Physicians focus on YOU at Henry Mayo Dr. Behi Rabbani

Possessing an exceptional combination of technical skill, knowledge and an engaging presence of compassion, Dr. Behi Rabbani has cultivated cardiology in the Santa Clarita Valley. He joined the UCLA Health clinic in part with the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in its inception just four years ago and has greatly contributed to its success in saving lives. Despite the hard work and sporadic hours on call, Rabbani still finds great reward in directly impacting the lives of others as a cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology doctor whose goals for this program seemingly know no bounds. “Seeing the patient through the whole process from start to finish is very rewarding,“ he said, “The goal is to help them and to get them back to the things they want to do without limitation.”
Henry Mayo’s elite ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) Heart Attack Receiving Center was recognized as the fastest “door-to-balloon” time throughout Los Angeles County in 2016, according to Rabbani. He explained this means the time elapsed from when the patient hits the ER doors to the moment the doctor can open up blood flow in the artery. It starts at home with the patient first recognizing they are having a heart attack, then the paramedics identifying the problem and effectively communicating with the hospital nurses to prep the patient for an emergency procedure with the doctor in 60 minutes or less. In 2017, the program still remained highly ranked with their quick response and has since been busy accommodating local cases. “Eighty to ninety percent of heart attacks can be avoided; but when they do happen, it makes it easier that the staff here is so incredible,” Rabbani said.
His procedurally based practice includes the scope of cardiology that deals with prevention, diagnostic testing and imaging, and treatment therapies. When examining a patient’s condition, Dr. Rabbani often recommends lifestyle changes that can aid in prevention of heart disease such as monitoring cholesterol and blood pressure through healthy diet and exercise. Then if chest pain persists, further analyses by stress test or a procedural method may be needed to repair the heart. This takes place in the hospital’s catheterization laboratory, “Cath Lab” for short, furnished with high-tech X-ray machinery for clearer imaging and tools like the Impella ventricular support device for high-risk patients. With the construction of Henry Mayo’s new patient tower, the cardiology department is anticipating the build-out of a second “Cath Lab” and the expansion of their peripheral arterial disease management program to greater serve the community.
Dr. Rabbani, originally from Michigan, has grown to love the people and places in SCV, especially the family-owned restaurants and surrounding hiking trails.  Prior to his move across country, he received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and returned back to his hometown to attend the University of Michigan for medical school. There at the hospital, he also completed his residency, a chief residency, and fellowship that included an additional year of interventional cardiology training. “My brain is very science and math oriented, so I’d always been interested in the physiology behind how the heart works,” Rabbani said. He later fulfilled an apprenticeship, further developing his specialty in complex coronary artery, peripheral vascular, and valvular heart diseases. These nine years of training have prepared him for his work now, healing one heart at a time.

photo by Joie de Vivre photographie

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