Atlanta, Ga. (May 1, 2023) – Piedmont Heart Institute, Piedmont Healthcare’s nationally recognized heart and vascular program, has hired 11 cardiovascular specialists since September 2022 as part of its commitment to expand access to these critical sub-specialties.

Four 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, Lawrenceville, Fayette, Macon, Newnan, Rockdale and Walton.

“By adding these talented physicians, we are able to provide greater access to heart and vascular care to patients in the communities we serve throughout the state of Georgia,” said Charles L. Brown III, M.D., CEO of Piedmont’s Physician Enterprise. “These physicians will help us to change real lives in Georgia.”

The following physicians joined Piedmont Heart between October 2022 and March 2023:

• Don Orian Rowe, M.D. – (general cardiology) joined Piedmont Heart of Lawrenceville and Piedmont Heart of Eastside on Oct. 17. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease, and performs cardiac catheterizations, transesophageal echocardiograms, cardioversions, echocardiography, vascular ultrasound interpretation, stress test interpretation, and consultative cardiology. Dr. Rowe has been recognized as one of Georgia Trend’s “Top Doctors 2021” in Cardiovascular Diseases.
   
• Pratik Patel, D.O. – (general cardiology) joined Piedmont Heart of Rockdale on Oct. 31. He is board-certified in cardiology. Dr. Patel offers diagnosis and treatment for coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure (HFrEF, HFpEF), valvular heart disease and mitral regurgitation. His special interests include preventative cardiology and geriatric care, as well as utilizing procedures such as TEE and cardioversions.
   
• Omar Rafik Kashlan, M.D. - (interventional cardiologist) joined Piedmont Heart at Eastside on Dec. 5. Dr. Kaslan earned his medical degree from Morehouse School of Medicine. He specializes in coronary artery disease, CHF, and PAD. Prior to joining Piedmont, he was practicing interventional cardiology for eight years.
   
• Kelli Denee Salter, M.D. – (thoracic surgeon) joined Piedmont Heart Institute Thoracic Surgeons in Atlanta and Stockbridge, and Piedmont Heart of Jasper, on Jan. 1. She is board certified in Thoracic Surgery and General Surgery. Dr. Salter earned her medical degree from the University of Colorado and later completed her internship and residency at Oregon Health & Science University.
   
• Abdullah Omar, M.D. – (electrophysiologist) joined Piedmont Heart of Buckhead and Piedmont Heart Institute Rockdale on Jan. 17. He earned his medical degree from St. George University School of Medicine and later completed his residency and fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. He also completed his fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Virginia. Dr. Omar is board certified in Internal Medicine, General Cardiology and Cardiac Electrophysiology. In addition to English, he is fluent in Hindi and Persian (Farsi).University of Virginia. Dr. Omar is board certified in Internal Medicine. In addition to English, he is fluent in Hindi and Persian (Farsi).
   
• Antonios Sideris, M.D. – (thoracic surgeon) joined Piedmont Heart Institute Thoracic Surgeons in Atlanta and Piedmont Heart of Rockdale on Feb. 13. Dr. Sideris is a cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in the treatment of patients with malignancies of the chest, including lung and esophageal cancer, chest wall tumors, mesothelioma, mediastinal and thymic tumors as well as benign chest disorders. He uses minimally invasive techniques including robotic approaches to treat these conditions. In addition to English, he is fluent in Greek and Spanish.
   
• Young-Jae Nam, M.D. – (general cardiology) joined Piedmont Heart of Walton in Monroe on Feb. 13. He earned his medical degree from Seoul National University and completed his residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine Dr. Nam is board certified in Cardiology and offers treatment for a broad spectrum of cardiovascular diseases including coronary artery disease, heart failure, and arrhythmia, and primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.
   
• Kalindi Parikh, M.D., FACC– (general cardiology) joined Piedmont Heart of Buckhead and Piedmont Heart of Douglasville on Feb. 27. Dr. Parikh received her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology followed by her M.D. from the Chicago Medical School. She did her residency in Internal Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and fellowship in Cardiovascular Diseases at Rush University in Chicago. She went on to complete further training in Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) outside Washington D.C. She is board certified in cardiovascular disease and internal medicine as well as multiple imaging subspecialties including echocardiography, nuclear medicine, cardiac MRI and cardiac CT. Dr. Parikh was previously at the Atlanta Medical Center, where she also served as Chair for the Department of Medicine prior to the hospital’s eventual closure. She is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and also a member of the American Society of Echocardiography.
   
• David Markham, M.D. – (advanced heart failure) joined Piedmont Heart in Fayette, Newnan and Sharpsburg on March 27. He earned his medical degree from Emory University, and later completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia, followed by a residency in Cardiovascular Disease at the University of Texas Southwestern and a fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease at Duke University. Dr. Markham is board certified in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology.
   
• Richard Lynn Harvey, M.D. – (cardiac surgeon) joined Piedmont Heart Cardiovascular Surgery of Macon on March 27. Dr. Harvey earned his medical degree from the University of Mississippi and completed his residency at Mercer University in General Surgery and the University of Mississippi in Cardiothoracic Surgery. He is a board certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Harvey specializes in mitral valve surgery, minimally invasive surgery, AFib, and aortic surgery.
   
• David Allen Langford, M.D. – (cardiac surgeon) joined Piedmont Heart Cardiovascular Surgery of Macon on March 27. Dr. Langford earned his medical degree from Emory University and completed his cardiac residency at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center. He is board certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Langford has been practicing medicine for over 32 years. He specializes in Cardiac Surgery.

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.

For more information about Piedmont Heart, visit piedmont.org/heart.