Dr. Benjamin H. Lewis didn’t always know he wanted to be a cardiologist. As the grandson of a physician, Dr. Lewis knew early on that he liked solving problems and wanted to use these skills to help people in the sciences. He was initially drawn to ophthalmology when, at 8 years old, he became the first person in his family to need glasses. But after his father died of a heart attack at age 45, Dr. Lewis developed an interest in cardiology “so that other people wouldn’t have to experience that same loss.”
Today, Dr. Lewis is a board-certified cardiologist who loves helping patients understand their health and what they can do to reduce the risk of heart disease. Dr. Lewis has always been drawn to technology innovations, and as a result, uses state-of-the-art imaging to define and manage disease while minimizing radiation exposure. “You have the most to lose when you’re healthy, so our goal is to prevent the decline in any aspect of cardiovascular health,” he says.
Once patients are armed with the best information about their health, Dr. Lewis focuses on lifestyle factors as the area where they can make the most significant difference in their own well-being. “We have to deliver patient-centric care,” he says. “We have to guide and educate people about why we do what we do. It is our obligation to speak in plain English and make them as knowledgeable as we are.”
Dr. Lewis earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, before heading East for an internship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and his internal medicine residency training at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. He then completed a two-year fellowship in cardiology at Brigham Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
After his fellowship, Dr. Lewis was recruited to the Columbia-Presbyterian East Side downtown outpatient practice. He remained part of the outpatient practice, which was renamed ColumbiaDoctors Midtown, as a cardiologist for the next 40 years, and as an early adopter of relevant technologies in medicine, he helped establish the regular use of ultrasound imaging, including stress echo, outside the hospital setting. During this time, he rose to the rank of Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and was honored as a member of the inaugural class of the Academy of Clinical Excellence.
While at Columbia, he also developed an interest in women’s cardiac health and was involved in the launch of the Partnership for Women’s Health, later renamed the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine.
Dr. Lewis enjoys working at Atria because he has always appreciated opportunities to spend meaningful time with each patient and wanted to develop a multidisciplinary approach, creating individualized health plans and then collaborating with his colleagues to provide comprehensive care. In previous parts of his academic career, Dr. Lewis saw that hospital emergency rooms were often the only options for patients to quickly access care from multiple specialties, and this frustrated him.
“Atria is an opportunity to actually change how medicine is delivered in a coordinated fashion,” he says. “Collectively we hope to reinvent how medicine is practiced in a way that is less expensive, more productive, and more tailored, while preventing late-stage disease that is often a cause for hospital care. Our goal is to generalize this approach to medical practice at our respective large university hospitals and all health care facilities.”
When he’s not working, Dr. Lewis enjoys spending time with his family and friends, biking, and playing golf.
Credentials
- Professor Emeritus of MedicineColumbia University Irving Medical Center
- Attending PhysicianNew York-Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia/Cornell)
- Founding PhysicianColumbiaDoctors Midtown
- Former Co-DirectorColumbiaDoctors Executive Health Program
- Former MemberPartnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Awards
- Castle Connolly Top Doctors1999-2023
- New York Magazine Top Doctors2021, 2022, 2023
- Gender Practioner of the YearColumbia Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine
Affiliations
- Member, Board of Trustees, Salk Institute for Biological SciencesBoard of Trustees, Salk Institute for Biological Sciences
Meet Our Doctors
Dr. David W. Dodick
Chief Science & Medical Officer, Atria; Co-Chair, Atria Academy of Science & Medicine
Dr. Paul G. Lee
Chief Clinical Consultant
Dr. Richard S. Isaacson
Director of Brain Health
Dr. Lawrence C. Newman
Director of Brain Health
Dr. Ken Shubin Stein
Co-Founder, Atria; Co-Founder and CEO, Atria Academy of Science & Medicine
Dr. Nieca Goldberg
Women’s Health & Cardiology, Medical Director of Atria New York
Dr. Benjamin H. Lewis
Director of Atria South Florida; Cardiology
Dr. Rony Shimony
Director of Cardiology
Dr. Jahangir Rahman
Internal Medicine
Dr. Jennifer McGugins Hill
Internal Medicine
Dr. Edward J. Greaney
Internal Medicine
Dr. Bernard M. Kruger
Internal Medicine
Dr. Yadiera M. Brown
Family Medicine
Dr. Daniel Angerbauer
Preventive Medicine
Dr. Nicholas D. Caputo
Director of Urgent & Home Care
Dr. Evelyn C. Granieri
Director of Geriatrics
Dr. Carmela Seymour
Gynecology
Dr. Panta Rouhani Schaffer
Medical Dermatology
Mr. Kyle O’Flaherty
Director of Performance and Movement; Physical Therapy
Dr. Kelly Fradin
Director of Pediatrics
Dr. Hina J. Talib
Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Dr. Cory Kercher
Pediatrics
Dr. Amish Nishawala
Pediatrics
Dr. Kersha S. Pennicott
Pediatrics & Urgent Care
Dr. David W. Dodick
Chief Science & Medical Officer, Atria; Co-Chair, Atria Academy of Science & Medicine
Dr. Paul G. Lee
Chief Clinical Consultant
Dr. Richard S. Isaacson
Director of Brain Health
Dr. Lawrence C. Newman
Director of Brain Health
Dr. Ken Shubin Stein
Co-Founder, Atria; Co-Founder and CEO, Atria Academy of Science & Medicine
Dr. Nieca Goldberg
Women’s Health & Cardiology, Medical Director of Atria New York
Dr. Benjamin H. Lewis
Director of Atria South Florida; Cardiology
Dr. Rony Shimony
Director of Cardiology
Dr. Jahangir Rahman
Internal Medicine
Dr. Jennifer McGugins Hill
Internal Medicine
Dr. Edward J. Greaney
Internal Medicine
Dr. Bernard M. Kruger
Internal Medicine
Dr. Yadiera M. Brown
Family Medicine
Dr. Daniel Angerbauer
Preventive Medicine
Dr. Nicholas D. Caputo
Director of Urgent & Home Care
Dr. Evelyn C. Granieri
Director of Geriatrics
Dr. Carmela Seymour
Gynecology
Dr. Panta Rouhani Schaffer
Medical Dermatology
Mr. Kyle O’Flaherty
Director of Performance and Movement; Physical Therapy
Dr. Kelly Fradin
Director of Pediatrics
Dr. Hina J. Talib
Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Dr. Cory Kercher
Pediatrics
Dr. Amish Nishawala
Pediatrics
Dr. Kersha S. Pennicott
Pediatrics & Urgent Care
001 /
Dr. David W. Dodick
Chief Science & Medical Officer, Atria; Co-Chair, Atria Academy of Science & Medicine
Dr. Paul G. Lee
Chief Clinical Consultant
Dr. Richard S. Isaacson
Director of Brain Health
Dr. Lawrence C. Newman
Director of Brain Health
Dr. Ken Shubin Stein
Co-Founder, Atria; Co-Founder and CEO, Atria Academy of Science & Medicine
Dr. Nieca Goldberg
Women’s Health & Cardiology, Medical Director of Atria New York
Dr. Benjamin H. Lewis
Director of Atria South Florida; Cardiology
Dr. Rony Shimony
Director of Cardiology
Dr. Jahangir Rahman
Internal Medicine
Dr. Jennifer McGugins Hill
Internal Medicine
Dr. Edward J. Greaney
Internal Medicine
Dr. Bernard M. Kruger
Internal Medicine
Dr. Yadiera M. Brown
Family Medicine
Dr. Daniel Angerbauer
Preventive Medicine
Dr. Nicholas D. Caputo
Director of Urgent & Home Care
Dr. Evelyn C. Granieri
Director of Geriatrics
Dr. Carmela Seymour
Gynecology
Dr. Panta Rouhani Schaffer
Medical Dermatology
Mr. Kyle O’Flaherty
Director of Performance and Movement; Physical Therapy
Dr. Kelly Fradin
Director of Pediatrics
Dr. Hina J. Talib
Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Dr. Cory Kercher
Pediatrics
Dr. Amish Nishawala
Pediatrics
Dr. Kersha S. Pennicott
Pediatrics & Urgent Care
Dr. David W. Dodick
Chief Science & Medical Officer, Atria; Co-Chair, Atria Academy of Science & Medicine
Dr. Paul G. Lee
Chief Clinical Consultant
Dr. Richard S. Isaacson
Director of Brain Health
Dr. Lawrence C. Newman
Director of Brain Health
Dr. Ken Shubin Stein
Co-Founder, Atria; Co-Founder and CEO, Atria Academy of Science & Medicine
Dr. Nieca Goldberg
Women’s Health & Cardiology, Medical Director of Atria New York
Dr. Benjamin H. Lewis
Director of Atria South Florida; Cardiology
Dr. Rony Shimony
Director of Cardiology
Dr. Jahangir Rahman
Internal Medicine
Dr. Jennifer McGugins Hill
Internal Medicine
Dr. Edward J. Greaney
Internal Medicine
Dr. Bernard M. Kruger
Internal Medicine
Dr. Yadiera M. Brown
Family Medicine
Dr. Daniel Angerbauer
Preventive Medicine
Dr. Nicholas D. Caputo
Director of Urgent & Home Care
Dr. Evelyn C. Granieri
Director of Geriatrics
Dr. Carmela Seymour
Gynecology
Dr. Panta Rouhani Schaffer
Medical Dermatology
Mr. Kyle O’Flaherty
Director of Performance and Movement; Physical Therapy
Dr. Kelly Fradin
Director of Pediatrics
Dr. Hina J. Talib
Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Dr. Cory Kercher
Pediatrics
Dr. Amish Nishawala
Pediatrics
Dr. Kersha S. Pennicott
Pediatrics & Urgent Care
