Sir David Hay, New Zealand cardiologist, Died at 88

  Health care

Sir David Russell Hay was born on December 8, 1927, in Christchurch and died on December 3, 2016.

He was a New Zealand cardiologist and a anti-smoking campaigner.

He was one of four children of philanthropist Sir James Hay, including his identical twin brother Sir Hamish Hay and older sister Dame Laurie Salas.

He was educated at St Andrew’s College, Hay went on to study medicine at the University of Otago, graduating MB ChB in 1951 and MD in 1960.

Sir David Hay married fellow medical student Jocelyn Valerie Bell, and after five years in the United Kingdom where Hay trained as a cardiologist they returned to Christchurch in 1955.

Together they had two children.

He became a prominent cardiologist and was a long-time campaigner against smoking and the tobacco industry in his role as inaugural medical director of the New Zealand Heart Foundation.

During 1999, he retired from the New Zealand Heart Foundation after 30 years, having served 15 years as its medical director and the last three years as president.

Sir David Hay passed away at 88 years old.