the Houston Methodist coronary care unit, training hundreds of residents and fellows in clinical core curricula and encouraging them to participate in clinical trials. For close to four decades, Dr. Pratt ran a weekly clinical research/journal review conference where he taught fellows how to design clinical trials and critically review published clinical research publications. He served as vice chairman of education and program director for the cardiology department for more than a decade. His students and teaching colleagues recognized him with over a dozen faculty and teaching awards for excellence in and commitment to education. One of those students, Dr. Shaun Smithson, delivered a touching eulogy at Dr. Pratt’s funeral. The editors of this journal are honored to print Dr. Smithson’s tribute to his—and our—mentor, colleague, and friend.