Our Story
Driven by history, guided by faith, and committed to mending every little heart in need.
Dr. Alluri Ashok Raju
MD (Paed.), DM (Cardiology - Gold Medalist), PDF (Paed. Card.), MBA (HA), Fetal Echocardiography (Mediscans)
Strongly positioned as an expert and a pioneer in the field, Dr. Ashok Raju is striving to improve the state of pediatric interventional cardiology in the coastal Andhra Pradesh region. He is today the only DM pediatric interventional cardiologist in the 1000km long coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Having completed his MD in Pediatrics from Kasturba Medical College, Dr. Ashok pursued his DM in Cardiology (Gold medalist) from NTR University. Driven by passion, he got selected for the Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology at the Madras Medical Mission under the globally renowned Dr. Kothandam Siva Kumar.
Ushering New Lives to CHD-affected Kids & Parents
Currently seeing around 25 million child births annually, the prevalence of congenital heart diseases (CHD) has increased drastically in recent years in India. As per a research paper published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine, the birth prevalence of severe CHD currently stands at 1.5–1.7 per 1000 live births and approximately 10 percent of infant mortality can be attributed to CHD lately.
Although India has witnessed many tech advancements, pediatric cardiology as a specialist medical field is still in its nascence across many parts of the country today.
A Legacy of Emotional Pain & Passion
Hailing from a lower middle-class family, Dr. Ashok witnessed firsthand the deep grief a family undergoes due to CHD when three of his own siblings died early on in their lives. His elder sister couldn’t survive beyond the age of 26 years. Recognizing the severe dearth of pediatric cardiology services, he took-up specialization to bridge this critical gap.
Expertise & Milestones
Devoting life towards improving interventional pediatric cardiology services.
Pioneering Interventions
Dr. Ashok has done numerous innovative pediatric cardiac catheter interventions globally acclaimed like large 50mm ASD device closure, balloon assisted PDA device closure, and trans catheter closure of giant coronary cameral fistulae. These procedures, earlier unavailable in coastal Andhra Pradesh, are now offered even free of cost through numerous government schemes.
He has presented his innovative interventions at prestigious international & national conferences such as CSI Frankfurt (Germany), CSI Asia Pacific (Bangkok), CSI Vietnam, Indialive (India) and PCSI (India).
A Memorable Success Story
"A baby weighing just 2kg with a serious condition called pulmonary atresia with PDA-dependent circulation was once brought to me. Despite the baby being on the verge of crashing, we immediately performed a successful PDA stenting. Once it turned six months, we performed a pulmonary wall perforation leading to speedy recovery. The child is living a perfectly normal and healthy life now."
Contributing towards a Better Society
Keeping in mind that 90-95 percent of the children with CHD lack proper monetary support, we aspire to create awareness among corporates about pediatric cardiology and persuade them to contribute a portion of their CSR budget towards helping children get the necessary treatment.
Dr Ashok started ‘Shishu Hriday charitable trust’ to bridge the gap primarily targeting children in urgent need of heart surgery from low-income families and provide them with the necessary medical, financial and post-operative support.
"While over 10,000 children are born in Andhra Pradesh every year with CHD, only around 1200 children are able to avail treatment and the remaining are seeing the end of life due to lack of awareness and monetary resources... We are mainly trying to somehow balance the monetary aspect and improve awareness so that more children can be saved if treated early."
Sharing Words of Wisdom
Prevention & Awareness
- The right time to get married is 25-30 years. Women should get pregnant before they turn 28 years to reduce chances of CHD.
- Both parents must be completely free of smoking, alcohol, and drugs.
- Risk of a child developing CHD is high in consanguineous marriages.
Early Detection
Most importantly, parents must get their fetal ECHO scan done soon after they conceive.
Trust Objectives
Founded with a clear roadmap, the Shishu Hriday Charitable Trust operates under strict objectives to ensure systemic change in pediatric care.
To provide affordable, accessible healthcare to children with Congenital Heart Disease.
To organize medical outreach camps, diagnostic drives, and referral services.
To educate the public on prevention, early detection, and treatment of CHD.
To train doctors, nurses, and community workers in paediatric cardiac care.
To collaborate with the government, hospitals, and NGOs for the delivery of paediatric healthcare.
To raise funds via donations, grants, CSR contributions, and other lawful sources.
In The News
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