AKMG BLOGS

  Dr. Vijayaraghavan is a legend. He passed away. I am his closest friend. He after retired as a professor from TVM MC he went to UK and Kuwait and finally landed in California with Dr. Praveen Shaw. There he published a book after research the book on Doppler echo. Today they are all life saving. Then he refused to stay in US and returned. Then with Sahadulla he started KIMS. Then he started the first Echo Lab in India. He introduced Doppler. Great help humanity . He deserves all awards. He never sought awards. I miss him. My long time friend. We went to Ponmudi together we climbed the Aruvykkara hill. May his soul rest in peace.  DR.KRISHNAN NAIR, CARDIOLOGIST, PHILADELPHIA, USA Vijayaraghavan Sir’s (GVR) passing is a profound loss!  A cardiologist and teacher par excellence, he belonged to that rare generation for whom clinical medicine was both science and art.  We were fortunate to have him during our MD days, after the Gulf War brought him back from Kuwait to M...

Book Review Treatise on Heart Disease in Indians Enas A. Enas, MD, and Basil Varkey, MD (Jaypee Brothers Medical Publications: New Delhi / London—available on Amazon.com) Cardiovascular disease remains the foremost cause of death worldwide despite the extraordinary advances made in its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Y et, within this global epidemic lies a particularly troubling paradox: people of Indian and South Asian origin continue to experience coronary artery disease (CAD) at an earlier age and, in many instances, with greater severity than many other populations. The burden is not confined to India. It extends to Indians and other South Asians living throughout the world. In India, coronary artery disease and stroke have increased in both urban and rural populations, and the future trajectory remains deeply concerning. Treatise on Heart Disease in Indians addresses this important and long-overlooked disparity. The book is the culmination of Dr. Enas’s decades-long clinic...

I was fortunate to spend nine extraordinary days exploring TANZANIA . This became an immersive encounter with the natural world unlike anything I had experienced before.  Our route carried us through  Tarangire National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Crater, and the vast Serengeti ,  with each landscape offering a distinct character and rhythm. TARANGIRE is renowned for its large elephant herds, ancient baobab trees, and the life-giving Tarangire River, which attracts wildlife when the surrounding land becomes dry.   NGORONGORO offered a completely different setting: a vast volcanic caldera whose grasslands, wetlands, and forests support a remarkable concentration of animals. The wider conservation area is also unusual because wildlife shares the landscape with MAASAI pastoralists . In Tarangire, the river corridor becomes a natural gathering place during the dry season.  Elephants browse beneath the baobabs, while zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, and...

When people ask what it is like to be a woman in interventional electrophysiology, I tell them the truth: for most of my career, I was the only one at the table. Not the only woman in the EP lab; nurses, techs, and coordinators have always been the backbone of every EP lab I have worked in, but the only woman standing in lead, with the catheters in her hands. That has changed. It has not changed enough. Cardiology remains one of the least gender-balanced fields in medicine, and the procedural subspecialties EP, interventional, structural are the narrowest part of that funnel. We are not short on talented women entering medical school. We lose them somewhere between the classroom and the lab. I have thought a lot about where that loss happens, and I no longer believe it is mostly about ability or even about ambition. It is about permission, the quiet, cumulative sense of whether a room expects you to be in it. The room does not hand you authority ... Early on, I learned that bei...

There is a strange, enduring intimacy between the Malayali and the humble Corvus splendens—the common house crow. At first glance, it isn't an obvious mascot for a diaspora. It lacks the elegance of the peacock or the ambitious stride of an eagle. We are often like the crow: quiet, self-contained, and staying out of the spotlight until the situation calls for us. But do not mistake that composure for weakness. The crow is defined by its collective spirit. Threaten a single crow, and you will not be spared. Within seconds, a solitary bird turns into a deafening, unified swarm that defends its own with relentless fury. The Malayali operates on the exact same ancient frequency. When disaster strikes or an injustice is committed, we do not wait for external armor—our strength lies in numbers, solidarity, and immediate, overwhelming community support. Our connection to this bird runs deep through our geography, language, and spiritual heritage:The crow is the vahana (vehicle) of Lord...

I keep catching myself holding on to the idea that I still read the way I used to—back in what feels like a fairy-tale past. These days, managing to flip through a few magazine pages during a rare quiet moment in the bathroom feels like a genuine luxury. Yet, if I look back at the authors who shaped me, Enid Blyton stands far above the rest. Even now, given the chance, I can completely lose myself in her stories, escaping into the English countryside alongside the Secret Seven or the Famous Five. Then there are the Amar Chitra Kathas and the many comics we all may have grown up with. And here goes my list of books in random order, not necessarily in order of favorites, both fiction and non fiction.... Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- still remember hiding it under the pillow and reading in literal darkness while in 8th grade, I think..... Roots by Alex Haley- read over summer of 10th grade.... -Freedom at Midnight by Dominique LaPierre and Larry Col...

Onam- a harvest festival in Kerala, India, that marks the Malayali New Year. It celebrates the yearly return of the righteous Asura king to visit his beloved people. Akmg Canada celebrated the occasion with great enthusiasm- traditional drumming, pookalam( flower arrangements), folk dances and the grand Onam Sadya( traditional dishes served on a banana leaf. The Legend of King Mahabali ....... The Golden Rule: King Mahabali ruled Kerala with peace, fairness, and love. His kingdom had no poverty, crime, or sadness. The Test of Generosity: The gods felt worried by his growing power. Lord Vishnu took the form of a poor dwarf named Vamana. The Three Steps: Vamana asked for land equal to three small steps. Mahabali agreed. Vamana then grew into a giant. He covered the earth with step one and the skies with step two...... The Final Gift: For the third step, Mahabali offered his own head. Vamana pushed him down to the underworld. The Blessing: Pleased by his deep devo...

We are pleased to share the scientific poster presentations showcased at the 47th AKMG Convention in New Jersey. Our presenters shared valuable clinical insights, research findings, and quality improvement initiatives across various disciplines. Presented Topics & Authors : Dr. Anna Carin Sunil: Title: Hidden in Plain Sight: Endometriosis Presenting as Bowel Obstruction. Dr.Hala Majeed: Title: Sar-’coy’-dosis: A Non-Caseating Drama. Dr.Akhtar Zamil Sirajudeen: Title: Mapping the Broken Clock: Quantifying Operational Delays and Their Independent Impact on Patient Satisfaction in a High-Volume Tertiary Emergency Department — A Quality Improvement Study from Kerala, India. Dr. Navya Mathew: Title: Real-World Impact of Mismatch Repair (MMR) Immunohistochemistry (IHC) in Solid Tumors: A Retrospective Analysis from a Tertiary Center in India. This academic track was organized under the leadership of Dr. Elizabeth Mammen-Prasad (AKMG Presiden...

We are pleased to announce the top performers from the poster presentation held during the AKMG Canada Annual Convention in August 2026, featuring work from IMGs, medical students, and undergraduates. Undergraduate Category Undergraduate presentations were evaluated using a grading system rather than standard scoring. Heather Ajoy (Toronto Metropolitan University) impressed the judges with her innovative research presentation, earning an A+ grade. Medical Student Category Ayush Nair was the sole participant in this category and was evaluated separately against standard benchmarks. His presentation was excellent, placing in the A+ segment. International Medical Graduates (IMGs) Highest Score: Dr. Rani Yogidas Second Place: Dr. Rohith Scariah Congratulations to all the participants for sharing their research with us this year.

SALIM YUSUF: The golden age of cardiology. I recently had the privilege of reviewing an inspiring book on Dr. Salim Yusuf, a distinguished member of AKMG, and the remarkable era that helped shape modern cardiology—the Golden Age of Cardiology. I am reproducing my Google review in its entirety for the benefit of cardiologists, physician-scientists, and physicians interested in the origins and evolution of evidence-based medicine in cardiovascular care. Dr. Yusuf’s career and contributions offer a fascinating perspective on how rigorous clinical research, large-scale trials, epidemiology, and critical appraisal of evidence transformed the practice of cardiology. Climbing Mountains - The Journey to Beat the World's Biggest Killer is an extraordinary biography of Dr. Salim Yusuf, arguably one of the most accomplished and influential cardiovascular researchers of the 21st century. Authored by James Mathew and Dennis Xavier, the book traces Yusuf’s remarkable journey from humbl...

Some of the highlights of 47 th AKMG Convention at Hyatt, Jersey city, NJ from August 6- 8th, 2026. A quick summary . We started the convention a Cruise on Majesty along the Hudson River celebrating 250 years of US Independence. It was nice to see the statue of Liberty up close for a photo op. It was 2 and half days of fun, connecting, networking, excellent 11 CME hours , literary forum, Womens forum on wellness, yoga, bolly wood dance workshop, arts and crafts, myil mystic fashion show to name a few of the activities . We were honored to have AMA president Dr.Bobby Mukumaala as a keynote speaker and his talk on the role of IMG s in US health care was timely in light of physician shortages to be felt by 2030. Dr.Chetan Shah president of NJ board of medical examiners and ENT specialists talked about why private practice matters , and mayor of Trivandrum , Kerala Adv V V Rajesh gave his felicitations. This list and pictures are by no means complete. It was truly my honor a...