By Randal J. Thomas, MD, MS | Mayo Clinic

Ray Squires, PhD, MAACVPR, FACSM, FAHA, a well-known pioneer in the science and practice of cardiac rehabilitation, has announced his retirement. Those who know Ray and have had the privilege of working with him are filled with gratitude for his remarkable career in preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation. A small sample from the countless highlights from his career include the following:

• Ray helped establish the Mayo Clinic Cardiovascular Health (Preventive Cardiology) Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1981 and the Mayo Clinic Cardiac Rehabilitation Program in 1983. He laid a framework for the future progress and success of the program, including patient treatment protocols, staff training, setting up a clinical database, and carrying out research and quality improvement projects.

• Among other honors, he has been recognized as Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and received awards at the Mayo Clinic (Teaching Award), the Utah State University (Outstanding Alumnus Award), and from AACVPR (L. Kent Smith Award of Excellence, 2022).

• Ray volunteered with professional organizations throughout his career. He served on the JCRP editorial board for 16 years followed by service as an associate editor of JCRP for 17 years — a feat that will likely not be matched any time soon! He also served on committees, as an abstract reviewer, and in other capacities with AAACVPR, ACC, ACSM, and AHA.

• His scholarly efforts include providing educational lectures around the world on cardiac rehabilitation, exercise physiology, and other exercise-related topics. He published more than 130 publications and contributed his expertise to a remarkable 34 chapters in textbooks.

• Ray’s investigative activities have been extensive, including research on the impact of cardiac rehabilitation in various patient populations: patients with coronary artery disease, SCAD, heart valve disease, HFrEF/HFpEF/LVAD, heart transplantation, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, renal transplantation, lung transplantation, cardio-oncology rehabilitation, and obstructive sleep apnea. He was ahead of the curve in publishing a study on remote ECG-monitoring for home-based cardiac rehabilitation in 1991.

• He has co-authored papers with many colleagues at Mayo Clinic and with others from around the world who are well-known in the field of cardiac rehabilitation, including Nanette Wenger, Bill Haskell, L. Kent Smith, Erika Froelicher, Michael Pollock, Larry Hamm, Phil Ades, Steven Keteyian, and Mark Williams, to name several.

Ray has been a quiet, steady leader generally operating behind the scenes to help make things better for patients and colleagues alike. He will be missed, but his impact will continue in the framework, culture, and advances that he has helped to establish and nurture. We thank and congratulate Ray for all of his contributions, and wish him happiness and health into the future.

Randal J. Thomas, MD, MS, is a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine.