Atlanta, Ga. (Oct. 3, 2022) – Piedmont Heart Institute, Piedmont Healthcare’s nationally recognized heart and vascular program, has hired 12 cardiovascular specialists since April as part of its commitment to expand access to these critical sub-specialties.

Five of the physicians will practice out of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, the system’s largest hospital, while the others will be based out of Piedmont Heart of Eastside, Ellijay, Fayette, Newnan, and Rockdale.

“By adding these talented physicians, we are able to provide greater access to heart and vascular care for Piedmont patients throughout the state of Georgia,” said Charles L. Brown III, M.D., CEO of Piedmont’s Physician Enterprise. “Because of the generous philanthropic gifts we have received and as a result of our commitment to be a national leader in this area, we are able to expand our cardiovascular services and make a positive difference in the lives we touch.”

The following physicians will have joined Piedmont Heart by the end of September 2022:

• Raquel Jones, M.D. – (vascular surgeon) joined Piedmont Heart Vascular Surgeons of Eastside on April 18. She is board certified in vascular surgery. Dr. Jones earned her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and later completed her residency in vascular surgery at University Hospital. She is a registered physician in Vascular Interpretation, Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support.
   
• Marshall Lutske, M.D. – (vascular surgeon) joined Piedmont Heart Vascular Surgeons of Eastside on April 18. He earned his medical degree from Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine and later completed his residency in general surgery and fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of Buffalo at SUNY Buffalo General. Dr. Lutske is board certified in Vascular Surgery and has a special interest in aortic aneurysm and dissection repair, complex endovascular interventions, peripheral aneurysms and embolizations, dialysis access, carotid disease and bypass surgery.
   
• Ezequiel Molina, M.D. – (surgical director of the LVAD and Heart Transplant Program at Piedmont Heart) joined Piedmont Heart Institute in Atlanta on June 27 and is board certified in thoracic and general surgery. He received his medical degree from Buenos Aires University in Argentina and completed his cardiothoracic surgery residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York where he focused on heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support devices. Dr. Molina has been practicing medicine for 10 years and is proficient in all aspects of adult cardiac surgery including surgical coronary revascularization, aortic aneurysms, valve surgery, and complex reoperative surgery. He specializes in durable LVAD implantation, heart transplantation and surgical therapies for cardiogenic shock.
   
• Jayaraman Venkatesan, M.D. - (interventional cardiologist) joined Piedmont Heart Institute Rockdale on July 11. Dr. Venkatesan received his medical degree from Kasturba Medical College, completed his residency in internal medicine at Coney Island Hospital and his fellowships in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology at Maimonides Medical Center. He is board certified in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology.
   
• Dazhong (Dan) Sun, M.D. – (general cardiology) joined Piedmont Heart of Perimeter and Piedmont Heart Institute Ellijay on July 11. He received his medical degree from Hunan Medical University (now Central South University Xiangya Medical School), completed his residency in internal medicine at UMASS Memorial Health Care – University Campus and his fellowship in cardiovascular disease at UMKC School of Medicine. He is board certified in cardiovascular disease.
   
• Ajay Kaja, M.D. – (general cardiology) joined Piedmont Heart Institute in Fayetteville and Newnan on July 24. Dr. Kaja earned his medical degree at NTR University of Health Sciences, Vijayawada Osmania Medical College, completed his residency at Creighton University Medical Center and his fellowship in cardiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease, and is also certified by the National Board of Echocardiography Inc.
   
• Bashar Al-Turk, D.O. - (general cardiology) joined Piedmont Heart Institute in Fayetteville, Newnan and Sharpsburg on July 25. Dr. Al-Turk specializes in cardiovascular disease, echocardiology and nuclear medicine and received his medical degree from Lake Eri College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine, where he also completed his fellowship in cardiovascular disease. His clinical interests include the treatment of heart failure and coronary artery disease with an emphasis on prevention and lifestyle medicine. He is board certified in Internal Medicine.
   
• Ahmadreza (Reza) Karimianpour, D.O. – (cardiology, electrophysiology) joined the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology at Piedmont Heart Institute in Buckhead, Fayetteville, and Newnan on Aug. 8. He received his medical degree from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, completed his residency at Cleveland Clinic and his fellowships in cardiovascular disease and cardiac electrophysiology at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Karimianpour’s clinical interests include catheter ablation of complex arrhythmias as well as cardiac device implantation and management, with a special interest in treatment of ventricular tachycardia and sudden cardiac death. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease.
   
• Abhijit Ghatak, M.D. – (interventional cardiology) joined Piedmont Heart Institute of Lawrenceville and at Eastside on Aug. 8. He earned his medical degree at Grant Medical College Maharashtra University of Health Sciences and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and his fellowships in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology. Dr. Ghatak has been practicing medicine for more than 10 years and has performed thousands of cardiac catheterization procedures. He is a recognized expert in cardiology and was featured in the "Georgia Top Cardiologist" in 2021 and 2022.
   
• Zubin Yavar, M.D. – (general cardiology) joined Piedmont Heart of Buckhead on Sept. 6. He is board certified in nuclear cardiology and internal medicine. Dr. Yavar earned his medical degree at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and completed his internship and residency and fellowship in cardiovascular disease at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital.
   
• Cecile King, M.D. – (general cardiology) joined Piedmont Heart in Buckhead on Sept. 6. She is board certified in Internal Medicine. Dr. King earned her undergraduate degree in biology with a specialization in biomedical engineering from Stony Brook University, and her medical degree from Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School. She later completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and cardiology fellowship at the University of Vermont. Dr. King has a special interest in women's health and preventive cardiology and has advanced training in advanced hypertension, lipid disorders and smoking cessation.
   
• James (Jim) Stewart, M.D. – (interventional cardiology) joined the Marcus Heart Valve Center and Piedmont Heart Institute at Piedmont Atlanta on Sept. 19. Dr. Stewart is a structural and interventional cardiologist specializing in the minimally invasive treatment of valve disease. After completing his education at Harvard, Yale, and Emory including cardiology, interventional cardiology, and structural cardiology fellowships at Emory, he stayed on as faculty and helped found and lead the Structural Heart program at Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital.  He then was recruited to co-direct and lead the newest open-heart surgery and structural heart program in the state at Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, GA. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology.

Piedmont Heart Institute is a top destination for cardiovascular care, ranking in the top 5 percent in the country, and is the only program in Atlanta consistently recognized with the Cardiac Care Excellence Award– a mark of quality it has earned for more than 10 years. Piedmont also is an international leader in cardiovascular research enabling patient access to innovative therapies earlier and not available elsewhere.