PARIS, June 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring, today congratulated trusted Edwards partner Dr. Albert Starr on receiving the 2015 Institut de France's Grand Prix Scientifique in a Paris awards ceremony.

The Grand Prix is one of the largest prizes for scientific accomplishment and is considered the world's most prestigious prize for cardiovascular research. The Institut's board awarded Starr the Grand Prix in recognition of research that led to the world's first successful artificial mitral valve implant in 1960. In the last 55 years, millions of patients around the world have benefitted from the emergence of the field of heart valve replacement and the many technological advances that followed.

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"Dr. Starr's work was groundbreaking in enabling treatment for patients with heart valve disease and this prestigious recognition pays tribute to his significant career in advancing the practice of medicine," said Michael A. Mussallem, Edwards' chairman and CEO. "As a young clinician, Starr's recommendation to focus on the heart's valves rather than the whole heart was a key decision, and led to the incredible partnership between clinicians and inventors that continues at Edwards today. Dr. Starr's entrepreneurial spirit, combined with a strong work ethic, clinical knowledge and dedication to patients continues to inspire us all."

In 1960, Starr performed the world's first successful artificial mitral valve implant in Oregon on a 52-year-old man with end-stage mitral valve disease. That same year, Miles Lowell Edwards incorporated Edwards Laboratories to manufacture and market the Starr-Edwards valve. The idea of replacing a heart valve was a novel concept, and it helped set the stage for the development of bioengineered tissue heart valves and more recent approaches to delivering bioengineered aortic valves through a catheter.    

Dr. Starr serves as distinguished professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine and special adviser to the School's dean and president. He is also chairman of the OHSU Knight Cardiovascular Institute, which aims to bring clinicians and researchers together to translate laboratory discoveries into new and better treatments for cardiovascular disease. In 2007, Dr. Starr received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research, which honors the contributions of scientists, physicians, and public servants who have made major advances in the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of human disease.

About Edwards Lifesciences 

Edwards Lifesciences is the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring.  Driven by a passion to help patients, the company partners with clinicians to develop innovative technologies in the areas of structural heart disease and critical care monitoring, enabling them to save and enhance lives. Additional company information can be found at http://www.edwards.com.  Edwards, Edwards Lifesciences and the stylized E logo are trademarks of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation.

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SOURCE Edwards Lifesciences Corporation