A pioneering Phoenix heart surgeon has passed away after a long battle with brain cancer.
Dr. Ted Diethrich founded the Arizona Heart Institute and its foundation in 1971.
The high-profile cardiovascular surgeon performed one of the first heart-lung transplants in Arizona. He died Thursday evening after a four-year battle with brain cancer.
Diethrich served as the Heart Institute’s medical director for 40 years.
He also owned the Arizona Wranglers, a football team in the United States Football League, in the early 1980s. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Dr. Ted Diethrich was 81.
