Dr Kevin Hellestrand
MBBS (Hons), PhD, FRACP, FCSANZ, FACC, FHRS, FESC
Dr Kevin Hellestrand is a Clinical Cardiologist and Cardiac Electrophysiologist practising on the North Shore of Sydney, where he has been in practice for more than 30 years.
Dr Hellestrand is an honours graduate from Sydney University (1974). His junior clinical years, and initial cardiology training, were spent at Sydney Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, followed by 3 years at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, undertaking research in cardiac arrhythmias and completing a PhD in Cardiac Electrophysiology in 1983.
He returned to Australia and has been a Consultant Cardiologist and Cardiac Electrophysiologist at Royal North Shore Hospital, North Shore Private Hospital and The Sydney Adventist Hospital since that time.
Apart from his fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, he has obtained Fellowships with the American College of Cardiology, The Heart Rhythm Society (USA), and the European Society of Cardiology.
Dr Hellestrand’s interests and expertise are particularly related to the management of cardiac arrhythmias (with a special expertise in cardiac ablations) including pacemakers, but he practises as a General Cardiologist, treating all aspects of adult cardiac diseases.
He is married, with one son, and in his spare time has a very active interest in SCUBA diving and underwater photography (with two published books), as well as golf and travel.
Dr Malini Govindan
BMED, FRACP, FCSANZ
Dr. Govindan graduated in Medicine from the University of Newcastle and completed her early clinical training at Concord Hospital. She subsequently undertook advanced cardiology training at Nepean and Westmead Hospitals—two of Sydney’s major tertiary care centres.
Her passion for cardiac electrophysiology led her to the United Kingdom, where she completed a clinical and research fellowship at St George’s Hospital and the University of London. She was awarded a prestigious British Heart Foundation Research Fellowship, to investigate the biochemical and electrical substrate in atrial fibrillation and was awarded a PhD from the University of London under the mentorship of renowned cardiologist Professor John Camm.
During her fellowship, she also worked alongside Professor Elijah Behr in the area of Inherited Cardiac Conditions (ICC) and prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death, particularly in conditions such as Brugada Syndrome and Long QTc. She worked in the ICC and Arrhythmia Clinics, gaining expertise in these conditions and has published and presented papers in these fields too.
Dr. Govindan’s clinical fellowship included subspecialty training in catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias, pacemaker and defibrillator implantation, and cardiac device interrogation. Her research has been published in over 20 peer-reviewed journals and presented at leading international cardiology conferences.
After returning to Australia, she held positions at Westmead Public and Private Hospitals. She now consults at the Hornsby Cardiac Diagnostic Unit and performs procedures at the Sydney Adventist Hospital.
Her key clinical interests include:
- Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia management
- Investigation and management of Syncope
- Inherited arrhythmia syndromes and sudden cardiac death prevention
- Pacemaker and defibrillator implantation, follow up & interrogation
- Sports cardiology & structural heart disease
Dr. Govindan remains actively engaged in academic cardiology, with ongoing research interests in sports cardiology, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. She is also committed to education, regularly teaching medical students and FRACP candidates.
She is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) and a member of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA).
Outside of medicine, Dr. Govindan enjoys tennis, running, golf, and oenology.
Dr Lachlan McDowall
BSc (Hons 1) MBBS PhD FRACP
Dr Lachlan McDowall is a Clinical Cardiologist and Cardiac Electrophysiologist practicing on Sydney’s North Shore and the Central Coast.
He completed 3 degrees and postdoctoral research at Sydney University over a period of 12 years, first graduating with a Bachelor of Science with first class honours (2003). was subsequently awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship to complete a PhD in Physiology, the Faculty of Medicine (2007) and finally postgraduate medicine, awarded a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (2011).
Dr. McDowall spent his postgraduate clinical years from intern to Physician and Cardiology Advanced Training at Royal North Shore Hospital becoming a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians (Cardiology) in 2018. He followed this with subspecialty training as a Clinical Electrophysiology and Pacing Fellow at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane (2019) and Toronto General Hospital in Canada (2020-21). Through this Dr. McDowall gained extensive experience in the management of arrhythmias, diagnostic electrophysiology, simple and complex cardiac ablations and the implantation and management of pacemakers/defibrillators. Concurrent with his medical training Dr. McDowall continued post-doctoral research in Physiology and continued lecturing at Sydney University concurrent with his PhD, medical degree and into his clinical years.
Dr. McDowall returned to Australia and rejoined his established network on the North Shore and Central Coast to provide subspecialty Cardiac Electrophysiology and Pacing services, while also managing a broad range of adult General Cardiology.
Outside of Cardiology Dr. McDowall enjoys staying active outdoors with his wife & young boys and as the footy coach.
Dr Ashleigh Dind
MBBS (Hons 1), FRACP
Dr Ashleigh Dind is a Clinical Cardiologist and Cardiac Imaging Specialist based at Hornsby Cardiac Diagnostic Unit and Sydney Adventist Hospital.
She graduated from the University of New South Wales with first class honours and completed most of her training at Royal North Shore Hospital becoming a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (Cardiology). Dr. Dind followed this with subspecialty training as the Cardiology Imaging Fellow at Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick, then Specialist MRI in Newtown and completed research at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown. She gained broad experience specialising in echocardiography (ultrasound of the heart), CT coronary angiography and cardiac MRI. Dr. Dind is part of the CTCA and MRI reporting teams at PRP Radiology and SAN Radiology.
Dr. Dind’s particular interests are investigating chest pain, risk factor management, assessing valvular heart disease and managing heart failure, she also enjoys managing a broad range of cardiac problems as a General Cardiologist.
Dr. Dind enjoys and is heavily involved in medical education. She is an Associate Lecturer, clinical tutor and academic mentor for medical students from the Australian National University. She was part of the team that founded the HEART Course for Cardiology Trainees across Australia in 2021.
Her research is currently focused on differentiating athlete’s heart from other cardiomyopathies using novel markers on cardiac MRI. Dr. Dind has presented her research in publications and at conferences nationally and internationally. In 2022, Dr. Dind was awarded a grant from Heart Research Australia to use echocardiography and MRI to better understand myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) from infarction (a heart attack).
Outside of cardiology Dr. Dind enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, running and trying delicious new foods while travelling.
Dr Stephen Vernon
MBBS BMed Sci, PhD, FRACP
Dr Stephen Vernon is a consultant and Interventional Cardiologist. He is a Staff Specialist Interventional Cardiologist at Royal North Shore Hospital and VMO at North Shore Private Hospital.
Dr Vernon is passionate about providing personalised care to his patients and has particular expertise in coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention, CT coronary angiography, echocardiography, and stress echocardiography. He consults in all aspects of cardiology including coronary artery disease, cardiovascular risk assessment, valvular heart disease, heart failure and arrhythmias.
Dr Vernon graduated from the University of Sydney with degrees in Medicine and Medical Science, before completing pre-vocational training at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney and physician and interventional cardiology training at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney.
In addition to his clinical role, Dr Vernon is an active clinician researcher and medical educator. He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney. His research has been published in over 45 peer reviewed journal articles including publications in high impact journals. The Lancet, Circulation and the European Heart Journal. His PhD studies investigated clinical outcomes of heart attack patients without traditional risk factors and novel biomarkers of coronary artery disease. He has also completed a post-doctoral fellowship through the University of Sydney’s Kolling Institute supported by a Heart Foundation Fellowship.
Dr Imran Rashid
BMed Sci (Hons 1), MBBS, PhD, FRACP, FSCMR
Dr Imran Rashid is a consultant cardiologist with expertise in advanced cardiovascular imaging, general cardiology, and preventive cardiovascular care. He completed his medical degree and PhD at the University of Sydney before undertaking physician and cardiology training at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney. He subsequently completed a fellowship in advanced cardiovascular imaging at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital and King’s College London, where he developed expertise in cardiac MRI and cardiac CT.
Dr Rashid holds Level III accreditation in both Cardiac MRI and Cardiac CT and is a Fellow of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (FSCMR). He has served as a Staff Cardiologist and Director of Cardiovascular MRI at University Hospitals/Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, USA, where his research focused on developing novel cardiac MRI techniques to improve the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease. His work has been supported by a prestigious NIH R01 research grant.
Dr Rashid provides comprehensive, evidence-based, and holistic cardiovascular care, with a strong emphasis on collaborative management alongside referring general practitioners. His clinical interests include coronary artery disease, heart failure and cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, preventive cardiology, cardiac rhythm disorders, and multimodality cardiovascular imaging. He is committed to delivering timely specialist assessment and individualized care for every patient.
