The SIUT director, Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi, spoke about various achievements of Dr Rahimtoola. His research work in the field of cardiology, Prof Rizvi observed, had brought laurels to Pakistan and his Alma Mater.
“Dr Rahimtoola is living in the United States where he is considered an expert in his field. Many awards have been conferred upon him, including ‘Salute to Research’ in 1985, ‘The Gifted Teacher’ in 1986 and ‘Distinguished Scientist’ from the American College of Cardiology in 2001.”
Prof Rizvi told the audience, comprising mostly doctors and students, that Dr Rahimtoola had given more than 1,420 national and international presentations and lectures. “He has edited 11 textbooks and has 513 scientific articles, including 67 editorials, 120 book chapters and 316 original scientific and other articles to his credit.”
Speaking on the subject of hibernating myocardium, Dr Rahimtoola said that this was a persistently impaired function of the heart muscle at rest due to reduced coronary blood flow. “It can be restored to normal if the blood supply is improved or the demand for oxygen is reduced. The cause for this phenomenon is the downgrading of the heart muscle function so that the supply and demand is in equilibrium. It is encountered in angina, heart attack, heart failure and an anomalous left coronary artery.”
Dr Rahimtoola added that this condition was diagnosed by echocardiography, radionuclide studies, PET and MRI. “The treatment is by revascularization of the coronary arteries to restore the blood flow, after considering the risk factors. If left untreated, there can be cellular damage, recurrent angina, heart failure and eventually death. There is a significant reduction in mortality in this condition by medical therapy and three per cent after surgical intervention. Hybernating myocardium is a topic of high-priority research in these times.”
The vice-chancellor of the University of Karachi, Prof Zafar Saeed Saifi, said that six months ago Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi had discussed with him the idea of honouring Dr Rahimtoola. The idea, he observed, had come to fruition the previous day when the University of Karachi had conferred upon Dr Rahimtoola the ”Honorous Causa” (Doctor of Science).
Prof Mushtaq Hasan, former teacher of medicine, said Dr Rahimtoola was one of the top-ranking cardiologists in the United States. This, he observed, was a matter of pride because “he is one of our graduates”.
Earlier, Sami Ashraf delivered the citation on Khawaja Muin Ahmed. Born at Panipat, India, in 1929, Mr Ahmed, joined Nagpur Medical College in 1947. On his migration to Pakistan, he joined Dow Medical College. He did his MBBS in 1952, securing third position. He joined Civil Hospital and later went abroad for post-graduate studies. He obtained MRCP and returned to Pakistan in 1959. In 1961, he joined Dow Medical College as assistant professor of medicine. He was then posted at Liaquat Medical College, Jamshoro, in 1969. In 1972, on a proposal of the Pakistan Medical Academy, he was appointed project director and founder principal of the newly-created Sindh Medical College. During the 1965 India-Pakistan war, he volunteered for the Pakistan Navy and was posted as Lt-Commander at PNS Shifa. He died in 1981.