William R. Slater, MD

I practice and teach general cardiology, with particular expertise in cardiac arrhythmia management. I specialize in providing second opinions to patients with heart rhythm problems as well as those with coronary artery disease and heart valve disease.

I chose a career in medicine because of my mother’s breast cancer diagnosis during my adolescence. I realized how every word conveyed by a doctor can affect an entire family, and I saw medicine as a way to heal physically and emotionally. This has proven very rewarding for me. 

I am trained in cardiac electrophysiology, but I no longer perform procedures, preferring to help advise and educate patients regarding their arrhythmia care and referring to our world-class team for interventional and surgical procedures. Our team at NYU Langone, not only provides superb medical advice but also helps empower patients to understand their options in a reassuring, optimistic way.

In our practice, we recognize that compassionate care is at the core of healing, so we always try to integrate physical and emotional wellbeing. Toward this goal, I partner with our nurse, Barbara Guerra, who has been the most integral part of our practice for more than 25 years.

My time is also spent helping to educate young physicians. This is an enormously rewarding part of my life. I served as chief of the medical service when NYU Langone was known as NYU Hospitals Center and I currently lead the cardiac consultation service at Bellevue Hospital; these are our main teaching venues. I have been honored with the Teacher of the Year Award from NYU Langone’s Department of Medicine three times, as well as the Teacher of the Year Award from the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology three times.

I have received the Alpha Omega Alpha Award in recognition of excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service as a clinical faculty member. I was proud to receive the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award, elected by the 2005 graduating class of NYU School of Medicine as the faculty member who most displayed medical humanism, compassion, and respect in the practice of medicine.

In 2007, I received the NYU Distinguished Teaching Award, which is the highest teaching honor NYU bestows. This university-wide honor recognizes gifted teachers across all undergraduate and professional schools in the university. The NYU School of Medicine class of 2013 elected me to receive the Distinguished Teaching Award in the Basic Sciences, and I continue to try to integrate advances in basic science into our clinical practice.

I am honored that my peers have recognized me as well. I have been included in Castle Connolly’s “America's Top Doctors” annually since 2002, in New York Magazine’s “Best Doctors in New York” for the past nine years, and annually in The New York Times’ “Super Docs” feature. U.S. News & World Report has recognized me as one of “America’s Best Doctors” for the past five years.

I have authored numerous articles about clinical cardiology and book chapters on managing cardiovascular disease, and I serve as a reviewer for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. My wife, Ronnie, is also a physician and medical educator, and I have two daughters, Emily and Alissa, and a granddaughter, Scarlett.