38 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • FEBRUARY 2019
HEART HEALTH
DR. THIERRY DUCHATELLIER
HEALING THE HEART
Dr. Thierry Duchatellier, chief of
cardiology at Mercy Medical Center
in Rockville Centre, has been all
heart since he was a child.
A self-made success, Dr. Duchatellier
grew up in Haiti with a dream
to heal, treat, and inspire healthy
living. When his parents went into
exile, Dr. Duchatellier’s grandparents,
Joseph and Germaine Perrier,
welcomed the then barely 1-year-old
Dr. Duchatellier into their home, in
which his grandfather maintained a
medical practice. His uncle Joseph,
who was also a physician, resided in
their home; Dr. Duchatellier fondly
remembers accompanying him on
patient visits.
“As young as I can remember, I was
involved with medicine,” he says. “It
has been my passion since then…It
still is.”
Dr. Duchatellier worked his way
through his education. He attended
medical school at Pontificia Universidad
Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM),
in the Dominican Republic, did
his residency in Internal Medicine at
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
(AECM) and earned a fellowship in
Cardiology and Nuclear Cardiology
at AECM. He then served as assistant
director of coronary care at Jamaica
Hospital, joining Mercy in 2001. Dr.
Duchatellier also serves as a medical
liaison for nonprofit organizations
Forgotten Children of Haiti (FCH)
and Foundation for Hope and Health
in Haiti (FHHH).
Working in cardiology enables Dr.
Duchatellier to pursue his dream of
helping people in a “challenging and
exciting” field.
“We are discovering significant
new techniques, new medication, and
surgical approaches to solve issues
that the patient has,” he says.
“My passion is to bring people
some relief and comfort in their
disease state, but also present
the disease and educate them
on how to avoid developing
heart-related medical issues.”
If a patient is diagnosed
with a heart condition, Dr.
Duchatellier says, “My role is
to continue to educate but also
treat them with compassion
and help them feel better, so
they can enjoy their life.”
Want a healthy heart? Dr.
Duchatellier recommends:
Keep active, exercise, and eat
a balanced diet in moderation.
Do appropriate screening.
See your physician regularly.
Don’t ignore symptoms such
as chest pain, shortness of
breath, dizziness, palpitations.
Be cautious.
By MICHELLE GABRIELLE CENTAMORE
Dr. Thierry Duchatellier.
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
