I aspired to enter medicine as a nine-year-old boy when I attended my mother’s graduation from medical school. Today, I am a quadruple board-certified interventional cardiologist in San Diego with a thriving office and hospital-based practice where I actively perform coronary, peripheral, and structural heart interventions, including transcatheter aortic valves and left atrial occlusions with the Watchman.
An Ivy League-educated physician, I attended Columbia University as an undergraduate and Dartmouth Medical School followed by the University of Colorado and Yale University for residency and fellowships, respectively. With a track record for outstanding outcomes, I have been an award-winning doctor who routinely makes the most prestigious Top Doctors lists. My lifesaving treatments have also garnered the attention of People magazine. Recently, I cured a female patient’s lifelong illness by identifying a new disease called platypnea Sans orthodeoxia syndrome.
I aspire to treat the whole patient rather than any particular organ system. Sharing my expertise as an educator is also a top priority. I have been an internationally recognized speaker and lecturer and have mentored and taught high school, college, and medical students. I have worked with Doctorpedia.com creating educational videos for patients seeking doctor-vetted advice and am currently launching my own podcast to educate the public on various topics including heart health–Heart Felt Podcast Series. I have also created a charitable organization to help students pursue medicine with scholarships.
I am a quadruple board-certified physician practicing cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology in the Sharp Hospital System in San Diego. I have been chosen as Castle Connolly Top Doctors in Interventional Cardiology each year since 2012. I have been voted by my peers as San Diego’s Top Interventional Cardiologist since 2012. I enjoy all of cardiology and medicine but particularly performing structural heart disease and interventions for the structural heart. I also perform peripheral procedures and interventions.
I love employing humor in medicine. I treat my patients as family. My philosophy of patient care is to focus on the whole patient rather than any particular organ system.
Beyond medicine, I like to read and write. I like poetry and have written my share of poems. I have my wife and two kids and Simba–my Maltipoo!
About Nassir Azimi, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FASNC
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
I am married with two kids. My daughter is an aspiring physician currently doing pre-medical studies.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
I love what I do. It brings immense joy to me to make a difference in my patients’ lives.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
Strive to live a stress free life….Take care of your bodies and your minds….Practice yoga, meditation….eat healthy, exercise and avoid bad habits.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
Continuing to enjoy my life in San Diego community…..
Nassir Azimi, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FASNC & Our Community
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
Khyber Pass, Harney Sushi, Eddy V’s La Jolla, Baccci’s, Born and Raised, The Cottage
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
Since 2005….
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
The love of my life who is now my wife and the reason I moved here, Mariam Azimi.
Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
Azimi Cardiovascular Institute
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
The great weather, the diverse population and the amazing landscapes….
Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
I would love to have lunch with James Douglas Morrison of the doors on the beach in Del Mar….I like many believe him to be a great poet of the previous century…..
For Fun
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
Pulp Fiction is my favorite movie….My favorite TV show is Highway to Heaven…..
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
That I was an aspiring comedian and still (silently am)
Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
A relaxing Torrey pines hike on a beautiful sunny day with the cool breezes blowing….
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
I keep on a daily basis to be a better version of myself the next day….As the Guru (from Hyderabad) taught me to achieve the next level–each day aspiring to be a better version of myself from the day before.
Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Wife, kids and dog….. or Comfort, peace and love.
