Dr Mayanna Lund has become the first female New Zealander to be elected as President of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ).
Mayanna, who has worked as a consultant cardiologist at Middlemore Hospital since her return to Aotearoa in 2001 and has held multiple top appointments nationally, says it’s a huge honour to be appointed to the new role.
“We have exceptional national leaders at Counties and it’s humbling to represent them and other Kiwi health professionals.
Mayanna says she’s particularly proud of recent cardiac work at Counties, notably the opening of a new cath lab, driven by her colleague and previous head of department Selwyn Wong, which has increased the availability of services to our community.
“Counties Manukau has the highest number of acute coronary event patients in the region and I’m very keen to make substantial inroads into the needs of Maaori and Pasifika people, who are over-represented in the figures.
“Middlemore is very special to me; I was actually born in this hospital and I met my husband here, so I have real drive to give back to our community.”
Sydney Professor Clara Chow, immediate past president of CSANZ says of Mayanna:
“She’s been head of her department since 2022, with wide previous experience including fellowships at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, so Mayanna brings extensive knowledge in leadership.
“But in addition to that, she’s also known for being sensitive to the issues of vulnerable communities and delivering them clinical cardiology services.”
Mayanna will assume her role next year and we are thrilled that one of our senior cardiologists has been appointed to such a prestigious position in Australasian medicine.