Pratiksha Gandhi

Pratiksha G Gandhi (born January 19, 1971) is an Indian-born American preventive heartcare specialist, EECP therapy expert, entrepreneur, yoga teacher, author, speaker, investor, business mentor, and researcher. She is the Founder of the Institute of Preventive Cardiology (IPC) Heartcare Center, and the Global Foundation For Preventive Cardiology (GFFPC).

Early Life and Education

Gandhi was born to Tanman and Girish Gandhi in Mumbai, India. During her childhood, she was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi after reading his autobiography, along with the complete works of Swami Vivekananda. Both worked as an inspiration for her to help people; hence the concept of IPC was invoked in her mind. Moreover, over the years, Gandhi was inspired by Paramhansa Yogananda, who is known as the Father of Yoga in the west.

She holds a Doctor of Medicine degree in Allopathic Medicine from Mumbai, India. Gandhi is a gold medalist in Public Health and Hospital Administration from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Mumbai. She is a certified yoga teacher, certified expert in Preventive Cardiology from the American Society of Preventive Cardiology, and an Enhanced External Counter Pulsation therapy (EECP) expert, USFDA approved, trained from Vasomedical, New York, USA, in 2002.

Career

Gandhi has over two decades of healthcare expertise focused on eradicating cardiovascular disease by preventing heart attacks and reversing heart disease using non–invasive, cost-effective treatments. However, long ago, when she began her journey as the first woman preventive cardiologist in India, there was no roadmap for her to pave the way. In 1997, Gandhi encountered a difficult time in India as an ethical medical practitioner on the onslaught of facing corruption. She started lecturing in the community and corporates and writing media articles to counter it. Gandhi's proactive approach to counter bypass surgery was discouraged by the medical fraternity. In the wake of her genuine gesture, she received death threats and was subjected to gender discrimination and harassment. However, she focused herself on simply listening to the patients' despairs and then inaugurating an evidence-based chain of preventive cardiac care in Mumbai, IPC Heart, in 1999, focused on medical management, diet, exercise, and yoga.

Under her leadership as the Chairperson, IPC centers have treated over 100,000 cases involving international patients with a 95% success rate. Gandhi's anguish did not dissipate in society until she was applauded by late President Dr. Kalam for pioneering the concept of preventive and non-invasive cardiology. When she expanded the IPC Heart centers, she was trained in the USA EECP therapy, which is reserved for patients after bypass surgery or angioplasty failure. In India, Gandhi was the first doctor in India to introduce EECP therapy as primary therapy in 2002.

She has written six books on preventive cardiology, yoga and healthy heart diet. One of the most popular books are Bypassing the Bypass Surgery, which is co-authored by Dr. Elmer Cranton from Harvard Medical School, USA. Her book Bypassla Paryay won the Karmavir Bhaurao Patil Award from the Maharashtra State Government.

She has moreover started online heart care programs with the growing acceptance of telemedicine, wearables, and remote monitoring of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. It successfully helped patients in improving their heart health. IPC Heart is in the process of building a medical device to increase blood supply to the heart using artificial intelligence and remote monitoring.

Gandhi reveals her observation in an interview with Kivo Daily, "70% of people get heart attacks as a first symptom, and half of them do not survive. I observed a lack of initiative in preventing heart disease as cardiac surgery is heavily glamorized. As an allopathic MD doctor in preventative medicine along with being a naturopath and certified yoga teacher, I gravitated to helping people with holistic solutions on preventing and treating heart ailments."

The blueprint of her Los Angeles-based nonprofit heart-health organization, Global Foundation for Preventive Cardiology (GFFPC), can be traced back to 1997, when the young Gandhi encountered the first case in her small nursing home in Mumbai, where a patient preferred to die than undergo surgery, due to financial constraints, obligations, and lack of proper health insurance. That single event imprinted itself upon her mind, and as a trained teacher in yoga and meditation, she had been involved in studies of reversing heart disease with yogic techniques. Gandhi then initiated the concept of integrating ancient techniques with modern allopathic technologies and presented it to the patient. Six months later, the patient recovered enough to walk up to four miles at a time.

Her passion for helping heart patients irrespective of their color, economic status, tribe, and nationality motivated her to establish Global Foundation for Preventive Cardiology to educate and empower billions of people with heart issues over the next decade. "No heart is left behind. More than 80% of heart attacks and surgeries are preventable. If patients have the right education and tools to stay in control of their heart's health, their proprietary heart care programs will have a success rate of 95%," she said to the USnews.

Today, the Global Foundation for Preventive Cardiology is directed by Shiv Vinay Pandey, a Himalayan Yogi, and Nireeksha. Moreover, Gandhi, as a certified yoga teacher who has participated in various research trials for reversing heart diseases through yoga, collaborated with Pandey and Nireeksha to create awareness of authentic yoga to minimize the incidence of preventable heart disease through holistic health practices. Also, she serves as Online Consultant at Prashivyog Heartcare Clinic based in Juhu, Mumbai.

Gandhi created an evidence-based heart health program known as the HAPPY Method, which stands for "Hidden Risk Factors Screening," "Attitude training," "Physical exercises," "Plant-based Nutrition," and "Yoga for Heart." The program is not implemented in hospitals and is avoided by conventional cardiologists. However, her medical practice focuses on preventive care and detection that standard care does not provide. Her goal is to ensure patients with heart problems detect them early enough and start working on treatment before the disease manifests into full-blown heart disease.

She is the founding member of the Enhanced External Counter Pulsation (EECP) Expert Committee in India in association with the International EECP registry in Pittsburgh, USA. Gandhi has also been an investor and business mentor to various healthcare companies due to its sheer amount of incoming developments and innovations to make life better for all. She has expanded businesses globally by launching new and innovative products and devices within the preventive healthcare industry. Her research papers in EECP therapy have been used in treating more than 10,000 heart patients. EECP has become freely available and a very popular therapy in Asian countries with all the pioneering work done by many doctors, including Gandhi and her colleague Prasad Kamble. In the US, where the original research had begun, the popularity is lacking due to the lack of support from mainstream hospitals. The surgical industry and the regulations favor invasive procedures.

Gandhi was featured in the documentary, Think Beyond Surgery in the 2019 movie Kahi Shan Premache, and 13 episodes of a TV show on Zee Marathi, with celebrity Prashant Damle on preventive heart care. In 2017, Gandhi was the guest speaker at the Prestigious President's Volunteer Service Award (PVSA). She was recognized by the International Association of Cardiologists, New York, USA, as The Leading Physician of the World, in 2016.

Apart from EECP therapy, Gandhi has done extensive research on the non-invasive medical devices for early detection of cardiovascular risk factors, diabetes and complications of diabetes which has been published on the Pubmed (National Library of US government)

Gandhi launched her book Living without Heart Surgery at an event in Mumbai, India. The book is a compilation of successful case studies of her nonsurgical treatment options and medical testimonials. It focuses on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to eliminate the chances of heart attack and hospitalization. Gandhi strives to eradicate the fear of heart disease from society and educate the common person about the miracles of a healthy diet and exercise on the heart and body.

Amidst people addressing their heart-related stories at the book launch event, Gandhi stated, "It is an urgent need for India to focus on preventive measures to reduce the incidence of heart disease. Loving your heart starts with understanding your risks, so make sure you know all your important health numbers. One has to carry out annual checkups to keep track of blood pressure, cholesterol levels and sugar levels and keep the numbers in check."

Gandhi appeared on Care World TV, Financial Express, Times of India, California herald, NY weekly, NY Wire, The Hindu, Reader Digest, Zee TV, NDTV Profit, CNBC, and Star TV for various interviews and talk shows on preventive heart care.

Awards and Recognition

• India's First Woman Preventive Cardiologist
• Best Woman Entrepreneur Award, Indian Finance Minister, 2006
• Presidents Volunteer Service Award for outstanding support to GuardaHeart, 2016
• Top 50 Global Woman Healthcare Leader, March 2017
• Best book in Adult science’ Bypassla Paryay’ in Marathi by state government

Personal Life

Gandhi resides in Los Angeles, California.

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