Community Leader | Dr. Nidal Abi Rafeh
All Heart
-Liesel Schmidt
Being a physician is one of the most difficult professions in the world, requiring so many characteristics, not the least among them dedication, determination, empathy, and clear-headedness. It takes years of sacrifice and long hours to make it through internship and residency, and so many hopefuls realize that they simply don’t have what it takes. For those who do, it is passion that drives them through the challenges and the frustrations, the cases that seem to have no solution, the patients that pull at their hearts, and the endless periods of high tension. It is passion that keeps them going strong, and passion that makes them the greatest advocates for their patients.
For Dr. Nidal Abi Rafeh, passion is what has driven him to the top of his field as a cardiologist, making him world renown for his expertise in the performance of complex and high-risk Chronic Total Occlusion Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (CTO PCI), a minimally invasive technique that is used to treat patients with complete blockages of the coronary arteries caused by plaque buildup that compromises blood flow to the heart.
A native of Lebanon, Abi Rafeh’s story is an international one that proves determination to see his dreams through to fruition. “I put in a lot of hard work and made a lot of sacrifices to achieve my goals,” he says. “I spent countless hours on research after class, training and work so I could provide people care and treatments that can change their lives.”
