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COVER FEATURE (L-R) Vascular surgeon Gregory J. Rogers, MD, and interventional cardiologist Jaikirshan J. Khatri, MD, are physicians affiliated with Southwest General's Heart & Vascular Institute. Jaikirshan J. Khatri, MD, FACC, FSCAI By Robert Janek T HE FIELD OF interventional cardiology is expanding at an incredible rate. From 1987 to 2004, the number of percu- taneous coronary interventions (PCI) increased 326 percent in the U.S., accord- ing to the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). Less invasive and considered to be safer than bypass surgery, PCI is now the most commonly used therapy for coronary artery disease. Fifteen years ago, Dr. Jaikirshan (Jai) Khatri saw the writing on the wall. As a medical student at Northeastern Ohio Medical University, he planned to be a heart surgeon. A senior-year rotation with cardiac surgeons and interventional cardiologists at Akron General Medical Center, however, changed his mind. "It became pretty apparent to me that technology was already favoring mini- mally invasive procedures and probably would sway more that way in the years to come," says Dr. Khatri. "Coronary intervention with drug eluting stents has changed the way we think about treating patients with coronary artery disease. 6 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton MD NEWS n MDNEWS.COM n MARCH-APRIL 2012 Integrated, Innovative Interventional Cardiology at Southwest General Surgery used to be the first line of therapy for blocked arteries. Now, it's more of an adjunctive therapy when stenting isn't feasible. It's been a total role reversal between the two fields — certainly in treating coronary artery disease." Born in Pakistan, Dr. Khatri has lived in Ohio all but eight years of his life. Five of those were spent in Georgia at Emory University completing fellowships in cardiology and interventional cardiology. Prior to that, he was an intern, resident, and cardiology research fellow at Case Western Reserve University. PHOTO © JOE SMITHBERGER, SMITHBERGER PHOTOGRAPHY, NORTH CANTON