Christine E. Lawless MD, MBA, FACC, CAQSM, ABCL

Dr. Christine Lawless is the only physician in the United States to be dual certified in cardiology and sports medicine. She previously directed programs in Heart Failure at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood IL, and in Cardiac Transplantation at Hines VA Hospital. Most recently, she served as Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, and Section Director of Preventive and Sports Cardiology in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Ohio State University Medical Center. She now has her own practice and consulting business in Sports Cardiology. Dr. Lawless serves as team physician to the United States Figure Skating World Teams, Chair of US Figure Skating Sports Science and Medicine Committee, and consulting cardiologist to Major League Soccer. She has published extensively in peer reviewed journals, including New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, and she serves on the editorial board of Medical Sciences in Sports and Exercise.

Experience
Dr. Lawless has been practicing medicine for 30 years, and is widely known for her clinical skills and research. She is a highly-regarded speaker, medical educator, and creator of an on-line community for women physicians known as womanphysician.com.

Education
BS in Biological Sciences- Northern IL University, DeKalb, IL
MD- Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL
MBA- University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN

Training
Residency, Internal Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL
Cardiology Fellowship, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL
Sports Medicine Fellowship, Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, IL

Clinical Interests
Sports Cardiology: prevention of sudden death in athletes, symptomatic athletes ages 13 years and up with palpitations, shortness of breath, black outs, dizziness, chest pain, or fatigue, and recommendations for sports participation for athletes with known heart disease, family history of heart disease, or implanted defibrillator, cardiomyopathies, long QT syndromes, or neurocardiogenic syncope.

Preventive Cardiology: Lipid management, hypertension, obesity, cardiometabolic syndrome and obesity, cardiovascular risk assessment and management.

General Musculoskeletal Sports Medicine: Acute injuries, and overuse syndromes, especially in figure skaters, dancers, endurance athletes, and gymnastics.

Research Interests
Outcomes in athletes with symptoms, resuscitation in athletes, Cardiovascular screening in athletes, ICDs in athletes, new treatments for lipids, hypertension and obesity, figure skating sports medicine and sports science.

Awards
Graduated Summa Cum Laude, Northern IL University
Graduated with Honors, Loyola Stritch School of Medicine
Graduated Magna Cum Laude, University of Notre Dame
State of IL Legislative Scholarship
Feyerharm Scholarship, Northern IL University
Alpha Sigma Nu, Jesuit Honor Society
Mortarboard (undergraduate society for scholarship, leadership, and service)
One of Americas "Top Doctors" Chief Cardiology Fellow at Loyola

Affiliations
Major League Soccer
US Figure Skating Association- Chair of Sports Medicine and Sciences
American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
American College of Sports Medicine
American College of Cardiology
American Heart Association

Speaking Topics
Sudden death in athletes, and athlete resuscitation, sports cardiology, cardiomyopathies, syncope, palpitations
Lipid management
Hypertension
Obesity
Benefits of exercise
Personalized preventive cardiology: One size does not fit all
Screening for heart disease, and guidelines for primary and secondary prevention