Gladys P Velarde, M.D.

Gladys P. Velarde, M.D., FACC, FAHA, is a University of Florida professor of medicine and a board-certified cardiologist at UF Health Jacksonville. She also serves as the medical director of the UF Health Women’s Cardiovascular Program, as well as program director of the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Training Program.

Dr. Velarde obtained her bachelor’s and medical degrees from New York University. She completed her residency training in internal medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and cardiovascular disease fellowship training at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and Boston University. Dr. Velarde demonstrates a long-standing commitment to reducing ethnic/racial and sex disparities in cardiovascular health and brings unparalleled enthusiasm in her vocation to the practice of medicine. She is equally passionate about medical education and has personally mentored numerous students and trainees to successful careers in medicine and cardiovascular medicine all across the United States. She is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a fellow of the American Heart Association, an elected member of the American College of Cardiology Prevention Council, past chair of the American College of Cardiology Disparities Working Group, elected member of American College of Cardiology Women in Cardiology Leadership Council, and member of the Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Prevention in Special Populations Committee at the American Heart Association. She is also a past steering committee member of the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, current co-chair of the National Minority Cardiovascular Health Alliance and current education chair of the Florida Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.

She has received numerous awards including the National Hispanic Medical Association Leadership Award, the Women of Distinction Award from the American Heart Association, the Pinney Cook Community Service Award, Health Care Hero by the Jacksonville Business Journal, and the Gifted Teacher Award from the Florida Chapter of the American College of Cardiology. She has published a comprehensive textbook titled Management of Cardiovascular Disease in Women through a collaboration between the divisions of cardiology at the University of Rochester and the University of Florida in Jacksonville. Her publications have appeared in peer-reviewed journals and her efforts to educate and advocate for the community, especially women and minority populations, have been showcased in local and national media.

• Cardiovascular Disease

  American Board of Internal Medicine

Significant cardiovascular health disparities still exist in women and disadvantaged ethnic minorities. This continues to fuel Dr. Velarde’s clinical research interests. Her clinical research has consistently focused on understanding gender and ethnic/racial differences in cardiovascular risk factors and how these may impact diagnosis, treatment and health outcomes. Dr. Velarde has served as Principal Investigator for seven IRB-approved clinical studies and sub-investigator with four research studies. Her efforts have centered on understanding biological markers in cardiometabolic risk in women and ethnic groups with high prevalence risk and or disease. The metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent in women of all ethnicities and represents a constellation of pre-adverse-conditions (pre-hypertension, pre-diabetes, central obesity and mild dyslipidemia among others). These ‘pre’ conditions often silently co-exist in patients and can go undetected for years. Current guidelines do not call for specific treatment of the syndrome, as the literature is mixed and controversial.

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• Diastolic dysfunction
• Gender and ethnic difference in cardiovascular disease
• Metabolic syndrome