Craig Walker

Dr. Craig Walker, a native of Bourg, Louisiana, is a graduate of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, completing his pre-med degree in two years and receiving the Pre-Medicine Award. He earned his doctorate from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. He began his postgraduate training with an internship and residency at Lafayette Charity Hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana. He continued his training with a cardiology fellowship at Ochsner Foundation Hospital in New Orleans and a research fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.

In 1983, Dr. Walker returned to Houma to establish the Houma Heart Clinic as a center for the development of new and improved techniques for the treatment of both coronary and peripheral vascular disease. The clinic grew to be Cardiovascular Institute of the South, a world-renowned practice with more than 80 physicians and 1,050 team members throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, and Illinois.

Dr. Walker is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and interventional cardiology. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Cardiovascular Interventionists, the International College of Angiology, the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions, the American College of Chest Physicians and the Council on Clinical Cardiology.

Dr. Walker founded and is the chairman of one of the largest cardiovascular conferences in the nation, New Cardiovascular Horizons, to educate and train medical professionals on the latest techniques to treat coronary and peripheral vascular disease. He also maintains the distinction title of primary investigator for several cardiovascular and peripheral devices. Through his extensive knowledge and research in peripheral vascular disease, Dr. Walker provides educational training courses to physicians from around the world.

Dr. Walker serves as a clinical editor of Vascular Disease Management (VDM), a web-based platform that delivers timely clinical information on peripheral vascular disease published by HMP Communications, LLC. He is also an editor for JAVELIN, and he serves on the editorial boards for both publications.

Dr. Walker has received many accolades, including the Honorary Doctorate of Nursing Practice Degree from the College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions at University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Nicholls State University. He was also named a Health Care Hero by New Orleans City Business for his industry achievements and community involvement. Dr. Craig Walker was presented with the James J. Buquet Jr. Award by the Terrebonne Foundation of Academic Excellence (TFAE) for his vision, accomplishments, and service.

Additionally, he was selected as one of the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce’s Ten Outstanding Young Americans for proving that world-class medicine could be provided in small communities and for his work as a clinical investigator and medical inventor. He is also among only a handful of physicians in the world to sit on medical advisory boards for a variety of major corporations.

Dr. Walker is the author and co-author of more than 300 published articles and more than 30 book chapters. He has delivered hundreds of presentations and lectures to both lay and medical audiences. He is the co-author of “Something Old & Something New, Louisiana Cooking With a Change of Heart,” a heart-healthy cookbook developed in conjunction with internationally-renowned Chef John Folse.