Vikas Veeranna, MD

About Vikas Veeranna, MD

Vikas Veeranna, MD, a board-certified cardiologist, with a specialty in advanced cardiac imaging, earned his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) at Bangalore Medical College in Bangalore, India. Dr. Veeranna completed an internal medicine residency at Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center, Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit. Dr. Veeranna also completed a research fellowship in cardiovascular outcomes at Michigan Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and Reporting Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; a fellowship in cardiovascular disease at Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center and a fellowship in noninvasive cardiovascular imaging at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“The challenges that are posed by patients and their providers to provide reliable answers drew me to the evolving specialty of advanced imaging in cardiology,” he says. “It keeps changing every day and we’re able to continuously grow with it.”

Dr. Veeranna says advanced imaging has become the “crux of diagnostics in the entire cardiology spectrum. It shows you the direction of not only the diagnostics, but also helps us monitor therapies and helps us keep a check on the progress of certain heart conditions, while helping with therapeutic decisions.”

“Patient outcome is paramount in terms of imaging,” he says. “What we see with the kind of imaging techniques we have currently at The Elliot - the cutting-edge technology in terms of CTs, MRIs or PET scans – are that they provide us with that extra step, personalized to the patient, to get to the bottom of answers and direct our therapies based on those answers to improve outcomes for patients.”

Dr. Veeranna says a good patient-provider relationship depends on open communication. “That helps to start a pathway, where you and the patient begin that dialogue which is so crucial to building that patient-physician trust that’s a foundation for better outcomes,” he says. “When you’re able to communicate better the patient’s understanding of their condition is better and they’re more comfortable to walk together with you in whatever decisions we make in the future.”

As he sees it, “The key for me is putting the patient first, understanding them, understanding their circumstances and sort of walking with them through this journey, because having a heart disease is not a one-time thing it is a lifelong commitment for you and your patient.”

Dr. Veeranna finds practicing medicine gratifying. “Every patient you interact with, every patient you take care of, not everyone has good outcomes, but you are with them,” he says. “Being with them through their difficult situation and making them feel better – there is nothing more pleasing than that and nothing more satisfying.”

When he’s not working, he enjoys everything related to tennis and spending time with his family.

“I love tennis,” Dr. Veeranna says. “It’s a great sport. The energy you get out of it is unbelievable. I’m either watching tennis, playing tennis or doing something related to tennis with my kids.”

He and his family also love to travel. “The world is an awesome place,” he says.