Karl H. Krieger, MD

With special expertise in treating the elderly, Karl Hemingway Krieger is the Philip Geier Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Vice Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center.  As a respected member of the Weill Cornell community for over thirty years, Dr. Krieger plays an important role in the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute, working to achieve optimal experiences for both staff and patients.

In 1985, Dr. Krieger joined the faculty at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where he now serves as Vice Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. His responsibilities include teaching medical students, residents and cardiothoracic fellows, as well as directing a large clinical research program.

Dr. Krieger is the Director of the The William Acquavella Heart Valve Center which focuses on minimally invasive valve surgery (TAVI). He is also the Director of The Cardiac Service Line at Cornell. He is the author and co-author of over 100 medical articles and abstracts and recently wrote and co-edited the textbook, “Blood Conservation in Cardiac Surgery.” Dr. Krieger’s primary interest is in maintaining a high volume, outstanding clinical care program.

After graduating from Amherst College, Dr. Krieger pursued his medical school education, as well as his surgical internship and residency, at Johns Hopkins University. He completed his general and cardiovascular surgical training at New York University Medical Center and then joined the faculty of The New York University School of Medicine in 1981. Dr. Krieger was soon appointed to be the Director of the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory.

Dr. Krieger has been honored many times, including by the American Heart Association.   Of his life-saving work, Krieger has described it as “glorified plumbing”, and his colleagues believe that Dr. Krieger particularly merits the glory when it comes to his expertise in a number of surgical specialties and his capacity for team building: he was Weill Cornell’s Doctor of the Year in 2010.

Dr. Krieger is married to Krista Krieger, and they have two children.