Cardiology is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, and electrophysiology. Physicians who specialize in this field of medicine are called cardiologists, a specialty of internal medicine. Pediatric cardiologists are pediatricians who specialize in cardiology. Physicians who specialize in cardiac surgery are called cardiothoracic surgeons or cardiac surgeons, a specialty of general surgery.
The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. Originally formed in New York City in 1915, it is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy and raising awareness.
Sudarshan (Sudi) Devanesen, CM, is a family medicine physician and educator, public health activist, and member of the Order of Canada. An order of which he was initiated into for his role in preventing Heart disease affecting South Asians in Canada.
United OneHeart Foundation is a non-profit research and development organisation. Its stated mission is as a non-profit organisation to help people to improve the quality of life by fostering improvements in medicine with the aim of decreasing impact of cardiovascular diseases with focus on India and South Asia.
The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute (VCCRI) is an Australian non-profit medical research facility that is dedicated to finding cures for cardiovascular disease. With headquarters located in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, the research hub is home to more than 20 research laboratories and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute Innovation Centre. The institute's mission is "the relief of pain and suffering, and the promotion of well-being, through an understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of cardiovascular disease". Its key research is focused on the prevention and treatment of various heart diseases, including arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, high cholesterol, obesity, spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) and stroke.
Obesity in India has reached epidemic proportions in the 21st century, with morbid obesity affecting 5% of the country's population. India is following a trend of other developing countries that are steadily becoming more obese. Unhealthy, processed food has become much more accessible following India's continued integration in global food markets. This, combined with rising middle class incomes, is increasing the average caloric intake per individual among middle class and high income households. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and NGOs such as the Indian Heart Association have been raising awareness about this issue.
Cardiac disease in China is on the rise. Though incidences of heart disease have increased faster in the city than in the countryside, rural morbidity and mortality rates are now on the rise as well. Health statistics shows that the ischemic heart disease mortality rate in rural China has approximately doubled since 1988.
Pankaj Sharma is a British professor of Clinical Neurology at Royal Holloway College, University of London, and consultant neurologist at Imperial College London. He is director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Research at Royal Holloway (ICR2UL), and formerly head of the Imperial College Cerebrovascular Research Unit (ICCRU) at Imperial College London. His main interest is in identifying genes for stroke, particularly in those of South Asian heritage.
Gundu Hirisave Rama Rao is an Indian scientist, entrepreneur and Emeritus Professor at the Academic Health Center, University of Minnesota. He and Professor John Eaton visited India in 1981 under a National Science Foundation sponsorship, to explore opportunities for collaborative research projects. They visited medical institutions from Kashmir in the north to Trivandrum in the south. He again visited India during 1990–93, as a professor and a senior consultant for the government of India under a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) called TOKTEN sponsored by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. He is a member of the Minneapolis University Rotary ClubArchived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. He is listed as a Senior Fulbright Scholar in the Roster. He is an active member of Rotary E-Club, RI.3190, Bangalore, India.
Dasari Prasada Rao is an Indian Cardiothoracic surgeon. He was noteworthy for introducing the first open heart surgery to the state of Andhra Pradesh in India and for pioneering advanced medical care at affordable costs. Dasari Prasada Rao has won numerous awards including in 2001 the Padma Shri award, a Civilian award bestowed by the Government of India.
The Electrophysiology and Heart Modeling Institute, is one of six French university hospital institutions created in 2011 as part of the Investments for the future program to boost medical research and innovation.
Arun Garg is an Indo-Canadian physician in the province of British Columbia who is recognized for contributing linkages between Canada and India, his country of origin.
Dr. Balram Bhargava is an Indian cardiologist, medical educationist, and innovator. He is currently serving as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Centre, AIIMS. He is Ex-Director General at the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi and secretary of the Department of Health Research; a division under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Ashok Seth is an Indian interventional cardiologist, credited with the performance of over 50,000 angiograms and 20,000 angioplasties, which has been included in the Limca Book of Records, a book for achievements and records from an Indian perspective. He is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London, Edinburgh and Ireland and serves as the chief cardiologist, holding the chairs of the department of cardiovascular sciences and cardiology council at the Fortis Healthcare. Seth, a recipient of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, was honored by the Government of India with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri, in 2003, followed by Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award, in 2015.
Nagarur Gopinath was an Indian surgeon and one of the pioneers of cardiothoracic surgery in India. He is credited with the first successful performance of open heart surgery in India which he performed in 1962. He served as the honorary surgeon to two Presidents of India and was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri in 1974 and Dr. B. C. Roy Award, the highest Indian medical award in 1978 from the Government of India.
Rahul Potluri is a British physician, researcher and founder of ACALM Study Unit, United Kingdom (UK). His clinical epidemiology research unit is one of the first to use big data in healthcare and medical research. His work has shown for the first time a link between high cholesterol and breast cancer. Further research has suggested the role of cholesterol and possibly statins improving the mortality in patients with breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and bowel cancer. Other prominent studies include health services research evaluating differences in death rates from weekend admission and discharge from UK hospitals, ethnic variations and the interplay between cardiovascular disease and mental health.
Kewal Kishan Talwar is an Indian cardiologist, medical academic and writer, and a former chairman of the Medical Council of India. He is a former director of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) and is reported to have performed the first implantation of Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy in South Asia. He is also credited with the introduction of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in India. He is a recipient of several honours including B. C. Roy Award, the highest Indian award in the medical category. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 2006, for his contributions to medicine. Presently Dr. Talwar is working in PSRI Hospital Sheikh Sarai, New Delhi as the chairman of Cardiac Sciences
The IACC, a non-profit organisation for non invasive cardiologists, was founded in 2008 by Dr. Rajesh Rajan, 4 Padma Shri doctors, Mohammed Shafiq and five other colleagues from Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences. Based in Kerala, this association works towards the prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) and the reduction of cardiovascular mortality in rural India.
