photography by grant reid

Like the grizzled vets of the San Antonio Spurs or the world champion Dallas Mavericks, Cardiovascular Specialists of Texas (CST) sends its best five employees to work every day. 

The practice, which is made up of five physicians and about 40 staff members, is bringing its diversity and reputation to the field of cardiology.

Drs. Manish Chauhan, Todd Gage, Michael Grad, Paolo Venegoni and Robert Wozniak make up this tightly knit group. And the team members have gotten to know each other very well during the years they have worked together.

“We’re kind of a different breed,” Grad said. “We’re a group of five docs [who] have been together for a number of years. I think you can characterize it as a family between the staff, the cardiologists and the patients.”

Utilizing a diverse range of interests and skill sets, CST can treat a wealth of heart problems from high blood pressure and valve disease to full-blown heart failure.

“The one-stop shopping that you get with our group is a little bit unique,” Gage said.

It’s not only unique, but also essential to treating the people of Austin. According to Venegoni, Austin is full of different heart problems and different ethnicities, which can bring certain biological tendencies. If you want to be successful in the field, you better know how to treat everyone, no matter the language or issue.

“You have to be able to speak different languages,” Venegoni said. “You have to be able to understand the different aspects of cardiology according to various ethnicities.”

As a reflection of the city they call home, CST’s team of physicians is a melting pot. Chauhan hails from India and is fluent in Hindi and English. He trained and practiced at Harvard and Tufts Universities in Boston. 

Venegoni grew up in Italy and moved to the United States for a fellowship at Baylor University. 

Wozniak is from the East Coast, and he obtained part of his medical training in Hawaii while serving his country in the military. 

Grad grew up in Florida, received his cardiology training at the Texas Heart Institute, and is fluent in Spanish. 

And Gage, the only native Texan, is a former Division 1 football athlete.

According to Grad, “We all have different ways of approaching life and therefore, have different ways of approaching patients.”

Grad said he loves helping patients with prevention. Gage, on the other hand, said he still loves being able to come in during an emergency and save lives. But the passion and expertise hardly stop there.

“There are only a few people in town [who] perform carotid stenting and closure of ‘holes in the heart’ like Dr. Chauhan does,” Gage said as another example.

CST receives help, of course, when it comes to keeping up with advances in cardiology. The advancement of technology is vital to the success of treating a patient.

“Industry has been our greatest advocate in terms of providing new tools to make us better at what we do,” Gage said.

Venegoni was a little more blunt.

“Technology is fundamental,” he said.

Whether it’s keeping up with the constant flow of new medications or learning about the latest techniques, technology is making doctors work more effectively, despite the complexity.

Major surgeries become less and less common with the advancement of technology, as well. Some problems that once required major surgery such as replacing aortic valves can now be treated with small incisions in targeted areas. 

Gage also said the use of balloons and stents within arteries has paid big dividends in helping patients.

“It’s one of the exciting things about cardiology: It’s ever changing,” Gage said.

Even though the physicians come from different parts of the world and have different interests, one thing is universal: Their commitment to their patients.

“If I’m out of town, I can always trust that my patients are taken care of by my colleagues,” Grad said.

Venegoni, who has been in Austin for the last 15 years, said he’s “kind of grown together” with his patients because some of them have been with him all 15 years. When asked what he likes about the job the most, he immediately said working with patients in the office.

A treatment plan for any patient requires difficult, informed decisions be made early. The patient is the key component in this equation.

“They are the decision makers, and we are here to guide them in the process,” Grad said.

With all of the success the CST physicians have experienced, their main goal is to continue to be consistent. To CST, you’re only as good as your last treatment. If the Mavericks were to tell you anything, it’s that four or five good games isn’t enough to win a championship. 

The CST physicians want to bring their A-game every day for many years to come.

According to Grad, “We want to remain cohesive and remain a strong entity here in Central Texas.”

For more information about the services and the physicians of Cardiovascular Specialists of Texas, please visit www.cstheart.com.