In the cardiac laboratories of AIIMS and PGIMER, Dr. Kewal Kishan Talwar (K.K. Talwar) became known as a quiet pioneer who brought advanced rhythm and device therapies to India. Born on 30 April 1946 in Payal, Punjab, he completed his MBBS and went on to earn his MD in Medicine and DM in Cardiology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.

He joined the faculty at AIIMS, New Delhi, rising to become Professor and Head of the Department of Cardiology. There he developed cardiac arrhythmia management into a recognised specialty, established radiofrequency ablation facilities, and helped build the heart-failure and heart-transplant programmes. In 1995 he performed the first implantation of an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) in South Asia—an achievement recorded in the Limca Book of Records. He later introduced Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy (CRT) to India, again earning a place in the records for making life-saving pacing technology available to Indian patients.

“The heart’s electrical system is its own language,” he would tell colleagues and trainees. “Learn to read it carefully, and you can prevent sudden death and restore quality of life.” After serving as Director of PGIMER, Chandigarh, he chaired the Medical Council of India and continued clinical and academic work at leading institutions, including Max Healthcare and later PSRI Hospital in New Delhi. A prolific researcher, he has published hundreds of papers and contributed chapters to major cardiology texts. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy and the American College of Cardiology.

In recognition of his contributions to medicine, he received the Dr. B.C. Roy Award and, in 2006, the Padma Bhushan from the President of India. From a young cardiologist from Punjab to the doctor who brought ICDs and CRT to South Asia, Kewal Kishan Talwar’s career remains a story of technical firsts, institutional leadership and a steady commitment to giving patients with failing or irregular hearts a longer, fuller life.