Dr. Devi Nair
Cardiac Electrophysiology
St. Bernards Heart & Vascular Center
Jonesboro
Dr. Devi Nair had just finished medical school when her father died of sudden, cardiac arrest at 45. The younger Nair, who was already planning to become a cardiac surgeon, shifted gears and specialized in cardiac electrophysiology instead.
“Cardiac Electrophysiology is exciting because the therapies can dramatically improve our patients’ lives,” Nair said. “I look forward to coming to work every day so that I can help deliver this cutting-edge treatment.”
Within the field of cardiac electrophysiology, Nair has a variety of tools and technologies at her disposal, each calibrated to correct an abnormal heartbeat. She said working with this technology — from implanted cardiac devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization devices to performing ablation procedures for fast heart rhythms or performing complex ablations for rhythms such as atrial fibrillation — was a primary draw to this kind of medicine.
“An electrician for the heart is what I call myself,” Nair said.
Much of the work Nair performs is life-saving procedures, correcting abnormalities that would have proven fatal a generation ago.
“Many heart rhythm disorders that previously required life-long treatment or resulted in recurrent symptoms can now be cured with an invasive strategy,” Nair said. “Every year, we are developing new tools and techniques that broaden our understanding of heart rhythm disorders and result in meaningful treatments to patients that restore their health.”
Nair was educated at the Medical School at University of Kerala, India and studied Internal Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. She held a Cardiology and Cardiac Electrophysiology fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Nair, 37, brings a youthful excitement to her work at St. Bernards Heart & Vascular Center at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center.
“I wanted to be a doctor for multiple reasons,” she said. “First of all, it is an honor to be trusted with another human being’s health and well-being. Patients trust me with their most personal and intimate matters. In hearing people’s stories and helping people at their most vulnerable, I feel like I have a unique window into the human experience.”
The field’s future looks bright, Nair said, as technologies are constantly being developed, each of which reclaims another life from what is still the leading cause of death in the U.S. Nair is more than up for the challenge.
“Excellence is never an accident,” she said. “It is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities.”
Highlights:
» Educated at Medical School at University of Kerala, India; Internal Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York; Cardiology and Cardiac Electrophysiology fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland
» Works with a range of technology including pacemakers, defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization devices; calls himself “an Electrician for the Heart”
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