The Passing of a Mentor: William “Bill” G. Embil, BS, RCVT, RCSA
A lifelong mentor of mine, William “Bill” G. Embil, BS, RCVT, RCSA, passed away on September 29, 2012. Bill was one of the two cardiovascular professionals who trained me as a cardiovascular technologist in the Cardiac Cath Lab at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, Miami, Florida, between 1974-76. Francisco Montes-Garcia, BS, RCVT, and Bill both immigrated to the U.S. from Havana, Cuba in the early 1960’s. With the help of Bill’s lifelong peer, Francisco, and Bill, I was taught the basics of ECG interpretation, cardiac anatomy and physiology, hemodynamics, and the importance of accurate cardiac calculations. Bill’s accomplishments included the derivation of the aortic mean/hepatic venous pressure ratio that could determine when patients with liver cirrhosis would begin to hemorrhage from esophageal varices caused by hepatopetal flow. His calculations were used on several thousand patients who had hepato-portal hypertension and were being evaluated for a distal spleno-renal shunt procedure to reduce blood volume and pressure on the hepatic portal venous system. His work on this hemodynamic phenomenon correlated with the procedure of “hepatic panangiography” invented by Dr. Manuel Viamonte, Jr. in the late 1960’s. In 1986, this brilliant cardiovascular professional derived another hemodynamic calculation for calculating the areas of stenotic cardiac valves. His findings over 18 years, which were being worked into an article, were proven to be 100% accurate surgically on 135 patients, who had histories of tricuspid, pulmonic, mitral, and aortic stenosis. Due to his failing health, he asked if I would help him write the article with him as his co-author. We were working on the final draft when his health began to decline more rapidly. Many of my peers over the years have asked me, “Who trained you and provided you with the knowledge you have?” My answer, “The Boys from Havana!”