UT Southwestern South Asian Heart Program

People of South Asian descent have a higher risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, yet as a group they remain underevaluated and undertreated. Some of this risk may be related to lifestyle, culture, genetics, and diet.

The UT Southwestern South Asian Heart Program offers a comprehensive evaluation – including laboratory testing, one-on-one nutrition counseling, surveys, and if needed, advanced imaging – to help individuals understand their risk factors and then come up with a plan to modify them.

Anand Rohatgi, M.D., M.S.C.S., FACC, FAHA, is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in preventive cardiology.

Dr. Rohatgi earned his medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania Health System and a cardiology fellowship at UT Southwestern. He also holds a master’s degree in clinical science from UT Southwestern.

Board certified in cardiovascular disease and internal medicine, he joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2008.

In addition to his clinical roles, Dr. Rohatgi is the Associate Program Director of UTSW’s Cardiovascular Fellowship, and he serves on several campus committees to enhance clinical research. He is an active CME speaker and has given several invited national talks.

Dr. Rohatgi’s research focuses on the role of novel biomarkers in improving risk prediction for atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Specifically, his main area of interest is the role of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) in cardiovascular disease. He also focuses on high-risk populations, including those with diabetes and people of South Asian ancestry.

He is currently the principal investigator of “The Genetic and Molecular Basis of Cholesterol Efflux,” a five-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 award, and "Mentoring Patient-Oriented Research in Deep Lipid Phenotyping for Cardiovascular Disease," a five-year study funded by the NIH K24 award. He has received past awards for research from the American Heart Association.

He also is the principal investigator of a five year study "Lipoprotein Metabolism and Excess Cardiometabolic Risk in South Asians" funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 award (2022-2027). This grant focused on novel markers of lipids like HDL function in South Asians utilizing the MASALA cohort in the U.S. and the U.K. biobank cohort in Europe.

Dr. Rohatgi serves as a reviewer for a number of publications, including The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of the American Heart Association, American Journal of Cardiology, and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. He is an Associate Editor for Circulation and on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Clinical Lipidology.

He is a Fellow of both the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association and a member of the American College of Physicians, the National Lipid Association, and the American Society of Preventive Cardiology, among other professional organizations. He also chairs the board of directors of the nonprofit Texas Loves Children.

Appointments are available at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Coppell.