Dr Louis Kofi Essandoh - Cardiac Consultant with a heart
The group provides critical solutions to challenging cardiovascular health issues. It is also active in research in vascular devices for aneurysms, clogged or narrowed arteries.
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“We recognise the needs of our patients and strive to provide comprehensive Cardiovascular Care, enabling our patients to have full and active lifestyles. We collaborate with the finest hospitals to provide the best in acute, long-term and preventive care,” Dr Essandoh explains.
While his exploits as a medical practitioner are legion, he combines clinical practice with an active academic and research agenda.
When we talk about great achievers, Dr Essandoh is one person who has excelled so much in the medical front. In many aspects, he could be considered a genius in the field of medical science.
He is associated with top-notch institutions of higher learning in the USA. He was previously on the Faculty of the University of Illinois’ College of Medicine in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, first as a Visiting Scholar, then as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Physiology.
“I’m currently on the Faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology,” he indicated.
His areas of interest are in Consultative Cardiology, Preventive Cardiology, Nuclear Cardiology, Exercise Physiology, Acute Ischemic Syndromes, Heart Failure, Peripheral Vascular Disease, Cardiovascular Clinical Trials and Neural Control of the Circulation.
Dr Essandoh is currently employed by Medstar Health Cardiology Associates in Maryland. This group of cardiovascular specialists and vascular surgeons has 35 experienced and highly skilled physicians in Maryland and Washington DC.
The group provides critical solutions to challenging cardiovascular health issues. It is also active in research in vascular devices for aneurysms, clogged or narrowed arteries.
“We recognise the needs of our patients and strive to provide comprehensive Cardiovascular Care, enabling our patients to have full and active lifestyles. We collaborate with the finest hospitals to provide the best in acute, long-term and preventive care,” Dr Essandoh explains.
While his exploits as a medical practitioner are legion, he combines clinical practice with an active academic and research agenda.
When we talk about great achievers, Dr Essandoh is one person who has excelled so much in the medical front. In many aspects, he could be considered a genius in the field of medical science.
He is associated with top-notch institutions of higher learning in the USA. He was previously on the Faculty of the University of Illinois’ College of Medicine in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, first as a Visiting Scholar, then as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Physiology.
“I’m currently on the Faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology,” he indicated.
His areas of interest are in Consultative Cardiology, Preventive Cardiology, Nuclear Cardiology, Exercise Physiology, Acute Ischemic Syndromes, Heart Failure, Peripheral Vascular Disease, Cardiovascular Clinical Trials and Neural Control of the Circulation.
The group provides critical solutions to challenging cardiovascular health issues. It is also active in research in vascular devices for aneurysms, clogged or narrowed arteries.
“We recognise the needs of our patients and strive to provide comprehensive Cardiovascular Care, enabling our patients to have full and active lifestyles. We collaborate with the finest hospitals to provide the best in acute, long-term and preventive care,” Dr Essandoh explains.
Medical drive
He obtained his M.D. from Yale University, and did postgraduate work at Yale University’s Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Dr Essandoh then completed a six-year specialisation in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. At Mayo, he was the first Charles E. Culpeper Foundation Fellow in the Medical Sciences.
Who is a Cardiologist?
Cardiologists are doctors who specialise in diagnosing and treating diseases or conditions of the heart and blood vessels — the cardiovascular system. And we all know that matters of the heart are not to be taken lightly, especially in contemporary society in which cardiovascular conditions are prevalent due to sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets.
Career path
Touching on what motivated him to take this career path, Dr Essandoh said “I wanted to use my engineering knowledge in Biomedical Engineering research. After medical school, I developed a keen interest in patient care. Now, I do both: I practise Clinical Cardiology and I serve as the Principal Investigator for new cardiac drugs and devices”. Answering a question on what motivates his research interest, Dr Essandoh explained that his research efforts focus on new cardiac drugs.
“The challenges in research in the US always relate to funding issues. Government support for basic research has nearly dried up. We now depend on industry support for applied research, i.e. research targeted to a particular need,” he explained.
Asked why the sudden increase in heart-related diseases in Ghana and other parts of the world, he acknowledged that such diseases were rising astronomically in developing countries such as Ghana, because residents in these countries have become more affluent and adopted the habits of the developed world.
“I hope there can be rapid technology transfer in this regard,” he said.
Exploits
Dr Essandoh is the author of more than 30 peer-reviewed abstracts, original articles, and book chapters, many original journal articles, abstracts, review articles, and a textbook entitled, “Cardiology In Urgent Care Medicine”.
He has been a Principal Investigator of more than 30 clinical trials in cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, lipid abnormalities, heart failure and atrial fibrillation.
He is a consultant to, and serves on the Speakers' Faculty of several major pharmaceutical companies.
He has extensive experience in the area of research into the impact of pharmaceutical drugs on the cardiovascular system and is a go-to researcher for several global pharmaceutical giants.
Recent clinical research of which he is the principal investigator included trials for weight-loss drugs, new antiplatelet blood thinners and new injectable cholesterol drugs. His completed clinical trials also included studies into the efficacy and safety of drugs for the management of heart rhythm disturbances and erectile (sexual) dysfunction.
Honours and Awards
Dr Essandoh has garnered a tall list of honours and awards spanning over three decades. They include Gala Honours from the American Heart Association, Maryland Affiliate, which he served as President for three years and is a Fellow of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, the American College of Cardiology and American College of Physicians.
He is also an Honorary Citizen of the City of Fort Worth and Tarrants County, Texas.
Dr Essandoh’s roots
Born in Moree, near Cape Coast, in the Central Region of Ghana, he spent most of his early life in the Sekondi-Takoradi area and attended Fijai Secondary School in the Western Region.
He was born to Mr Pius Kwame Essandoh (deceased) and Mrs Agnes Essandoh.
Dr Essandoh is married to Nana Frema Essandoh, nee Busia from Wenchi. They have been blessed with two children: Justin Kwame Essandoh and Nina Abba Essandoh, both living in the USA.
His hobbies are football, basketball, music (all genres), international travel, Law and Politics.