Dr. Ashok Seth: A Cardiology Giant from AMU

Who is Ashok Seth?

Aligarh Muslim University has non-ending list of its proud alumni and Dr. Ashok Seth is one of them. On February 27, 2016, AMU awards Dr. Seth with Doctor of Science (DSc – Honoris Causa) in 63rd annual convocation. Dr. 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 reference 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.

Career Highlights

Ashok Seth graduated in Medicine (MBBS) from the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University in 1978. Later, moving to UK for higher education, he served as a cardiologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital of Birmingham University till 1988. During this period, he did advanced training to secure memberships of the Royal College of Physicians of London (MRCP) in 1984 and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (MRCP) in 1986. He returned India in 1988 and joined the Escorts Heart Institute, New Delhi, present day Fortis Healthcare, as its Chief of Invasive and Interventional Cardiology and established the Invasive Cardiology programme at the institution. He stayed with Fortis Healthcare till 2004 to move to Max Healthcare, erstwhile Max Heart and Vascular Institute. He has also been serving as an honorary professor of cardiology at several other institutions such as Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal (since 2000), Raipur Medical College (since 2001), Bilaspur Medical College, (since 2001), D. Y. Patil University (since 2008) and Bangladesh Medical College, Dhaka (since 1998). After four years of stay at Max, he returned to Fortis Healthcare to resume his duties there as the chief cardiologist and the chairman of its Cardiac Sciences Division.

International Professional Associations

Dr. Ashok Seth is a member of Asian Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology (APSIC) Board of Trusteesand SCAI Nominating Committee and sits on the advisory boards of ACC India, SCAI Interventional Fellows Institute (IFI), International Andreas Gruentzig Society (IAGS), E-Cypher, USA, Asia-Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology (Singapore)and ERA Educational Trust and Medical College, Lucknow.

He holds the chair of the Indian chapter of the Organization of International Medical Video Interventional Program (IMVIP) and is the co-chairman of SCAI International Committee.

He is a voting selector of SCAI (MSCAI) Nominating Committee, Zonal Vice-President of Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology, associate director of TCT Scientific Sessions and the president of the Delhi branch of the Cardiological Society of India.

He is a founding member of Endovascular Intervention Society of India, Academy of TCT, New York and the SAARC Cardiac Society for Research, Training and Exchange of Expertise in Prevention and Treatment of Heart Disease in Asia.

He is a trustee of Indo-French Cardiovascular Foundation for Research, Education and Training in the field of Angioplasty and a former trustee of Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, USA. He has also served as the vice president of the Cardiological Society of India and as the chairman of the New Delhi branch of Indian Medical Association.

Legacy

Ashok Seth is credited with pioneering many cardiological techniques in the Asia Pacific region.

He is the first cardiologist in the region to perform an angioscopy and directional atherectomy.

He is reported to be the first to use Impella heart support device and Drug-eluting stents, Bioresorbable stents and thrombectomy devices in India.He is known to have contributed to the development of Bioresorbable Scaffold (BRS) Stent as a member of the Advisory Group.

The youngest person to receive a doctoral degree (Honoris Causa) from the Banares Hindu University, Seth’s tally of angioplasty and angiogram performances is noted by the Limca Book of Records as one of the highest in the world. He is known to perform Percutaneous Myocardial Laser Revascularization, reported to be among the few cardiologists in the World to perform the procedure.

Seth, who is reported to have contributed to reaching the treatment to the poor^, is known to have involved in many research activities. His researches are documented by way of over 250 medical papers published in peer reviewed national and international journals.

Research Involvement

He has contributed chapters to 10 text books and has edited two text books on cardiology. He has also trained over 350 cardiologists in India and abroad and has performed demonstrations on advanced angioplasty techniques at over 400 international conferences and seminars in Singapore, Malaysia, Paris, China, Australia, Korea and Sri Lanka.

His live demonstrations have been transmitted via satellite during the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference in 2003 and 2007 and at the EuroPCR in 2003 and 2006.

Ashok Seth is involved with many scientific journals. He is a former Associate Editor of International Journal of Cardiology and sits on the editorial boards of Journal American College of Cardiology, Catheterization and Cardiovascular Intervention and Euro Intervention journals.Seth is the first Asian to be elected to the Board of Governors of Society of the Cardiac Angiographies and Intervention(USA).

He has been a member of the expert committee set up by the society for formulating the guidelines laid down by its position statement, Percutaneous Coronary Interventions Without On-Site Surgical Backup.He is a member of the expert committee of the Directorate General of Health Services under its Central Drugs Standard Control Organization.

He also serves as the chief coordinator of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research initiative, the NTMLI project for the indigenous manufacture of low cost drug-eluting stents within the country.

Awards and Recognitions