For Dr. Hafiz Ghafoor, cardiology is where his heart is

'I spent extra time and effort, took time off a full-time job and moved my family to three different cities, just because I was so passionate about cardiology,' said Dr. Hafiz Ghafoor. (Photo by Tim San Fillippo / STHS)

By most measures, Dr. Hafiz Ghafoor had it made, with a well-paying job in internal medicine that he enjoyed.

But sometimes you have to listen to your heart. For him, fittingly, that meant cardiology.

And so, after 10 years of training and practicing as an internist in Memphis, he embarked on a circuitous, five-year journey that this fall brought him to Covington, as a member of St. Tammany Health System’s growing cardiovascular practice.

All for love of the heart.

“I was really passionate about this,” Dr. Ghafoor said. “I spent extra time and effort, took time off a full-time job and moved my family to three different cities, just because I was so passionate about cardiology,” Dr. Ghafoor said.

After earning his medical degree at Baqai Medical College in Pakistan, Dr. Ghafoor attended the University of Tennessee Health Science Center as a post-doctoral research scholar, followed by residency training in internal medicine and a stint as an instructor in the university’s Department of Pharmacology.

That’s when he got the cardio itch.

“Because I wanted to focus on one field, it had to be either neuro or cardio, because they are the most important organs in the body,” he said. “I was more inclined to cardiology because it is closer to internal medicine.”

That meant trading Memphis for Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he spent four years as an internist at Forest General Hospital, followed by a fellowship in cardiovascular disease at St. Vincent Hospital in the Boston area.

After three years of harsh Boston winters, he was offered a fellowship in interventional cardiology at Tulane University in New Orleans.

“I had an opportunity to stay in Boston or come back to the South, so I took that opportunity and came back to the South,” he said.

Between the comparatively mild weather, the spicy food and the music, it started to feel like home. When St. Tammany Health System invited him to join its cardiovascular family, it made good sense.

“My wife is a dentist; she has a great job. We found a great school for our son; he made great friends. So we decided to stay here in the New Orleans area,” he said. “And we’re happy to be here.”

Dr. Ghafoor operates out of the STHS Cardiovascular Clinic in Covington. He is currently accepting new patients. Call (985) 871-4140 or visit StTammany.health/CovingtonCardiovascular to make an appointment.