Expert Rotablation Procedures by
Dr. Omar Aziz Rana

Dr Omar Aziz Rana is a leading heart specialist at Omar Hospital Lahore, an expert in rotablation and advanced cardiac care. Dedicated to patient well-being, he delivers advanced, minimally Invasive Treatment for Complex Coronary Artery Disease.

What is Rotablation?

Rotablation or rotational atherectomy is a special procedure used to treat heavily calcified deposits in the arteries supplying blood to your heart. Up to 25% of patients undergoing a coronary angiogram will have calcium deposits of various degrees. Almost half of these patients will have severe calcification. Certain factors increase the risk of calcification of coronary arteries, such as increasing age, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease and previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Under normal circumstances, in non-calcified arteries, a wire is advanced across the coronary stenosis (narrowing due to cholesterol buildup over time), and this is then squashed with a balloon catheter once inflated against the wall of the artery. Subsequently, this is usually followed by the insertion of a stent, which is like a tubular metallic mesh with a special drug coating in most cases. In heavily calcified arteries, however, standard balloon angioplasty may not work as the narrowing may be non-crossable or non-expandable, requiring a rotablation procedure.

Rotablation is a technique by which special olive-shaped catheters or rotablator burrs with diamond crystals embedded on them are rotated at high speeds of 140,000 – 180,000 revolutions per minute and gradually advanced across the calcified narrowing. The calcium particles that are broken down through this maneuver are typically very small, even smaller than blood cells and are cleared from the circulation of the heart. The calcium particles are broken down into tiny fragments smaller than blood cells and cleared from circulation. This process allows a balloon catheter to expand fully and facilitates stent insertion, completing the coronary rotablation safely and effectively.

This procedure is performed under local anaesthesia and is not painful, although some patients may experience minor chest discomfort momentarily. As rotablation angioplasty is a complex technique and requires years of practice and training, be mindful of the doctor’s experience when selecting your cardiologist or heart specialist to undergo this procedure.

Dr. Omar Aziz Rana

Profile
Publications
Qualifications
Workshops/Proctorship
Case Examples

Name:

Dr Omar Aziz RANA

Date of Birth

30 January 1978

Sex:

Male

Addess

731-E, Street 22, Phase 6, DHA, Lahore, Pakistan.

Telephone:

(+92) 03028424222

Nationality:

British Citizen

E-mail:

omarrana78@gmail.com

Prof. Dr. Omar Aziz Rana is a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist and the Medical & Cath Lab Director at Omar Hospital & Cardiac Centre, which he founded. He completed his MBBS at King Edward Medical University before traveling to the UK for postgraduate Medical and Cardiology training.

After attaining his Royal College of Physicians membership (MRCP), Dr. Rana completed a two-year doctorate researching the effects of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) on the circulation of blood flow in human coronary arteries, publishing in high impact-factor peer-reviewed journals and earning his Doctorate in Medicine (DM) from the University of Southampton. In December 2009, he received the Scientific Investigator of the Year Award from the British Society of Echocardiography. He has since co-authored dozens of papers and book chapters; continues original research in Interventional Cardiology to increase Pakistan’s representation in international forums through greater collaboration; and serves as an editor for the Pakistan Heart Journal and the Pakistan Journal of Cardiovascular Intervention, as well as an examiner for the Royal College of Physicians, UK.

He was awarded a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) by the General Medical Council (UK) for completing his five-year specialist cardiology training program, certified by the Royal College of Physicians. Dr. Rana is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) of London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, as well as a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC), the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (FAPSC), the Asian Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology (FAPSIC), and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (FSCAI).

Dr. Rana went on to complete a two-year Advanced Interventional Cardiology fellowship at the prestigious Royal Bournemouth Hospital, one of the busiest state-of-the-art Interventional Cardiology units in the UK, qualifying fully in rotational atherectomy (rotablation), laser atherectomy, intravascular ultrasound, haemodynamic assessment of coronary arteries using pressure wire, optical coherence tomography, and the treatment of chronic total occlusions.

In 2016, Dr. Rana became the first cardiologist in Pakistan to be locally appointed as a Boston Scientific Proctor for rotational atherectomy—a specialized technique for treating severely calcified coronary arteries—performing Pakistan’s first successful rotablation workshop at Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, that same year. Since then, he has proctored and taught rotablation extensively across Pakistan—including repeated workshops in Lahore, Peshawar, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi—and represented Pakistan as faculty at major national and international cardiology conferences (see full list below).

Recognized internationally as an expert in the RotaPro rotational atherectomy console, Dr. Rana continues to lead the adoption of advanced calcified-artery treatment techniques in Pakistan, including performing the country’s first rotablation cases with the newest-generation RotaPro device at both Omar Hospital branches (Johar Town, January 2025; Jail Road, June 2025).

His clinical work has also produced published case reports in the Pakistan Journal of Cardiovascular Intervention on Pakistan’s first reported case of stent ablation for an under-expanded stent (2024) and first reported case of percutaneous stalled-burr retrieval (2025)—both novel, high-difficulty techniques in interventional cardiology.

Dr. Rana maintains an honest, patient-centered approach rooted in the ethos of patient choice and values a team-based model of care involving surgical, radiology, junior doctor, nursing, and allied healthcare colleagues to drive productive, result-oriented patient outcomes. Guided by these values and credentials, he returned to Lahore, the city at the center of his heart, to serve patients with skill and integrity—a mission he now carries forward as Founder and Medical & Cath Lab Director of Omar Hospital & Cardiac Centre.

Publications

Rana OA, Khan HA, Khokhar MH.

Successful retrieval of a stalled rotational atherectomy burr: A case report and review of literature. Pak J Cardiovasc Interv. 2025;5(1).

Rana OA, Iqbal MS.

Successful treatment of an under expanded stent using rotational atherectomy: first reported case of stent ablation from Pakistan. Pak J Cardiovasc Interv. 2024;4(1):53-59.

Rana O, Whittaker A, O'Kane P.

Late stent thrombosis: More than meets the eye? Pak Heart J. 2018;51:179-181.

Kodoth V, Rana O, Sambu N, Ratib K, Johnston P, Large A, Nolan J, deBelder A, Din J, Talwar S, O'Kane P.

Establishing interventional technologies to treat under expanded stents: a role for excimer laser coronary atherectomy? Pak Heart J. 2018;51:82-5.

Rana O, Vawdrey D, Simpson I, Calver A, Corbett S, Wilkinson J, Gray H, Curzen N.

Comparison of outcomes in Primary PCI according to arterial access site: A four-year single centre observational study. Pak Heart J. 2017;50:71-8.

Quah J, Carlton E, Rana O, Byrne CD, Senior R, Anstey C, Greaves K.

Insulin-induced hypoglycaemia and the detection of myocardial injury using an ultra-sensitive troponin assay. Int J Cardiol. 2016;215:446- 448.

Rana O, Talwar S, O'Kane P.

Excimer Coronary Laser Atherectomy during Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Complex Lesions: Balloon Failures, Chronic Total Occlusions and Under-Expanded Stents. Laser in Cardiovascular Medicine. Edited by On Topaz. (Book Chapter). Springer 2015.

Sharma V, Jadhav ST, Harcombe AA, Kelly P, Mozid A, Bagnall A, Richardson J, Egred M, McEntegart M, Oldroyd K, Viswanathan G, Rana O, Talwar S, Macpherson M, Strange JW, Hanratty CG, Walsh SJ, Spratt J, Smith WHT.

Impact of proctoring on success rates for percutaneous revascularization of coronary chronic total occlusions. Open Heart. 2015.

Whittaker A, Green P, Coverdale G, Rana O, Levy T.

The incidence of cardiac surgery following percutaneous coronary intervention: Insights from a high-volume nonsurgical centre in the UK. Br J Cardiol. 2015;22:1-4.

Rana O, Shah N, Wilson S, Swallow R, O’Kane P, Levy T.

The impact of routine and IVUS-guided high-pressure post-dilatation after drug eluting stent implantation. The STOP (STent OPtimisation) study. Invasive Cardiol. 2014;26:640-646.

Rana O, Sastry S, Fath-Ordoubadi F, Mamas M, Talwar S, Din J, O’Kane P.

World’s First Series of Left Main Bifurcation Treated with the AXXESS 4.0 X 9 mm Dedicated Bifurcation Stent. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014;64:B68

Curzen N, Rana O, Nicholas Z, Golledge P, Zaman A, Oldroyd K, Hanratty C, Banning A, Wheatcroft S, Hobson A, Chitkara K, Hildick-Smith D, McKenzie D, Calver A, Dimitrov BD, Corbett S.

Does routine pressure wire assessment influence management strategy at coronary angiography for diagnosis of chest pain? The RIPCORD study. Circ Cardiovasc Interv. 2014;7:248-255.

Fairley SL, Spratt JC, Rana O, Talwar S, Hanratty CG, Walsh SJ.

Adjunctive strategies in the management of resistant, ‘undilatable’ coronary lesions after successfully crossing a CTO with a guidewire. Current Cardiology Reviews. 2014;10:145-157.

Rana O, Byrne CD, Greaves K.

Intensive Glucose Control, Hypoglycaemia and Cardiovascular Mortality: A New Cardiovascular Risk Factor? Heart. 2014;100:21-27.

Rana O.

Book Review: Bifurcation Stenting. Br J Cardiol. 2013;20:80.

Rana O, Moran R, O’Kane P, Boyd S, Swallow R, Talwar S and Levy T.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in the Very Elderly (≥85 years): Trends and Outcomes. Br J Cardiol. 2013;20:27-31.

Rana O.

Book Review: Journey into the Heart: A Tale of Pioneering Doctors and their Race to Transform Cardiovascular Medicine. Cardiology News. 2012;16;24.

Rana O, Byrne CD, Kerr D, Coppini DV, Zouwail S, Senior R, Begley J, Walker J, Greaves K.

Acute Hypoglycemia Decreases Myocardial Blood Flow Reserve in Type 1 Diabetes and in Healthy Humans. Circulation 2011; 124:1548-1556.

Rana O, Barlow C and Reid C.

Splenic Artery Aneurysm-A Rare but Potentially Fatal Complication of Infective Endocarditis. Echo. April 2011; 73:25-26

Rana O, Kerr D, Zouwail S, Coppini DV, Begley J, Byrne CD, Senior R and Greaves K.

The Effect of Insulin and Insulin-induced Hypoglycemia on Myocardial Blood Flow Reserve in Patients with Complicated Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Circulation. 2010; 122:S

Rana O, Byrne, CD and Greaves K.

K. Intensive Insulin Therapy in the Intensive Care Unit, Hypoglycemia, and Cardiovascular Mortality. Hosp Pract. 2010; 38: 59-66.

Rana O, Zouwail S, Coppini DV, Senior R, Begley J, Kerr D, Byrne CD and Greaves K.

The Effect of Insulin-induced Hypoglycemia on Myocardial Blood Flow in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Circulation. 2009; 120:S368

Rana O, Gonda P, Addis B and Greaves K.

Intra-pericardial Paraganglioma Presenting as Chest Pain. Circulation. 2009; 119:e373-e375.

Rana O, Zouwail S, Begley J, Kerr D, Coppini D V, Senior R, and Greaves K.

The Effect of Insulin and Insulin-induced Hypoglycaemia on Myocardial Blood Flow and Endothelin-1 Levels Using Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography. Eur Heart J. 2009; S456.

Rana O, Davies S, Thomas P, Kerr D, Coppini D V and Greaves K.

The Effect of Insulin and Hypoglycaemia on Myocardial Blood Flow in Healthy Subjects. Diabetes. 2009; Suppl:634-P.

Rana O, Greaves K, Shepherd D, Parvin S, Swallow R.

Saphenous vein graft aneurysm-an incidental finding. BMJ Case Reports. March 2009.

Rana O and Greaves K.

Cardiac remodeling in Heart Failure. Problem solving in heart failure (Book Chapter); Clinical Medicine. 2009.

Rana O and Greaves K.

Systolic Heart Failure. Problem solving in heart failure (Book Chapter); Clinical Medicine 2009.

Rana O, Swallow R, Senior R and Greaves K.

Detection of myocardial ischemia caused by coronary artery-left ventricular fistulae using myocardial contrast echocardiography. Eur J Echocardiog. 2009;10: 175-177.

Rana O and McCrea W.

Cholesterol Emboli after Coronary Angioplasty. New Eng J of Med. 2006; 354:1294.

Nabi MS, Randhawa FA, Rana O, Khalil A, Hussain S.

Malignant Chylothorax Treated by Talc Pleurodesis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. International J of Oto, Rhino Laryng. 2003;5: 15-17.

Qualifications/Affiliations

International Advisor for RCPSG (Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow) for Pakistan

Aug 2025

Fellow of the Asian Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology (FAPSIC)

Sept 2021

Fellow of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (FSCAI)

July 2021

Fellow of the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (FAPSC)

Nov 2019

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Glasgow (FRCP)

Oct 2018

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London (FRCP)

May 2018

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCP)

Jan 2018

Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC)

Dec 2016

Completed Certificate of Specialist Training (CCT-Cardiology)

Sept 2014

Knowledge Based Assessment (KBA)

British Cardiovascular Society

June 2012

Doctor of Medicine (DM-Research)

University of Southampton

April 2012

British Society of Echocardiography

Dec 2009

MRCP (UK)

March 2007

M.B.B.S

King Edward Medical College Lahore Pakistan

May 2002

Conferences/Workshops/Proctorship

No.	Event Name	City / Venue	Date
1	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	RIC, Rawalpindi	20/02/2025
2	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	FIC, Faisalabad	21/12/2024
3	CardioCON 2024 (Faculty)	Lahore, Pakistan	08-10/11/2024
4	ESC 2024 (Faculty)	London	30/08/2024–02/09/2024
5	PakLive 2024	Karachi	18-21/04/2024
6	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	FIC, Faisalabad	16-17/02/2024
7	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	FIC, Faisalabad	06/07/2023
8	PakLive 2023	Swiss Hotel, Lahore	27-30/04/2023
9	CardioCON 2022	PC Hotel, Peshawar	18-20/11/2022
10	CTO Essentials	Hilton, Bakirkoy, Istanbul	27-29/10/2022
11	Pak Live 2022	Serena Hotel, Islamabad	11-14/02/2022
12	PACVTS 2022	Lahore	21-22/05/2022
13	AiCT Asia PCR	Virtual	8-9/10/2021
14	Euro PCR 2021	Virtual	18-20/05/2021
15	ACC 2021	Virtual	15-17/05/2021
16	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	HMC, Peshawar	28-29/05/2021
17	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	FIC, Faisalabad	07/04/2021
18	CTO Summit 2021	Virtual	19-20/02/2021
19	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	SZH, Lahore	08/03/2020
20	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	HMC, Peshawar	27-28/09/2019
21	European Society of Cardiology	Paris, France	31/08–04/09/2019
22	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	SZH, Lahore	07/04/2019
23	Pakistan Live 2019	Lahore, Pakistan	4-6/04/2019
24	Pakistan Hypertension League 2019	Lahore, Pakistan	22-24/02/2019
25	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	SZH, Lahore	13/02/2019
26	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	SZH, Lahore	30/01/2019
27	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	SZH, Lahore	09/01/2019
28	Rotablation Workshop (Proctor)	SZH, Lahore	10/10/2018
29	TCT 2018	San Diego, USA	20-25/09/2018