Faces of Cedars-Sinai Vascular Surgeon Ali Azizzadeh Cedars-Sinai Skip to content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Share Email Print CS-Blog Cedars-Sinai Blog Faces of Cedars-Sinai Vascular Surgeon Ali Azizzadeh Sep 22, 2018 Cedars-Sinai Staff Share Tweet Post Vascular Surgeon Ali Azizzadeh, MD Meet Dr. Ali Azizzadeh, director of the Division of Vascular Surgery at Cedars-Sinai. He moved from Houston to LA in 2017 to join the Smidt Heart Institute. We sat down with Dr. Azizzadeh to learn more about his work at Cedars-Sinai, the future of vascular surgery, and how he's settling into LA. In Discoveries: Matters of the Heart: Ali Azizzadeh, MD What does a vascular surgeon do Dr. Ali Azizzadeh: We deal with vascular diseases, which are diseases that affect your body's network of blood vessels. They can affect every part of the body that receives blood flow and anybody can have them. Read: Faces of Cedars-Sinai: Urologist Jennifer Anger How did you come to Cedars-Sinai AA: After I finished my general surgery training at UT Health in Houston, I went to Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis, which was one of the early places that adopted a minimally invasive technique for vascular surgery. I returned to Houston and started their minimally invasive program. Cedars-Sinai recruited me to build the vascular component of the successful Smidt Heart Institute, and I've been here for 14 months now. In Discoveries: A Pioneering Heart Procedure What does your average day look like AA: Most days, I am in the operating room, typically doing 2-3 procedures a day to fix blood vessels. One day a week, I see patients in clinic. And then in between, I work on my research as well as my educational duties with our residents. What inspired you to pursue this career AA: I've liked science since I was a kid, and it just made sense for me to follow this path. I'm also a people person, so medicine was a natural choice because it combined two of my interests. Read: Who Should Seek Genetic Testing for Heart Disease? What do you do when you re not here at the hospital AA: Right now, I'm very busy remodeling my new home, so that takes up all my free time. But otherwise, I love working out—my favorites are weight training and yoga. Read: Barbara Fleeman: The Heart Knows What do you think you would be doing if you weren t a vascular surgeon AA: I really love architecture and my dad's an architect, so maybe I would pursue that. In the Newsroom: Sudden Cardiac Death Often A Woman's First Sign of Heart Disease What s your favorite Los Angeles-area spot AA: One of my favorite spots is Laguna Beach—I just think there's something therapeutic about that whole area. It's so peaceful and I love spending time there. I spent a lot of summers there during my teenage years when I came to California to visit family. Read: Faces of Cedars-Sinai: Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Pedro Catarino What excites you about the future AA: It is unbelievable how far we've come in just my professional career. Almost everything we do in vascular surgery has been completely replaced by a newer technology during my professional career. I think the pace of progress that we have in science is just incredible. Tags Heart Faces of Cedars-Sinai Share Tweet Post Popular Categories Health + Wellness Science + Innovation Community Blog & Magazines catalyst Blog & Magazines Home CS-Blog Blog CS Magazine Cedars-Sinai Magazine discoveries magazine Discoveries Magazine Embracing our Community Embracing Our Community Blog & Magazines catalyst Blog & Magazines Home CS-Blog Blog Embracing our Community Embracing Our Community CS Magazine Cedars-Sinai Magazine discoveries magazine Discoveries Magazine Popular Topics In Our Community Faces of Cedars-Sinai Patient Stories Los Angeles Behind the Scenes Make an Appointment Find a Doctor Schedule a Callback Call us 24 hours a day 1-800-CEDARS-1 Support Cedars-Sinai Make a Gift Volunteer Share Email Print Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility