Damian Rasch, D.O.
San Diego cardiologist writing about prevention and clinical AI.
I’m an invasive cardiologist based in San Diego. I keep this site as my own: a place for writing, patient education, and notes on where cardiology is headed. Whether you’re a patient of mine, a colleague, or just someone who landed here with a question about your heart, welcome.
Most of what you’ll find here started as an answer to a question one of my patients asked me in clinic. The rest reflects what I’m thinking about as a clinician: the science of prevention, the role of AI in medicine, and how to live well with a cardiovascular condition or avoid one in the first place.
Writing and Ideas
I write about preventive cardiology, clinical AI, and the practical realities of modern heart care.
Understanding Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring. The test I'd recommend to almost anyone over 40 deciding whether to start a statin.
Lipoprotein(a). The inherited cardiac risk marker most people have never had measured, and why it matters.
GLP-1s and Heart Protection. Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are rewriting what cardiometabolic medicine looks like.
Clinical Interests
I trained as an invasive cardiologist and care for the full range of cardiovascular disease, but my day-to-day focus has narrowed around a few areas I think about most:
Preventive cardiology. Most heart disease is preventable. I spend a lot of my clinical time on risk assessment and lifestyle plans that actually fit how people live.
Coronary artery disease. Diagnosis, medical management, and cardiac catheterization when it's needed.
Atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and hypertension. Long-term care for the conditions that make up most of cardiology's daily reality.
AI-augmented practice. I've been an early adopter of clinical AI tools. Used well, they sharpen diagnosis and give me more time with patients. Used poorly, they add noise. I try to be thoughtful about the difference.
Background
Training
DO, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (Bradenton, FL)
Internal Medicine Residency, Cleveland Clinic Health System, South Pointe Hospital
Cardiology Fellowship, Midwestern University, Riverside Medical Center
Certification
Board Certified in Cardiovascular Disease
For My Patients
A few things on this site are here specifically for the patients I already care for:
Patient guides. Plain-language answers to the questions I hear most often in clinic.
Procedure explanations. What to expect from echocardiograms, stress tests, catheterizations, and more.
Health notes. Short pieces on medication questions, symptom flags, and common follow-up points.
Seeing Me as a Patient
I practice at San Diego Cardiovascular Associates in Encinitas. To schedule a visit, call 760-944-7300 or visit sdcva.com.
This is my personal website. Opinions and writing here are my own.
