Dr Sai Satish is the Clinical Lead of Transcatheter Heart Valve Therapies forthe Apollo Hospitals Group in India.
Dr Sai Satish has always been a proponent patient wellbeing, particularly for those unfit for surgery has spurred him to do more with trans-catheter valve replacements and repair than expected, especially on needy patients, helping turn their lives around. While his years of training at several international centres in Hungary, Netherlands and the USA have always held him in good stead, a large part of Dr Sai’s decision making has been influenced by his father, the inimitable Mr V Jagannathan: India’s ‘Insurance Man’ since 1969, who was with the public sector insurer United India, till he retired and then started Star Health Insurance, of which he was the Chairman for almost two decades. In fact, ‘son of an insurance man’ is a tag that Dr Sai wears proudly even when explaining risks to his patients.
The hybrid payment systems in Indian healthcare are one of the major factors behind the wealth disparity of the nation, one could argue. It requires medical knowledge, insurance knowledge and innate compassion for the needy to truly make a difference. As Dr Sai often says, “I’m truly blessed to not need income from my medical practice. Medicine for me has always been deeply personal and not just a profession. And my only focus is to improve patient outcomes and make a difference wherever possible.”
Dr. Sai Satish has also performed thousands of complex coronary procedures and sits on several international advisory boards and chairs sessions on complex PCI, transcatheter mitral repair and TAVR. He has performed several live case demonstrations and initiated many centres both in and outside India in these procedures as well.
The Director Structural Heart (International) – Gottsegen Institute of Cardiology, Budapest, Hungary, Dr Sai has trained several doctors international and has started the first TAVI programs in several countries including Sri Lanka, Thailand, Phillipines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Singapore, Maldives and Nepal in the last five years.
A healthy eating and a fitness advocate, Dr Sai firmly believes that simple food and a mindful lifestyle will take us a long way. And also that the right insurance cover. will ensure that we prolong that journey with smiles in our faces and a lightness in our heart.