LEWISTON – “Risks for Cardiovascular Disease” will be the topic of a Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute presentation set for Tuesday and Thursday, April 17 and 19.

Cardiologist Dr. Patrick J. Lawrence of Central Maine Heart Associates will discuss the contributing factors to cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and stroke.

The presentation will be held in the first-floor Young Wing conference room at 1 p.m. on April 17 and again at 6 p.m. on April 19. Light refreshments will be served. Anyone with questions should call 795-8240 or e-mail [email protected].

Prior to joining the Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute physician staff last year, Lawrence practiced in New Hampshire, serving on the medical staffs at Catholic Medical Center, Elliot Hospital and the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, all in Manchester, Parkland Medical Center in Derry, N.H., Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough, N.H., Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro, N.H., and Speare Memorial Hospital, in Plymouth, N.H.

He was a co-founder of the New England Heart Institute in Manchester, N.H. During his 27 years there, he also served as an instructor in medicine at Tufts University College of Medicine in Boston.

He has some 25 years of experience managing cardiac catheterization laboratories, first at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., then at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H.

After being awarded a degree in mathematics from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., he earned his medical degree at the University of Florida College of Medicine, also in Gainesville, Fla. He served an internship through Georgetown Medical Service at D.C. General Hospital in Washington, D.C., and completed medical residency training at the University of California at San Diego in La Jolla, Calif.

A former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, he served a fellowship with the Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center Cardiology Service in Denver.

Lawrence also holds a master’s degree in engineering sciences from the University of California at San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering, also in La Jolla, Calif.

He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and is certified in cardiovascular disease by the American Board of Internal Medicine.