Tanner News

A Tanner cardiologist has earned praise from his esteemed colleagues across metro Atlanta.

The July issue of Atlanta magazine features Shazib Khawaja, MD — board-certified in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology and the chief of interventional cardiology for Tanner Health System and medical operations leader for Tanner’s heart and vascular services — as one of the metro area’s top interventional cardiologists.

Atlanta magazine’s list of top doctors was compiled by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., which uses annual surveys returned to the firm by hundreds of thousands of doctors to compile a list of physicians that respondents trust most. That is, rankings are based not only on the physicians’ educational qualifications and Castle Connolly’s rigorous screenings, but also what physicians’ colleagues think of them.

Dr. Khawaja earned his medical degree from the University of South Alabama. After completing a residency in internal medicine at Albany Medical College in Albany, New York, Dr. Khawaja completed a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical School and an interventional cardiology subspecialty fellowship at the University of Minnesota/Minneapolis Heart Institute. Dr. Khawaja also received advanced training in peripheral vascular interventions at the Arizona Heart Institute.

He practices with Tanner Heart & Vascular Specialists, with office locations in Carrollton, Villa Rica, Bremen, and in Wedowee, Alabama.

The magazine also profiled Becky Holmes, RN, a registered nurse on the intensive care unit (ICU) at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton. Dr. Khawaja cited Holmes as someone who personally inspires him. Holmes described how it’s been to work with some of the region’s most acutely ill patients.

“I work in the ICU because I like the challenge,” Holmes told the magazine. “I like being with someone who is at the brink of no return and then bringing them back.”

This is the 11th consecutive year that Dr. Khawaja has been ranked among the nation’s best in interventional cardiology by the ratings firm. He is among 1,002 of the metro area’s most trusted physicians on Atlanta’s list.

“Dr. Khawaja’s accolades demonstrate our commitment to providing quality care and our role as a destination for great physicians,” said Loy Howard, president and CEO of Tanner Health System. “Quality physicians want to practice where they can be assured that the hospital is just as interested in the patient’s outcome as they are. At Tanner, we’ve worked to build a partnership with the medical staff that helps ensure our patients will receive the care they’d expect from one of the nation’s leading health systems.”

Atlanta magazine is published by Hour Media.

For more information on Tanner’s quality of care and how it compares to other regional hospitals and national benchmarks, visit TannerQuality.org. Find a physician on Tanner’s medical staff at tanner.org.