Suneja Seeks Synergy of Cardiology and Lifestyle Medicine
By Jawahar Malhotra
KATY: Inquisitiveness is the hallmark of the seeker of truths and answers to questions that sometimes lie hidden just beyond the grasp of one’s imagination. A few take the time to find the doors that can unlock these truths, but most are too burdened by work and responsibilities to even take a second look.
But a persistent inquisitiveness has egged Randeep Suneja on ever since he got into medical school at Mulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi over 30 years ago. There, he exceled and graduated in the top of his class as a Gold Medallist in 1983. After residencies in New York and Ohio, he came to Houston in 1992 and after a year started his own cardiology practice which now, 26 later, has treated over 60,000 patients. He is one out of 43,000 physicians in Texas and 14,000 who practice in Houston, but he has always been eager to stand out in his field.
This has led him to become a Fellow of many medical associations, the list is so long it spans the alphabet after his name: Dr. Randeep Suneja, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FASNC, FACP, FCCP, FABLM, FASPC. Last October he passed the Board exam for the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine and this past month, on July 28, he was nominated as Fellow of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology.
The ABLM started last year and has only 196 physicians on the board, while the ASPC only had 52 nominations this year and it turns out that Suneja is the only physician in Texas to belong to both! “This represents the highest level of preventative medicine,” said a delighted Suneja in a telephone interview.
Despite being a Quintuple Board Certified Cardiologist with a thriving practice of general and interventional cardiology, Suneja is now also focusing on Preventive Cardiology and Lifestyle Medicine. But he can’t sit still. He recently joined a year-long Masters level course in Safety, Quality, Informatics and Leadership at the Harvard Medical School where he is also simultaneously pursuing certification in Mind, Body and Medicine.
His road clearly leads to a synergy of holistic and lifestyle medicine and the art of cardiology.