Healthcare is drawing greater concerns today, especially across the cardiovascular diseases driven by the high morbidity and mortality rates. India is no exception to this trend, falling prey due to the risk factors like high cholesterol, hypertension (HT), obesity, poor diet, diabetes, and a sedentary lifestyle. According to recent studies, CVDs account for nearly one third of all deaths in the country, with a prevalence rate of around 7.5 percent. Moreover, India bears the greatest burden when it comes to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and myocardial infarction, representing a 138 percent increase from 1990. While the prognosis of cardiovascular diseases has been greatly improved in recent years with the development of medical technologies, individuals are still required to lead a healthy lifestyle and create an unpolluted environment to benefit the life and health of our hearts.

Well, taking charge of helping people survive cardiovascular diseases, many cardiologists are fighting their battles to provide the best care & treatment, and Dr Ranjan Modi is one who prominently owns the applause for his dedicated healthcare services as a Cardiologist. Dr Ranjan obtained his MBBS from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Belgaum, Karnataka. After completing his internship at RML Hospital, he pursued further studies and obtained an MD in internal medicine. He continued his education in the field of cardiology and earned a DM in cardiology from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College under KLE University in Belgaum, Karnataka.

Dr Ranjan comes from a family of doctors and has always found cardiology to be one of the most exciting branches in healthcare. He is passionate about providing the best possible care to patients with uncertain heart conditions, such as cardiac arrest, chest pain, and others. His interest in cardiology began during his MBBS, when he initially struggled to understand ECGs but eventually became passionate about reading them to diagnose patients.

Dr Ranjan is an interventional cardiologist and a structural heart disease expert, specializing in treating people who suffer from heart attacks. He performs angioplasty with stents and valve replacements without opening up the heart or doing a bypass. His specialization began with preventive

cardiology. He believes that cardiology is a branch where cardiac diseases can be prevented rather than just cured. According to Dr Ranjan, “Preventive cardiology in India needs a lot more attention”.

In India, the medical profession faces numerous challenges in providing patient care and healthcare, beginning with the difficulty of getting patients to the hospital on time. However, what follows is the financial limits by the patients due to costlier treatments in cardiology. Dr Ranjan says, “Patients need to understand that limiting their access to the best care due to a lack of awareness and financial concerns can lead to missed opportunities for early intervention. However, from a doctor’s perspective including the treatment finances part, the major challenge I face is in communicating with the patients their possible/actual medical conditions, reasons causing those conditions, and treatment strategies in the context, or the possible risks in the implementation of those treatments, and opposites if anything goes wrong. Communication is the key to confidently leading the best treatments that lead to positive outcomes”.

He adds, “In India, the workload is especially high compared to doctors in other countries. In India, doctors often see 20 to 40 patients a day, while in other countries, the number is much lower, typically around 5 to 7 patients. This high patient load poses a significant challenge. We need to emphasize more on building the best and increased healthcare workforce constituting specialized doctors and profes-sionals”.

Change and development are constant across various industries today, and medicine is a field that is ever evolving. Each day brings new discoveries, while innovative technologies enhance our understanding of disease and improve patient treatment. It's essential for medical professionals to stay updated with the latest information. Research plays a crucial role in understanding global healthcare trends and fosters fresh perspectives on disease treatment. Dr Ranjan and his team prioritize keeping their knowledge current by adopting innovations across medical science, imbibing technologies, attending conferences to learn about advancements, how they work, and how they can help in making informed decisions for their patients. Doing these, they collectively ensure to provide the best possible care to the patients adhering to the international standards.

Dr Ranjan has attended numerous patients over the years. Ensuring to attend each patient in the best manner adopting the latest innovations and technology in cardiology, he considers each patient case to a success story. However, remembering one of the emotionally enticing experiences he says, “A patient with a severely diseased aortic valve could barely walk ten steps to his bathroom. He wanted to travel outside India for his granddaughter's birthday, fearing it might be his last chance. With just three weeks to go, we performed a valve replacement without open-heart surgery. Three weeks later, he called from Switzerland, thrilled to say, ‘I’m walking and celebrating my granddaughter's birthday! I can walk a kilometer every day’. Hearing this was truly heartwarming, and his happy gesture felt very rewar-ding”.

The field of cardiology presents a uniquely demanding career path for the professionals or aspirants. Physicians in cardiology often find themselves working after minimal rest and must be available around the clock. Unlike other medical disciplines, cardiology frequently involves responding to emergencies at unpredictable hours, which can necessitate interrupting personal commitments. Dr Ranjan states, “To thrive in this field, one must possess a profound dedication to the profession and a commitment to prioritizing patient care above all else”.

Respective to future goals in cardiology, he says, “I am committed to providing the best technological innovations and healthcare to patients in India and around the world. If we can offer them the right healthcare that meets national standards and is among the best in the world, then we are fulfilling our mission. We can achieve this by ensuring that we stay informed, continually updated, and equipped with new ideas to deliver the highest quality healthcare possible”.