MATTERS Of THE HEART

For significant service to medicine in the field of cardiology

1971: the techni9ue involved the insertion of an electrode catheter into the heart via the femoral ve in in the groin.

Today Prof. Vohra is a leader in genetic testing for inherited disorders of cardiac rhythm. He is tbe founder and cmrent direccor of the Implantab le Carclioverter Defibrillator (ICD ) Cli11ic and was instrumental in the introduction of the fust automatic ICD in Australia in 1984. Since I 961, he has authored over 120 medical publications and book chapters nationally and internationally.

Vohra said, " When I migrated things were different; there were ve ry few Indians here. However coda y the community has grown in signifi cant proportions due to mi gra tion. Australia has become richer from all the diversity. Whilst there bas never been any overt cliscrimination , the mainstream community today is far more accepting of migra nts".

cardiac disorders. We screen families as a proactive m easure to identify and hel p d etermine if they have any heart disease predi spositio n. At Ri\llH we d o a significant am ou nt of testi11g in collaboration with the Murdoch lnstitute" officially declared amongst this year 's Australia Day awardees in the prestigious Al\1 category.

The cardiol ogist and senior electrophysiologist at Royal Melbourne Hospital was honomed for significant ser-..rice to medicine in the field of cardiology.

He was the first physician to apply tbe 'His Bundle E lectrogram ' in Austral ia in

Originally from Gujarat in Inclia, Dr V9bra migrated co Australia in 1969 soon after the end of the 'white Australia' policy. He compl eted his l'vIBBS and MD from Mumbai and had gone to the UK to complete his post graduation training. There be me t the director of the Royal Me lbourne HospitaJ who asked him to consider migrating to Australia.

According to h im moving co Melbourne was the ' best decision of his life'.

" lf you are sick, there is no better place than Australia as die medical standards here are comparable to America and ELLrope," said Dr Vobra.

Commencing on the lnclian commu ni ty in Melbo u rne Dr

Dr Vohra recently established the Cardiac Genetic Clinic in collaboration with the Royal Children's Hospital and was involved in establishing the Cardi.ac Genetic Regi stry forming part of cl1e National Genetic Heart Di sease Registry. He also i s a mentor and educator of trainee carcli ologists, particularly in Ausr.ralia and the Asia-Pacific region. He co- autl1ored i n 1989 a book titled Coro11111y Care Workbook, widely distributed coday throughout cardiac units in Australian hosp itals.

"Genetic heart cliseases are my main area of imetest," claimed Dr Vohra as he explained his work in layman terms. "Genetic tes ting is a po ten tia.Uy life-saving screening for patients with cardiac conditions cbat may predispose them to sudden cardiac death and other genetic heart diseases. It i s not commonly known that many young peop le die due to inherited

Dr Vohra's CV outlines die numerous publications, as well as organisations, research and medical bealrh facilities that benefit from his expertise. ln the little spare time he has, he likes to read, play tennis, dabble with photograph y and travel. He has stron g ties with India, travelling back every year during Christmas ro spend time with hi s family According to him, people entering die meclical profession nowadays a1:e very bright, talented and hardworking, and rareJy ueed advice. However when asked, Dr Voh.ra's advice to young doctors would be to ensure that they bave the abili ty to get along with people and other doctors, co work well within a team and have empathy for tl1eir patients Receiving the Australia Day honour was a very rewarding experience for Dr Vohra. He is looking forward to tl1e official cer=onr later this year, when the awards will be handed to the recip ients.