Healing Hands

DR. RAJESH RAJANI, CONSULTANT CARDIOLOGIST AT P.D. HINDUJA HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTRE, MUMBAI TELLS BINDU GOPAL RAO HOW HE BALANCES THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF HIS LIFE AS A CARDIOLOGIST

- Bindu Gopal Rao

When he was just six-years-old, the word cardiologist was imprinted in Dr. Rajesh Rajani’s mind. His mother, a blood pressure patient, had always been in awe of cardiologists and wished that her son would become one too. Being the only son (he has two sisters), Rajesh admits that at that age he was more interested in the field of creative media and was weak in math. “However, with the passage of time, my mother’s desire to see me as a cardiologist intensified so I changed tracks and soon got into a medical college. I am happy I made the right choice though.”

Rajesh did his MBBS from Grant Medical College, Mumbai between 1979 and 1983 and completed his MD in General Medicine in 1987. “I came second in Maharashtra in the all India entrance exam to get into King Edward Memorial (K.E.M.) Hospital for a DM in Cardiology - the highest degree in super-specialty.” In 1990, at a time when it was at a completely nascent stage in India, he proceeded to Melbourne for a Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology.

Having undergone extensive training in Melbourne at the St. Vincent’s Group of Hospitals, Rajesh performed over 8000 coronary angiograms and more than 2000 coronary angioplasties during his stint there. “I stayed there for six years, did intensive training, and returned to Mumbai in 1996.” This was when he joined P.D. Hinduja Hospital as a Consultant in Cardiology, marking the beginning of his journey in India. “I headed the department in Mahim for 5 years from 2006 and at present also consult at Breach Candy Hospital,” he shares.