Dr. Lokeswara Rao Sajja Elected Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC) 2026
Dr. Lokeswara Rao Sajja, Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at STAR Hospitals and Chairman of the Sajja Heart Foundation, has been elected as a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC) for the year 2026. The ESC certificate recognises his high professional standards and commitment to reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease. He is believed to be the first cardiac surgeon from India to receive this distinction and joins a relatively small global cohort of cardiac surgeons holding the FESC title.
The honour reflects more than three decades of contributions to cardiac surgery, especially coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), arterial revascularisation, and clinical research. Dr. Sajja has led investigator‑initiated studies such as the PROMOTE Patency Trial, which evaluated graft patency after CABG and generated long‑term follow‑up data. He also spearheaded the multicentre PREDICT randomised controlled trial across Indian cardiac centres, comparing single versus multiple arterial grafting in diabetic patients undergoing CABG. His involvement extends to landmark international trials including the Arterial Revascularisation Trial (ART), with recent reporting of 15‑year outcomes, and the ROMA Trial (Randomized Comparison of the Clinical Outcomes of Single versus Multiple Arterial Grafts). Additional research interests of his group cover graft patency, off‑pump coronary surgery, outcomes in high‑risk patients, and strategies to improve long‑term results after CABG.
The fellowship follows recent professional recognitions: Dr. Sajja has been elected Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), and is an Active Member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS). He has used these platforms to promote evidence‑based cardiac surgery in India through the Sajja Heart Foundation and the Society of Coronary Surgeons, encouraging multicentre collaboration, clinical trials, scientific publication, and long‑term outcome research.
Commenting on the recognition, Dr. Sajja said, “It is a great honour to be elected as a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology. I sincerely thank the European Society of Cardiology for this recognition. I consider this fellowship not only a personal honour, but also a recognition of the collaborative research carried out by our colleagues, investigators and participating centres over many years. Our endeavour has always been to generate meaningful scientific evidence in cardiac surgery, particularly coronary surgery, that can ultimately translate into better care and better outcomes for our patients.”
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