Riaz Haider

Riaz Haider (born July 2, 1934) is an American physician, cardiologist, author, and medical educator. He is best known for his work and research in the diagnostic cardiac ultrasound, heart pacemakers, exercise stress testing, and heart catheterization. He is the former President of the American Heart Association Nation's Capital Affiliate, and served as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences from 1984 - 2011. He is an elected Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Cardiology, and the Royal College of Physicians. He retired in 2011 and currently resides in Potomac, Maryland.
Background.
Haider was born in Sheikhupura, British India (now Pakistan) in 1934. His father was a civil servant. He attended high school at the Government Central Model School in Lahore, Pakistan. He left Pakistan for the U.K. in 1957, and moved to the United States in 1966.
Education.
Haider attended the Government College University, Lahore, and then King Edward Medical University, where he qualified as a doctor in 1956 at the age of 22. He received training and conducted research in internal medicine and adult and pediatric cardiology in both the U.S. and the U.K.
Career.
Haider spent much of his career in the Washington, D.C. area and taught at University of Maryland Medical Center, Providence Hospital (Washington, D.C.), and George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences.
He was Chief of Cardiology at the Providence Hospital (Washington, D.C.) from 1974 - 1993, and as President of Washington Cardiology Associates, P.C. from 1974 - 2008. Over the span of nearly 5 decades, he held appointments at the London Chest Hospital, Fatima Jinnah Medical University, University of Maryland, University of Birmingham, and Hammersmith Hospital in London.
At Hammersmith Hospital he directed the adult cardiac catheterization laboratories. The role included training cardiology fellows and researching diverse areas of heart disease. At GWU Hospital, with Joseph Lindsay, Haider introduced Swan Ganz cardiac catheterization in evaluation of cardiac function after acute myocardial infarction. At Providence Hospital he initiated new cardiovascular laboratories, which led to improved patient care.
Haider is Director Emeritus and former board member of the International Student House of Washington, D.C., which provides residential experience to a highly diverse community of American and international graduate students, interns, and visiting scholars.
He has published articles in The American Journal of Cardiology, the British Heart Journal, and Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. He released his first book, "A Triumphant Voyage, Great Achievements in Cardiology" in April 2020.