PROFILE

Q. Tell us a little about growing up in India. A. I grew up in Kayalpatnam, a small village in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It’s on the east coast, not far from Sri Lanka, with a laid-back lifestyle where the shops and business establishments still close for an afternoon siesta. We would gather in the evenings, play beach soccer and eat snacks.

Q. Sounds like a wonderful place to grow up. What was your childhood like? A: Though most Indian families have many children, I was the only child. But I had lots of aunts, uncles and cousins who all lived next to us and next to each other. So, I never felt like an only child. We didn’t have a TV or any electronics when we were growing up. We spent all our time outdoors, playing football (soccer) and cricket or many traditional games, like marbles, gilli danda, and kabaddi. One of my favorite things was to picnic at the local groves. We’d climb the trees and pick our choice of fruit; my favorites were (and still are) the coconuts and the mangoes. So many joyful memories.

Q. You shared in our previous podcast that medicine was not actually your initial choice of vocation. How did you come to medicine? A. Being from a business family, I always thought that I would also enter business. My dad was the first person from my hometown to graduate with a BSc in Agriculture. But it seems he had always wanted to be a doctor. I was a high-achieving student and was accepted to both medical school and engineering college. It was my dad’s decision that I become a doctor and I am grateful for his guidance as it has been an immensely rewarding path.

Jaffar Raza, MD, FACC

Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, Vascular Medicine

Q. You have worked under some real leaders in your field. How important was mentorship for you? A. Many people have had positive influences on me through my career. One of the earliest was my great grandfather, a naturopathic doctor in India. He knew all about Siddha, Unani and Ayurvedic medicines. My memories of him are plucking locally growing plants and making medicine from them. It was fascinating. We used to call him Hakim (the Arabic and Urdu word for a physician). Another was Dr. M.K. Mani, the Chief Nephrologist at Apollo Hospital, Chennai and founder of Kidney Help Trust, Chennai, India, which works to prevent kidney disease in rural Tamil Nadu. He was one of the most meticulous physicians I have ever known. When I worked with him he had practiced medicine for more than 40 years; yet he still had the “Physician’s Desk Reference” (PDR) and referred to it prior to prescribing any medications. He taught me how to pay attention to every detail in patient care, and that no detail is too small. I have been very fortunate in my career to work with several pioneers and luminaries in Interventional Cardiology from whom I have learned the art and skills of coronary and peripheral interventions. Dr. Joseph Babb, Dr. Gary Roubin, Dr. Sri Iyer, Dr. Howard Cohen, Dr. Kirk Garratt, to name a few, who have played a tremendous role in guiding me. I still hear Dr. Babb’s voice in my head, “Just because you have a hammer, you should not treat everything like a nail.” Yes I have skills to do an intervention, but it may not be the best clinical decision for the patient.

Q. What are the areas of innovation in your field you are most excited about? How do you see your field changing over the next five+ years? A. It’s an exciting time to be in the cardiovascular field. There are a lot of new and groundbreaking developments happening on the medical, procedural and technology fronts. Medically, there are new pharmacological advancements to treat heart failure whereby they decrease mortality and hospitalization. The future management of lipids may involve mRNA technology. Procedurally, many new devices are available and continue to be developed for heart failure. Up until now, this has been predominantly medically managed. Advancement in mechanical circulatory support has allowed us to treat patients who previously were considered very high risk for revascularization and therefore not treated. Valvular disease patients