Meet Vikas Rathi, MD, FACC, Bon Secours director of cardiac imaging in our Richmond market!
Dr. Rathi grew up watching physician family members care for patients in need and making their lives better. Also, when Dr. Rathi was in college, his grandmother passed away from a heart attack in his presence. Both of these experiences inspired him toward his current career path in heart care.
“The long, arduous process of becoming a physician has been incredibly challenging and many times almost seemed never-ending,” Dr. Rathi shares. “But, at the end, it has been rewarding to be a physician and to see that I have touched the lives of so many people by improving their health or by relieving their ailments.”
Love for his work
Dr. Rathi’s favorite part of being a doctor is “to take care of patients, treat their illnesses, relieve their suffering and to see the gratitude in the patient and their families.”
He also enjoys being on the cutting edge of technology.
“The amazing tools and gadgets that science and technology have to offer have made great improvements in the health of society, by increasing accuracy of diagnosis and improving survival,” he shares.
New therapeutics are also an area of interest in slowing down and reducing the number health-related fatalities. Dr. Rathi explains that innovative procedures like artificial heart and catheter-based valve replacements are some of the revolutionary treatments that have become mainstream.
Dr. Rathi finds the heart to be most challenging body part “because it is dynamic, constantly beating, producing its own electricity and offering circulation of the blood to the rest of the body.”
When Dr. Rathi finds some free time, he loves to play golf with friends and his children. He also loves hiking and cooking.
His time with our ministry
When Dr. Rathi started working at Bon Secours 10 years ago, there were no cardiologists in town offering comprehensive advanced cardiac imaging, like cardiac MRI and cardiac CT. Once we invested in these technologies, it allowed Dr. Rathi to train technicians and team members as well as implement the protocols to offer a full spectrum of advance cardiac imaging.
Needless to say, Dr. Rathi has seen immense growth in heart care services at Bon Secours. He feels the commitment from our ministry of “being at the forefront of the latest technology allowed us to offer these services to the local community.”
Top three pieces of heart health advice from Dr. Rathi
- Eat small portions and healthy foods. Avoid sugars by limiting desserts and soft drinks. Also, focus on unprocessed nuts, fresh vegetables and small quantities of fresh fruits.
- Get quality sleep. Eight to 10 hours each night is extremely important to recharge and repair your body for next day’s work.
- Exercise regularly. It doesn’t need to be anything extremely intense either. A workout can be as simple as walking for 20 minutes.
February is American Heart Month. Learn more about the heart care services we offer at Bon Secours.
