Odd Fellows Professor of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland
Henry Jampel, MD, is the Odd Fellows Professor of Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He graduated from Harvard University summa cum laude, received his MD from Yale University, and his MHS in health finance and management from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He completed an internship in internal medicine at Sinai Hospital and his residency in ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute. After completing a glaucoma fellowship in glaucoma at Wilmer, Dr. Jampel joined the faculty in 1988.
On May 16th, 2000, at the age of 44, and seven months after completion of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii, Henry had a cardiac arrest in the shower after a swim workout. After 27 minutes of CPR by four fellow swimmers who were also physicians, he was successfully defibrillated, a striking example of the exception that proves the rule.
Henry relishes in his full recovery from his cardiac arrest, and like most survivors, is passionate about reducing avoidable deaths from sudden cardiac arrest. He testified in 2006 in the Maryland Senate for a bill mandating AEDs in all high schools in the state, and was thrilled that the bill passed.
Henry joined an extremely small group of people in 2004, those survivors of sudden cardiac arrest who have subsequently completed an Ironman triathlon, when he finished Ironman USA in Lake Placid.
He lives with his wife, Risa, a dermatologist, in Baltimore. Risa and Henry are arranging a twentieth re-birthday celebration in May, 2020. All four of his resuscitators--Alan, Rodney, David, and Bill plan to attend, as well as his children, Catherine, Joseph, and Sarah, and their spouses and fiancé.
Henry serves as Chair of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation Board of Directors.