Dr. Stephen Kopecky, MD

Dr. Stephen L. Kopecky is a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who focuses on preventing heart disease. He is a Professor of Medicine and sees patients in the Cardiovascular Health Clinic, the Statin Intolerance Clinic, and the Familial Hypercholesterolemia Clinic. He directs the Statin Intolerance Clinic and the Preventive Cardiology Education and Fellowship program. (https://www.mayoclinic.org/biographies/kopecky-stephen-l-m-d/bio-20054286, https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/authors/stephen-l-kopecky/, https://www.medcentral.com/cardiology/center-of-excellence-profile-Mayo-Clinic, https://www.pri-med.com/globals/faculty/k/kopecky-stephen)

He graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (McGovern Medical School) in 1981 and trained in internal medicine and cardiology at Mayo Clinic. He began his Mayo career in the cardiac catheterization lab and coronary care unit before moving toward prevention. A profile notes he has spent about 42 years at Mayo Clinic. (https://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-stephen-kopecky-x3k6f, https://www.cardiometabolichealth.org/faculty/stephen-l-kopecky/, https://www.medcentral.com/cardiology/center-of-excellence-profile-Mayo-Clinic)

Much of his public work is about lifestyle change to lower heart risk. He wrote the book "Live Younger Longer: 6 steps to prevent heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's and more" and was a contributing editor of Mayo Clinic's "Healthy Heart for Life!" He served as president of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology from 2012 to 2014 and received the 2013 Jan J. Kellermann Memorial Award from the International Academy of Cardiology for work in cardiovascular disease prevention. (https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/product/living-younger-longer/, https://www.aspconline.org/history, https://www.cardiometabolichealth.org/faculty/stephen-l-kopecky/)

CMS Open Payments records from 2021 to 2025 show $11,157.50 across 15 records, with the largest amounts from AstraZeneca ($6,712.50), Madrigal Pharmaceuticals ($2,100), Sanofi US ($1,750), and Amgen ($595). Payments from industry to doctors are common and legal, and are reported publicly.