Providers

SALMAN ASHFAQ

MD FACC FSCAI

Dr. Salman Ashfaq (Dr. Ash) received his medical degree from King Edward Medical University. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, where he was also selected to be Chief Resident. He completed his fellowship in Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. After completion of his training, Dr. Ashfaq worked as an Assistant Professor of Cardiology at the University of Kansas. He also served as Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at the Robert J. Dole Veteran Affairs Medical Center and also was part of a busy private practice. Since 2010, Dr. Ashfaq has served the patients of North Atlanta and Northeast Georgia. Dr. Ashfaq has a special interest in the treatment and eradication of heart attacks. He also has special expertise in Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac and Vascular interventions including angioplasty stents, and atherectomy. Dr. Ashfaq has made several presentations at the American College of Cardiology Scientific sessions and also has authored numerous scientific publications and is a reviewer for renowned Cardiology journals. In addition to his passion for the care of heart patients, Dr. Ashfaq enjoys watching all kinds of sporting events, football, soccer and playing golf. Dr. Ashfaq has been awarded the prestigious Patient Choice Award in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. He has been voted for Compassionate Doctor Award on numerous occasions. Dr. Ashfaq is also ranked as one of the top rated Cardiologists in Gainesville and Atlanta Metro area based on patient satisfaction surveys on HealthGrades, Vitals.com and WebMD.

SAURABH DHAWAN

MD FACC

Dr. Dhawan received his medical degree at Seth G. S. Medical College. He completed his Internal Medicine Internship at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He then went on to complete an Internal Medicine Residency at University of Tennessee in Memphis. He then went on to complete a Post-doctoral Fellowship Vascular Biology and Atherosclerotic Plaque Imaging. He completed his Fellowship in Cardiology, Echocardiography, and Nuclear Cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Dhawan is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, Vascular Ultrasonography, Nuclear Cardiology and Echocardiography. He also has obtained special training in use and interpretation of Cardiac CT imaging. Dr. Dhawan has made several presentations at various national Cardiology conferences and also has authored numerous scientific publications. He is a member of the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Dhawan has lived in the Atlanta Metro area since 2007. He enjoys running and watching cricket. Dr. Dhawan has been awarded the prestigious Patient Choice Award in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. He has also been voted for Compassionate Doctor Award 4 years in a row.

MASIH UDDIN

MD FACC

Dr. Masih Uddin received his medical degree from Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, India. He completed his Internal Iedicine residency from Coney Island Hospital in New York City in 1992. During that time, he was also selected as Chief Resident. He also received The Virginia Nash award for the outstanding resident of the year 1992. He completed his Cardiology Fellowship from Coney Island Hospital in New York City in 1995. He was also an ER attending physician for one year in the same hospital which was the busiest emergency center in the area including a level one trauma center. He moved to Athens in 1996 and has been a solo practitioner since then with privileges to Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital. Dr. Uddin joined Cardiovascular Clinic of North Georgia in the Summer of 2019 to be closer to his family. He will be practicing at Northside Gwinnett Medical Center and Northeast Georgia Medical Center. He will be seeing patients at the Lawrenceville and Braselton offices. He is Board Certified in Cardiology as well as Nuclear Cardiology. He specializes in Cardiac Catheterization, Stress Tests, including nuclear imaging and also PET Scans and Echocardiography. He is very well loved by his patients and takes great care in explaining to them their conditions. Asides to his cardiology profession, he played cricket in his medical school and was the captain of the team and toured all over India representing his medical school. He also was a playing coach for the UGA cricket team for almost 15 years. He also enjoys playing tennis at a high level.

SYED SHIRAZI

MD FACC

Dr. Syed Shirazi received his medical degree from King Edward Medical College. He then completed his internship at Grant Hospital in Chicago, Illinois and his residency at VAMC-Ohio State University in Dayton, Ohio. Since completing his cardiology fellowship training at Rush Medical School in Chicago, Illinois, he has advanced on with two Fellowships. One was focused on Cardiac catheterization and coronary angioplasty at Duke University VA Medical Center in Asheville, North Carolina and the other in nuclear cardiology at the University of Chicago in Chicago , Illinois. Dr. Shirazi has an extensive background in teaching and academics and has served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine and Cardiology at Morehouse School of Medicine. Most recently , He worked form many years at the Piedmont Heart Institute. He practices consultative cardiology, cardiac catheterization and nuclear cardiology. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases an d Nuclear Cardiology. Dr. Shirazi is a Fellow of The American College of Cardiology, American College of Physicians, and a member of the Medical Association of Atlanta. Dr. Shirazi welcomes new patients and accepts most insurance plans. Dr Shirazi regularly volunteers for various International Healthcare Charity programs in his spare time.

VIVAK PATEL

DO FACC

Dr. Patel received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia in 2009 with a degree in Microbiology. He received his medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Suwanee, Georgia in 2014. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah, Florida in 2017. He then completed his Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at the University of Kentucky in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 2020 where he was also selected as Chief Fellow. He has also presented several abstract presentations at many national and regional conferences.

Dr. Patel was born and raised in greater Atlanta and currently resides in the area. He enjoys keeping up with all Georgia sports especially Braves baseball and University of Georgia football. He also enjoys traveling to different parts of the world in his spare time.

SALIL PATEL

MD FACC

Dr. Salil Patel received his medical degree from The Ohio State University. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine from Emory University. He did his fellowship in Cardiology and Cardiac MRI at Emory University. He was a clinical instructor at Emory University. He has been practicing cardiology for 20 years and was the Chief of Medicine at Gwinnett Medical Center. He is very excited to join Cardiovascular Clinic of North Georgia. He has made several presentations at the annual conference for the Georgia Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.

His special interests include preventive cardiology, hypertension, and cholesterol management. He has expertise in echocardiography (including transesophageal echocardiograms), nuclear cardiology, cardiac CT and cardiac MRI.

Dr Patel enjoys spending time with his wife and sons. He has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys outdoor sports such as snow-skiing. Dr. Patel will be seeing patients at the Johns Creek office location and welcomes new patients.

Ashlyn Smith PA

PA-C

Ashlyn Smith is a nationally certified Physician Assistant who joined our practice in November 2020. She is a Georgia native and received her Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, GA. She later attended Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Suwanee, GA to complete her Master of Science in health sciences for physician assistant studies. She is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Ashlyn enjoys providing compassionate medical care, listening to the patients’ stories, and helping patients understand and become actively involved in the treatment process. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, watching sports, and spending time with her family.

Alexandra Duvall

PA-C

Alexandra is a Physician Assistant who has been practicing in northeast Georgia and western North Carolina since 2013. She joined the practice in July 2022. Prior to that her experience has been in family medicine and internal medicine, as well as moonlighting in hospital medicine at several critical access hospitals, nursing home and urgent care. She is a National Health Service Corps Scholar who studied to become a PA at East Carolina University, then moved to the mountains of Georgia, where she has made her home and her career for the last 9 years fulfilling her commitment to practice primary care in a health professional shortage area. Alexandra enjoys running, teaching her children to swim, hiking, yoga, and horseback riding. She grew up on a horse farm in rural North Carolina and remains an avid equestrienne, now sharing her passion for horses with her two children. She is also active in her local community, serving on the Board of Directors for Medlink, a non-profit community health center organization in northeast Georgia. She values evidence-based medication, cardiac disease prevention, lifestyle change and behavior modification and is passionate about improving access to healthcare and reducing health disparities in rural areas.

Tooba Anwar

PA-C

Tooba Anwar is a nationally certified Physician Assistant who joined our practice in May 2023. She is a Georgia native and received her Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from Georgia Gwinnett College. She received her Master of Science in Health Sciences in Physician Assistant studies from CUNY School of Medicine. She became interested in cardiology during her rotations in PA school. She enjoys interacting with patients and helping patients understand and become actively involved in the treatment process. In her free time she likes to travel, explore the outdoors, try new foods and spend time with friends and family.

Jessica Velasquez

PA-C

Jessica Velasquez is a nationally certified Physician Assistant who joined our practice in August 2024. She is a Georgia native who received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Georgia Gwinnett College. She continued her education at South University where she completed her Master of Science in Physician Assistant studies. She is a bilingual Spanish and English speaker, that is compassionate about improving patient care. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family, travel, explore new cultures and food.

Juanita Giraldo-Hoyos

PA-C

Juanita Giraldo-Hoyos is a nationally certified Physician Assistant with a strong commitment to delivering compassionate, patient-centered care. Originally from Colombia, she is fluent in both Spanish and English, allowing her to effectively communicate with and advocate for diverse patient populations. Juanita earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Gwinnett College and completed her Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.
Her interest in cardiology began early, shaped by her family’s medical history and a deep personal understanding of the impact cardiovascular disease can have on individuals and their loved ones, which she then solidified with hands-on experience during her clinical rotations. Prior to PA school, she worked as a medical assistant, serving uninsured and underserved communities—an experience that deepened her commitment to equitable healthcare.
Outside of her professional life, she enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, traveling, exploring new restaurants, watching soccer games, and attending her daughter’s sport events.

Baxter Collier

PA-C

Baxter Colllier is a nationally certified Physician Assistant who joined our practice in June of 2025. He is a Georgia native that earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of North Georgia and went on to earn a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies at Brenau University in Gainesville. He was first brought to our practice on an elective rotation during PA school, though his interest in cardiology goes back to working as a patient care technician at Northeast Georgia Medical Center before becoming a PA. In his free time, he enjoys spending time in nature, home and auto repair, and spending time with his wife.