Remembering Dr. Sylvia Griffiths

Sylvia Griffiths, MD, a founder of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Columbia, died on July 3 at age 99. Dr. Griffiths was one of the first 50 diplomates in the field of pediatric cardiology (per the American Board of Pediatrics), and trained under the legendary Dr. Helen Taussig. Dr. Griffiths brought compassion, wisdom, curiosity, and humanity to a medical field that was marked by sadness, frailty and mortality when she graduated from Yale medical school in 1948. When Dr. Rustin Macintosh recruited Dr. Griffiths to Columbia in the 1950s, she and Dr. Sidney Blumenthal began to challenge the prevailing notion that heart disease in children is a hopeless cause. She joined pioneers from the 1950s and 1960s in envisioning treatments for many forms of congenital heart disease.

It is worth noting, in particular, the profound courage and tenacity of Dr. Griffiths. The field of pediatric cardiology was founded by women physicians who strove to make an impact in clinical medicine. At a time when women graduates of medical school were a rarity, there were few clinical training programs open to women. Pediatric cardiology was for Dr. Griffiths, as it was for Dr. Maude Abbott and Dr. Helen Taussig before her, a dormant field waiting for their innovation, talents, and energy. And what an impact they all made. Dr. Griffiths forever changed the field, starting pediatric cardiology at Columbia, training generations of cardiologists who have gone on to lead programs across the country, and of course caring for countless infants, children, and adults with congenital heart disease who came to Columbia for her care.

We honor Dr. Griffiths’ legacy today at Columbia with our continued commitment to making children better, and to giving hope and compassion to even desperately ill children with complex heart conditions. We share her commitment to teaching, to discovery, to never losing hope.

I am personally incredibly grateful that I was able to know Dr. Griffiths over the past few years. We became pen pals of sorts, and I received a number of inquiries from her about the program, faculty, and even patients. Even as she approached 100 years, she found time to write me a note just last week.

She was profoundly moved to have been again honored with the Dr. Sylvia Griffiths’ Visiting Professorship this May, when Dr. Daniel Licht (Children’s National) came to Columbia for a two-day visit. To the end, Dr. Griffiths thought of Columbia and our program. A program that she founded, and that she cared about so deeply.

—Chris Petit, MD, Director, Division of Pediatric Cardiology