Meet Kris Vijay | Doctor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kris Vijay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kris, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In January 1977, my father had just come back home from Harkisondas Hospital ( Now Reliance Hospital ) in Bombay, India, after being discharged from congestive heart failure. He was treated by one of the finest cardiologist at the time, Dr. J. K Mehta. I left without and concerns to get back to my medical school which was about a 1000 miles away. My final exam was coming up in May and a week prior to my exam I had a hunch that my father was not well and had fallen through the cracks. He had passed away a week prior to my final exam. As I walked in the house my brothers were looking at me with grief and I broke down in tears. My father had been ill so many times over the last 4 years of his life that every time he would be hospitalized, there was a fear that he may not come back alive., So it was not a major surprise when he died, but , for sure it was tough to handle his absence. Clearly, diabetes, heart failure and in turn kidney failure had taken a toll on him at an early stage in life.

This thought was haunting me for a long time, and I had some frequent visual episodes at a subconscious level to start at an organizational level, programs, and projects, to educate and reduce the disease burden. With much thought and action, a few of us got together to make this nonprofit organization a reality. Twinepidemic, Inc was born in 2010. The First Task Force on Twin Epidemics of Diabetes and Heart disease in ethnic communities was convened on June 2010 to address the comorbid condition of diabetes and heart disease and examine the growing body of evidence from diverse sources. The problem of this triple threat is real and growing in an accelerated fashion.

Problem of Diabetes and Prediabetes:
The interconnectedness between Diabetes, Heart disease and kidney disease has never been more important to recognize than now, as the current data on the prevalence of this trifecta suggests an exponential increase in co morbidity, death, poor quality of life and a colossal economic burden on the society.

These numbers are expected to worsen if nothing is done to curtail them. Current population growth trends suggest that by 2050 there could be almost 12 million people living in Arizona, and nearly half of them could be affected by the burden of prediabetes and diabetes. Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of premature death in Arizona and greatly contributes to early disability. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to a multitude of health issues including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, nerve damage, lower leg amputation and death. Many people already live in the continuum of diabetes, and the African American, American Indian, Asian Americans and Hispanic/Latino communities are at the greatest risk in Arizona.

Greater insulin resistance decreased insulin secretion, and an increased rate of obesity typically affect these communities, and while genetics play a role in the higher risk reported in these communities, socio-economic disparities equally compound the problem. Historically the lack of access to healthy foods, places to exercise and play, and the ability to receive adequate medical and preventive care all multiply the risk for worse health outcomes in these communities
Problem of Heart Disease:

On the basis of NHANES 2015 to 2018 data, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults ≥20 years of age is 49.2% overall (126.9 million in 2018) and increases with age in both males and females. CVD prevalence excluding hypertension (CHD, HF, and stroke only) is 9.3% overall (26.1 million in 2018).

It is estimated that achieving the 2017 American College of Cardiology/AHA BP goals could prevent 3.0 million CVD events compared with current BP levels

Problem of Kidney Disease:
More than 37 million Americans have kidney disease and millions more are at risk. According to the CDC, 9 out of 10 people with early kidney disease don’t know they have it because it usually has no symptoms until the late stages.

Simple blood and urine tests can tell how well the kidneys are working. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two leading causes of kidney disease. Kidney disease can lead to heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and death. Kidney disease can be treated.

If it’s caught and treated early, it’s often possible to slow or stop the progress of kidney disease. Besides diabetes and high blood pressure, other common risks for kidney disease include having a family history of kidney disease, Black heritage, Hispanic, Asian American, or Native American. Being over 60, Black Americans are 3.4 times more likely than whites to develop kidney failure, and Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely than non- Hispanics to develop kidney failure. There are more than 785,000 people with kidney failure in the United States—an increase of more than 100% since 2000.
About 555,000 are on dialysis and nearly 230,000 are living with kidney transplants. Each month, almost 11,000 new cases of kidney failure are diagnosed.

In 2018, Overall prevalence of chronic kidney disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL·min−1·1.73 m−2 or albumin-to-creatinine ratio ≥30 mg/g) was 14.8% (2013– 2016). Incidence of end-stage kidney disease in the United States is projected to increase 11% to 18% through 2030 Chronic kidney disease is an increasingly common but usually preventable condition. Medicare spending for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) beneficiaries was $49.2 billion—7.2% of Medicare costs—though ESRD patients make up less than 1% of the total Medicare population. A patient on hemodialysis costs Medicare more than $93,000 per year. For each kidney disease patient who does not reach kidney failure, Medicare saves an estimated $250,000. One third of people who were diagnosed with kidney failure in 2018 received little or no pre- ESRD care Major discrepancies and disparities in the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) in the underserved populations exist in the 4 As:

• Access to health care services and educational opportunities with lack of exposure to mass media and emerging technologies (e.g., The Internet, and social media)

• Availability of community-based resources in support of community living and opportunities for recreational and leisure-time activities

• Affordability of medications with lack of access to low-cost pharmacy and low-cost fruits and vegetables

• Acceptability of cultural nuance, lack of enhanced motivation, and self- empowerment.

• To that end, it made sense to focus on Prevention of these diseases and risk factors through education early detection and intervention. We recently kicked off a copyright and trademark protected initiative called Galvanize Healthy Living to address exactly these topics for the larger goal of prevention by truly serving those in need

What should our readers know about your business?
WHAT Does TWINEPIDEMIC do to prevent the triple threat?

The initial task force was formed to include several endocrinologists, cardiologists and diabetologists nephrologists and epidemiologists from around the world to address the issues in South Asians. We published a State of The Science Consensus paper to focus on certain key questions and increase awareness regarding the epidemic of heart disease, diabetes and its complications and advocate early interventions at multiple levels. Twinepidemic, over the last 10 plus years has been working diligently by performing early screening and detection of risk factors and disease at large health screening events like health fairs in multiple cities in the US and also around the world. We have been in Africa, India ( The Dali Lama Heart Institute in Leh, Ladakh ) and many other places to screen, detect , intervene with education and provide low-cost medications, access to higher level of care and make technology available to all underserved communities.
The rationale for this movement was to continue the momentum gained from the awareness of the disease state and create an opportunity to develop educational materials that would articulate a consistent and reliable message to be disseminated in multiple urban and rural areas to the healthcare community and non-medical communities across the World.
https://twinepidemic.org/our-books

Kris Vijay , MD, MS, FACC, FACP, FNLA, FHFSA is a heart failure clinical cardiologist. He has a unique credential in being one of the few cardiorenal metabolic specialist in the US and around the world. He was recently the Medical Director of the Institute of Congestive Heart Failure at Abrazo Arizona Heart Hospital and Abrazo Health Network in Arizona. He is also a trained endocrinologist, clinical lipidologist, an ardent researcher, and a Heart Failure specialist. Dr. Vijay earned his medical degree from Kasturba Medical College, University of Mysore, India. He completed postgraduate training in medicine and Nephrology in Bombay, India; Oxford, United Kingdom; and Rochester, New York, and has completed fellowships in endocrinology and diabetes at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom, and in cardiology at Banner University Medical Center Phoenix. He also holds a master’s degree in clinical research design and statistical analysis from the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.

Dr. Vijay is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at University of Arizona, Phoenix. He has been in clinical practice for more than 40 years since Medical School and in Arizona for more than 30 years. Dr. Vijay is a past Governor of the American College of Cardiology, Arizona Chapter, Executive Council member of National Lipid Association, a founding member and past President of the Cardio Renal Society of America and current President of the TWINEPIDEMIC, Inc., a nonprofit organization addressing Diabetes and Heart disease among Ethnic Communities all over the world.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Physicians, National Lipid association and Heart Failure Society of America. He is currently an Associate Editor for the Journal of Clinical Lipidology. Vijay has participated in more than 200 clinical trials and published numerous articles in peer reviewed journals.

Dr. Vijay has been a recipient of multiple awards throughout his career. He was one of the three nominees of Healthcare Heroes award for Phoenix Business Journal towards Lifetime achievement in 2017.He received a Lifetime achievement award from American College of Cardiology, Arizona Chapter in 2018. He was recognized as one of the AZ TOP DOCS in 2020, 2021 and 222. He has presented at numerous national and international meetings on diabetes and heart disease.

Dr. Vijay takes a holistic view of heart disease prevention and treatment, using a variety of treatment options along with motivating, inspiring and coaching to encourage patients to modify their lifestyles. His mission has been in prevention of risk factors of heart disease and diabetes at primordial, primary, secondary, and tertiary care levels.

He is the author of the book : “Invoking your inner therapist in Heart Failure : Untold patient experiences . From preventions to end stage” He is a Medical Sherpa, volunteering his services to serve the underserved in to mitigate diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease around the world through the nonprofit organization, Twinepidemic, Inc. He is a Needs-Ambassador for a large multinational nonprofit organization, Project C.U.R.E, providing services for the Dalai Lama Heart Foundation, in Ladakh, India, in the Himalayas. He lives with his wife in Phoenix Arizona.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are so many places to see, so many things to do and have fun in Arizona. Locally, downtown Phoenix has really grown and expanded and become a safer place to engage in many activities. Lots of restaurants and bars and sports events to go to. I love the Phoenix Suns and a game at the arena is a must after bar hopping at a few places including Majerle’s sports grill,

Cornish pasty, Harumi sushi and Cibo are some of my favorites. Scottsdale downtown is another place to hang out. Some upscale places like Marcelino’s , Tapas Papas, Bourbon and Bones and a few other restaurants on 5th avenue have mouthwatering items on their menu. Scottsdale center for the arts is one of my favorites. The Civic center library is an awesome place and one of the best libraries in the country with amazing collection of educational materials. Scottsdale is very artsy, and one can spend hours just walking around the downtown area. Don’t forget the ice cream at the Sugar Bowl or Cool Gelato. Some of the best Mexican places are in Phoenix area such as Casa Corazon and Barrio café. My favorite Indian buffet restaurant is in Gilbert called India Oven. They have some amazing Indian food. Cucina Tagliani in Glendale is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in town. For an amazing upscale experience , spend an evening and a night at either the Camelback Inn or the Four Seasons hotel at North Scottsdale.

Biltmore Fashion Park, Kierland and Desert Ridge are some of my favorites to hang out. Rawhide for a Western experience is awesome. Driving up the South Mountain to watch the sunset is a fantastic experience. For an out-of-town experience, Sedona is the perfect spot at any time of the year. I love Flagstaff as well with so many hiking places and National and state parks. Of course, going to the Grand Canyon is an out of the world experience. Don’t miss the Imax movie there : Grand Canyon, the Hidden Secrets. An amazing experience.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My goodness. There are so many people who have influenced me and my life along the way. I am indeed honored to have been able to accomplish a few things to reach a certain level of fulfillment in life. I am beholden to all patients who have allowed me to help in their healing and to have given me enough armaments to gain knowledge . To name a few, Dr Marc Silver, a fine heart failure cardiologist and a great mentor for me influenced my life in some amazing ways! Dr Michael Castro , an internist in Glendale had a lot of influence on my life. Many others include Desiree Little, my Nurse Practioner whose energy and enthusiasm made a big difference, Kennedy Evans for her creative and imaginative artwork for the cover page of my book as well as many medical illustrations that are interspersed throughout this book, to Tammy Querrey for her continued support as Service Line Director at Abrazo health network, to Romelia Laborin, my Medical Assistant, whose energy, kindness, and competence, allowed me to perform my work most efficiently. I have to thank many of my mentors without whose help and support, I would not have become a cardiologist, or have had the benedictions to be of help to the needy and susceptible. Tim Byrne was tremendously helpful in giving me the opportunity to kick off the first Cardiorenal Center in the country, to the late Dr. Ken Desser who was the director of the fellowship program at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix. Dr. Stan Pearson, Medical Director at Cigna, who gave me the approval to pursue my Masters in Research at the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. And to the late Dr. Sridhar who was the first person we met when we came to Arizona. Dr. Sridhar has been an amazing influence in my life! Many of my friends have been tremendously positive and upbeat , cheering me to continue to lead with passion and helping to rise up when I have had many lows in my health in the recent past. Those include Navin , Mandeep, Pankaj, Suku, Raj, Siva, Neel, Charlie, Anuj, Renzo , Analyn and more. Finally, to many in my family whose tolerance, acceptance, patience, understanding, and dealing with days and weeks of my absences from their lives, enabling me to reach out to my patients at times of need and at their times of vulnerable situations. A heartfelt appreciation to my wife Jayanthi for her unconditional love, generosity, mercy, and compassion, and courage to deal with grueling situations with grace, to both our two sons who have continuously brought us happiness through their passion, touch and embrace, humor and constructive criticisms. And last but certainly not least, to my father-in-law and mother-in-law whose respect, admiration, and boundless blessings have allowed for a magical and wondrous journey of life.

Website: https://twinepidemic.org/