CACVI - Key Persons
Ariel Bina PA-C was born and raised in sunny Los Angeles, CA. She joined our practice in March of 2022 and has been proud to serve this wonderful community since then. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of Redlands and her Masters in Physician Assistant Studies from Chapman University.
Outside of medicine, Ariel enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, and going to the beach as well as quiet indoor activities like sewing, knitting and crocheting. Ariel also enjoys singing and spending time with her 3 furry little friends-2 guinea pigs and one giant rabbit!
Languages spoken: English, Farsi
An East Coast native, Wesley Hurd, PA-C joined CACVI in May 2018 and has been practicing as a physician assistant for almost 4 years. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA and a Master of Medical Sciences in Physician Assistant from Nova Southeastern University in Orlando, FL. He is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Wesley believes that patient and provider education is the key to a successful practice.
Outside of medicine, Wesley enjoys sailing, camping, playing violin, and spending time at the beaches of California.
Dr. M Lala joined the Center for Advanced Cardiac and Vascular Interventions (CACVI) in October of 2016. He pioneered the Limb Salvage and Amputation Prevention Program at CACVI and quickly became known as the "Leg Saver" doctor in the community.
He has performed thousands of successful endovascular procedures to save limbs and improve quality of life, and has fixed peripheral artery and venous disease symptoms in his patients that prevent them from walking and performing daily activities.
After receiving his medical degree from the Saurashtra University/Pandit Deendayal Upadhya Medical College at Gujarat, India, Dr. M Lala completed his post-graduate training at Long Island College Hospital/SUNY Downstate Medical Center and spent a year acting as chief resident at the internal medicine program.
He completed his fellowships in Cardiovascular Disease, Interventional and Endovascular cardiology at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, New York. He is board certified in General Cardiology, Endovascular Interventions, Echocardiography, Nuclear cardiology, Vascular Ultrasound (RPVI) and Internal Medicine.
Dr. M Lala also has multiple publications such as "Novel Trans-pedal Approach in Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease" and "Safety and Feasibility of Orbital Coronary Atherectomy via Trans-radial".
Outside of medicine, Dr. M Lala likes to spend time with his wife and two beautiful young daughters, enjoys beach volleyball, biking and traveling.
Dr. Vasim Lala joined the Center for Advanced Cardiac and Vascular Interventions (CACVI) in July, 2022. Dr. Lala trained at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York for his advanced coronary, vascular and structural training. His expertise includes minimally invasive heart and vascular procedures. He is also an excellent preventive cardiovascular specialist.
Dr. Vasim Lala has multiple publications and is heavily involved in research in cardiovascular disease. He has written blogs for American college of cardiology and TCT MD. He was also an author and editor of stat pearl online medical education platform. He has published many research articles on pubmed.
FUN: Outside of medicine, Dr Lala enjoys spending time with his wife and kids. He loves to travel. He enjoys playing sports and watching movies/TV shows.
Job Titles:
- Fellows at Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Lindsay Okowita, PA-C started with CACVI in September 2021. She obtained her Bachelors of Science in Human Biology from North Carolina State University and her Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Lincoln Memorial University in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. She moved to Los Angeles from Charlotte, North Carolina to advance her career as a physician assistant . She is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants.
Outside of medicine, Lindsay enjoys running, hiking, reading, and spending time outside with her dog.
Dr. Khorsandi is a world renowned expert of endovascular interventions with 5 board certifications. As a distinguished thought leader in the field of cardiology, he is a speaker at national and international medical conventions and has performed live case demonstrations broadcasted to thousands of physicians. Dr. Khorsandi has been performing complex cardiovascular and vascular interventions for over 30 years with one of the highest success rates in his field.
Dr. Khorsandi's expertise and interests include:
Bifurcation Disease
High Risk Coronary Angioplasty
Peripheral Artery Disease and Limb salvation
Pacemaker and Defibrillator Implantation
Amputation Prevention
Varicose Vein Treatment
Venous Insufficiency
In addition to performing endovascular and vascular interventions as well as the treatment of acute and chronic cardiac conditions, Dr. Khorsandi has a profound interest in coronary bifurcation disease. He is a co-founder of Advanced Bifurcation Systems a medical technology company with an innovative platform for bifurcation stenting (advancedbifurcation.com). He has been issued 50 US and international patents in interventional cardiology and numerous other patents pending.
Dr. Khorsandi is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He has been on the attending staff at Cedars Sinai since 1993 where has performed over 10,000 cardiac procedures. As a member of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, he is actively involved in the training of the cardiology and interventional cardiology fellows in the cardiac catheterization lab, where he has also been honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Khorsandi plays the classical guitar, remains avidly athletic and likes to spend time with his wife, Dr. Guita Balakhane, and 2 adult children, Matthew and Melody.