Dr. Purnima Hirudayaraj

“Aikyaa Heart Health & Wellness is more than an online space for me. It is a deep calling.” 

I am Dr. Purnima Hirudayaraj. In Sanskrit, Hirudayaraj means “King of Hearts.”

I am board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Lifestyle Medicine, and Obesity Medicine, with additional training in Nutrition Science through Stanford University. I live and practice in Houston, Texas.

My Academic Roots & Training

My medical journey began at Madurai Medical College in India in 1989, followed by residency and cardiology training in the United Kingdom, where I earned my MRCP.

I completed Internal Medicine training at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and a fellowship in Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. I later served as Assistant Professor of Cardiology at UT Health McGovern Medical School before transitioning to independent practice.

Why I Created Aikyaa

I have been in medicine for nearly thirty years. Caring for the diseased heart is something I chose long before medical school. As a child, I knew I wanted to become a cardiologist, and that dream eventually became my profession.

Over the years, however, I came to realize that while caring for the diseased heart remained my specialty, prevention had gradually become my deeper purpose.

That purpose did not emerge from a single moment. It was shaped gradually through caring for patients, witnessing illness within my own family and community, and ultimately through my own health journey.

My father lived with severe obesity for many years and ultimately passed away at the age of 64 from its many complications. Looking back, I often reflect on how different his journey might have been had today's understanding of lifestyle medicine, prevention, and long-term cardiometabolic care been more widely available and embraced. That loss stayed with me.

Years later, I watched a close friend suffer a heart attack and stroke at a relatively young age while carrying many of the silent cardiometabolic risks that are especially common among South Asians. Acute cardiovascular care saved his life, but I found myself asking the same question once again: Could this have been prevented?

I continued to see these patterns repeated—not only in my own family and friends, but in my patients and throughout my South Asian community. Heart disease arriving earlier than expected. Diabetes developing despite seemingly normal weight. Metabolic illness moving quietly through generations. This was not just my family's story. It was the story of countless families.

For most of my career, I worked in acute cardiology. Caring for critically ill patients brought a profound sense of purpose and fulfillment that is difficult to put into words. Yet over time, I found myself becoming increasingly drawn to prevention rather than rescue. I wanted to help people avoid reaching that point altogether.

My own health journey deepened this transition further. Navigating my own metabolic health challenges without clear answers led me to pursue additional training in Lifestyle Medicine, Obesity Medicine, and Nutrition Science.

In that process, I came to appreciate more deeply that many chronic diseases we traditionally approach as separate conditions are in fact profoundly interconnected. Cardiometabolic health, inflammation, nutrition, sleep, stress, movement, emotional well-being, and community all influence one another in ways we are continuing to understand more fully through science.

I also realized that when people truly understand what is happening within their own bodies, something changes. They become active participants in their health. They begin to recognize that many aspects of their cardiometabolic health can be influenced by the choices they make each day, especially when those choices are guided by evidence, grounded in science, and nurtured through a trusting partnership with a physician who takes the time to educate, listen, and instill hope. That awareness can ripple outward into families and communities, creating meaningful and lasting change over time.

Together, these experiences and the understanding they brought led me to my purpose. Today, this is what gives my work its deepest meaning: educating and empowering people using the knowledge, experience, and training I have been fortunate to receive.

Aikyaa was born from all of that. From years of medical experience, personal loss, watching people I love struggle with preventable illness, and a deep belief that prevention should not be an afterthought. Prevention should be the foundation.

Aikyaa means harmony, unity, and oneness. The name reflects the interconnected perspective that remains at the heart of my work.

Why South Asian Heart Health Matters to Me

As a South Asian physician, I have seen firsthand how heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome weigh heavily on our community, and I have personally lost loved ones to these conditions.

South Asian heart health became deeply personal to me. This inspired the creation of the Aikyaa South Asian Heart Initiative (SAHI), a program dedicated to addressing the unique and heightened cardiometabolic risks faced by South Asians.

Through Aikyaa, I aim to empower South Asians to take ownership of their heart and metabolic health by integrating evidence-based medicine with culturally meaningful dietary, movement, and mindfulness practices.

My Approach to Care

I believe a healthy heart rests on a strong metabolic foundation, and above all, on harmony across body, mind, and lived experience.

My role is not to impose a regimen, but to walk alongside you, supporting your journey toward sustainable cardiometabolic health, at your own pace, with clarity and confidence.

I bring not only clinical expertise, but also a shared understanding shaped by personal health challenges and experiences.

I strive to be the kind of physician and guide I would want for my own family. Credible, compassionate, and empowering.

I am grateful to share this space with you and honored to be part of your health journey.

With warmth,

Dr. Purnima Hirudayaraj