Six South Florida Heart Institute Cardiologists Named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors

My partners and I at South Florida Heart Institute in Delray Beach have been named 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors: Drs. Benjamin Ravaee, Mark Fisher, Eric Lieberman, Phillip Habib and Jonathan Kahan, and me. Castle Connolly builds its list from nominations by other doctors, which its own physician-led research team then screens, so this recognition starts with our peers. It is separate from Delray Medical Center being named a Castle Connolly Top Hospital in March, which recognized the hospital rather than individual physicians. The Boca Raton Observer also ran a sponsored profile of our group in its November 2026 issue, and a few things it describes are worth knowing about how we practice.

Key Findings & Takeaways

• What we treat: Preventive cardiology, cardiovascular imaging, invasive and interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure care, pulmonary hypertension, cardio-oncology, and cardiac rehabilitation.
• Treating the whole patient: Our plans are built around the whole person, not only the heart diagnosis, so they take into account a patient's other health conditions, personal goals and quality of life.
• Training the next generation: Our physicians are core faculty for the cardiology fellowship program at Delray Medical Center and Florida Atlantic University, where doctors who have finished residency train to become cardiologists.
• Familiar faces: Many members of our staff have been with the practice for more than a decade.

For me, this is my tenth year on Castle Connolly's list. What makes it mean something is where it comes from: other doctors, the people who see our work up close and know who they would send their own family to, and being chosen by them year after year is the kind of trust I never take for granted.

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Reference Source: Castle Connolly — Dr. Jonathan J. Vafai, Cardiovascular Disease

Reference Source: Castle Connolly — About Us (how Top Doctors are nominated and screened)

Reference Source: The Boca Raton Observer — Top Docs 2026 profile, South Florida Heart Institute (sponsored content, November 2026, pp. 132–133)