Director of Cardiology, Research, Education and Development (CHCm)
As the Director of Cardiology, Research and Education for Caribbean Heart Care- Medcorp (CHCm), Dr. Risshi D. Rampersad has been dedicated to St. Clair Medical Centre- Medcorp Limited (SCMC) since 2005. During his tenure, he became the forefront of Cardiology and established CHCm’s Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology Departments. He is also crucial to CHCm’s Research, Education and Development Department and his work has been published in renowned International Medical Journals.
Dr. Rampersad is a graduate of McGill University, The University of the West Indies and Ascardio Cardiovascular Teaching Hospital, in Venezuela. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), European Society of Cardiology (FESC), Inter-American Society of Cardiology and Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and holds membership in several International Cardiology Societies: the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), British Cardiovascular Society (BSC), Venezuelan Society of Cardiology (SCV), Society of Interventional Cardiology of Venezuela (SOVECI), and European Association of Percutaneous Interventions (EAPCI). He frequently asserts, however, that accolades such as these mean nothing unless you have a passion for and thoroughly enjoy what you do. That is what allows for the best health care and superior patient satisfaction.
A visionary, Dr. Rampersad pioneered the First Primary Angioplasty Team (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Team) in Trinidad and Tobago. His stewardship of this Team has helped save the lives of many patients suffering with an acute heart attack. He says, “Being a part of this team is one of the most gratifying facets of my job; our hearts are truly set on saving lives. Knowing, and seeing our patients get back to normal daily lives with their loved ones is thrilling. Our Clinical and Administrative Team really deserves all praises as they are unseen heroes.
Through his passion for saving persons from heart attacks, Dr. Rampersad continues to initiate and develop other successful Heart and Vascular programs including: Interventional Neuroradiology/ Radiology, Vascular and Endovascular, Electrophysiology and Structural Heart Disease and Echocardiology. It should be noted, that the Echocardiology Department comprises a Team of highly skilled Echocardiographers in the Caribbean, who have, to the date of publishing this, performed over 4000 Stress Echos, since 2009, and have done over 30,000 Echos on cardiovascular patients. The Research, Education and Development Department has also published a multitude of articles, and continues to grow and make tremendous clinical and academic impact on Cardiovascular Disease, in Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr. Rampersad and his Team have also successfully executed many first-time procedures in the English speaking Caribbean. In 2015, they implanted the first TAVI, which is the replacement of the aortic heart valve, without open surgery but through intervention in the leg.
Since 2017, he has worked regionally through his company, Heart and Vascular Imaging Caribbean (HaVIC), to provide Cardiovascular Care to thousands of patients in St Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as Grenada.
Dr. Rampersad has a knack for motivating his Team, and that results in them going beyond their call of duty. He trusts in the Golden Rule, “do onto others as you would have them do onto you,” which is directly attributable to his teams continued growth in experience and commitment to saving lives. He is also known to fosters laughter in the workplace and believes in the importance of enabling persons to enjoy their job as much as they could, thus, adapting the work environment to ensure utmost productivity coupled with patient and staff happiness. “I am usually most excited for our quarterly staff meeting; to see what new our Team has advocated and how best we can improve.”
Dr. Rampersad is a stickler for quality in the delivery of health care and provides medical care that is both patient and family oriented. He advises that, “Putting yourself in the patient’s and their family’s position helps to give an understanding of the kindness and the compassion required of our personnel. Think of the patient in bed as your mother or father, and you would know exactly what to do.”
Process improvement is deeply important to Dr. Rampersad. To achieve this, he inspires and leads his Team with the ultimate goal to ensure CHCm maintains its status as a world-class Cardiovascular Centre, and flourishes into one of the largest cardiac facility of its kind; working tirelessly to reduce mortality and morbidity associated with the disease.
CHCm’s Team is synonymous to Dr. Rampersad’s family and he attributes a tremendous amount of his success and the Team’s success to having a family-oriented, self-motivated and passionate work environment.
Apart from yoga and swimming, Dr. Rampersad enjoys spending quality time with his family; his three children who are his greatest blessing and whom he hopes one day will have a positive impact on the world. He makes special mention to his wife, who not only he considers to be his best friend but a crucial member of his Team; she ensures that he remains grounded and focused, and exceptionally organizes and manages his life outside of Cardiology. “I love what I do, I love helping people stay healthy and happy through my work. I could never continue my passion for Cardiology without the love and support of my family and my Team.”
– Dr. Risshi D. Rampersad, B.Sc., MB., BS, FACC, FESC, FSIAC, FSCAI.
Director of Cardiology
Director of Research, Education and Department
Interventional and Clinical Cardiologist