 | | | Dr. Junaid Khan Photo provided
| | | | | | Cardio-thoracic surgeon Dr. Junaid Khan of Orinda was honored as the 2012 Heart of Gold Medical Honoree at the American Heart Association's Heart of Gold Ball in June at Wente Vineyards in Livermore for his years of work to improve the heart health of the Bay Area community.
Khan is one of the physicians who led California's battle to ban trans fats in restaurants. The law, passed in 2008 and effective in 2011, changed the way high-fat foods such as French fries and doughnuts were cooked and gave California the distinction of being the first state in the nation to ban trans fats in restaurants.
Since 1998, Khan has served as the managing partner of East Bay Cardiac Surgery in Oakland. In addition to his role as Thoracic Cardiac Surgery Services Chief with Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Khan serves as Vice President of the Summit Medical Staff, where he specializes in endoscopic (minimally invasive) valve repair surgery. He was president of the American Heart Association Board of Directors from 2006 to 2010, and still serves on the board today.
"I am humbled to be selected as the Honoree, particularly looking at the great pioneers who have received the honor before me," said Khan. "The American Heart Association gave me my start in 1982 with a Young Investigator award, which I used on a summer project at UCLA after my father, who was also a doctor, took me to watch cardiac surgery. I have enjoyed the privilege of contributing to the Heart Association's mission to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke in the United States by 20 percent by 2020."
Khan coaches both his sons in baseball, basketball and football. He is currently working with the American Heart Association to install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at the sports fields in the Lamorinda area.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA