This year heralded some very sad news about two founding members of the Nature Reviews Cardiology Advisory Board. On 16 February, world-renowned North American cardiologist Professor Robert O'Rourke died from complications of Parkinson disease. Less than 3 months later, on 2 May, internationally-respected South American cardiologist Professor Enrique Gurfinkel lost his battle against lung cancer. The global cardiology community will sorely miss both of these remarkable men.

Bob O'Rourke obtained his MD in 1961 at Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA, and was subsequently a resident and cardiology fellow at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, USA. After a decade of gaining experience at various institutions around the USA, he served as the Charles Conrad Brown Distinguished Professor of Medicine for over 30 years at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX, USA. Professor O'Rourke championed the need for evidence-based medicine and for expert consensus guidelines in the 1980s and early 1990s, and was well known throughout his career for his skills in bedside medicine and teaching. “Bob's tremendous passion in defending what he used to call 'the cognitive cardiologist' was not a personal bias, but rather an expression of his committed advocacy on behalf of the patient,” comments Valentin Fuster, Editor-in-Chief of Nature Reviews Cardiology from 2004 to 2010 and current Advisory Board member. “He manifested such passion in all the committees and editorial boards on which he served.” Perhaps best known for his work as an editor of Hurst's the Heart: Manual of Cardiology, Professor O'Rourke's interests and expertise in cardiology were wide-ranging. He was a Master of both the American College of Physicians and the American College of Cardiology. Bob O'Rourke served as an Advisory Board member for Nature Reviews Cardiology for almost 5 years.

Enrique Gurfinkel obtained his MD at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1982. A decade later, after spending time in both Argentina and the UK, he was employed as Chief of the Coronary Care Unit at the Fundación Favaloro in Buenos Aires. He went on to obtain his PhD in 1995 and become Professor of Internal Medicine in 1997. In the 2 years prior to his untimely death, Enrique Gurfinkel was Chief of Cardiology at the Fundación Favaloro. Valentin Fuster points out that, whilst being based primarily in Argentina, Professor Gurfinkel “served on a number of international committees, writing groups, and task forces, including the 2007 'redefinition' of myocardial infarction, which had international implications.” Although best known for his dedication to the field of acute coronary syndromes, Professor Gurfinkel also made original contributions on the links between infection, immunity, and atherosclerosis. Enrique Gurfinkel served as an Advisory Board member for Nature Reviews Cardiology for more than 7 years.

Professors Bob O'Rourke and Enrique Gurfinkel will be remembered for their great contributions to cardiovascular medicine: as excellent physicians, outstanding clinical investigators, and major contributors to the cardiology literature.

The Nature Reviews Cardiology editorial team