Longtime Cleveland Clinic cardiologist David Taylor passed away earlier this month from a complication of influenza, News 5 Cleveland reported Feb. 27.
Taylor, who was with Cleveland Clinic for 19 years, was a staffer in the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, a professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and former director of the clinic’s heart failure and transplantation fellowship. He was 60 years old at the time of his death on Feb. 5.
“Dr. Taylor was internationally recognized in the field of heart transplantation and served as past president of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation,” Cleveland Clinic wrote in a statement. “He was an outstanding leader and gifted teacher, highly respected by his colleagues and committed to his patients. He saved the lives of countless patients and will leave a lasting impact on them, as well as the many colleagues, trainees and friends he has touched over the years.”
Taylor is one of five people who have recently died from a flu-related illness in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, recently, and News 5 reported that the local board of health has confirmed 14 flu-related fatalities this season.
The news of Taylor and others’ deaths comes at a time when the flu, which has claimed at least 14,000 lives since last fall, is being overshadowed by the urgency of a global coronavirus outbreak. Flu outbreaks have been particularly grim in the pediatric population, causing nearly 100 deaths this season alone.
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After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.