Life Changing Is … the Heart of Care

Dr. Mubashir Mumtaz, Heart Surgeon

“I still feel every day when I come to work that it’s amazing stuff that we do.”

Mubashir Mumtaz, MD, grew up in Pakistan, where he learned the importance of helping others from his family. He ended up following his two older siblings into medicine.

He’s practiced as a heart surgeon for nearly 20 years and still loves what he does.

“Helping people – the satisfaction that you get out of treating patients, and the positive feedback that you get from the community in general – really makes your day,” says Dr. Mumtaz, chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and surgical director of the Structural Heart Program at UPMC in Central Pa. “The whole process of seeing a patient, doing their surgery, and making them better is something that I love, too.”

Dr. Mumtaz enjoys the challenges that come from his work. But he also appreciates the teamwork he experiences among his colleagues in patient care.

“Our goal is to help patients to make their lives better,” he says. “And then you’re collaborating toward that goal. I think it’s an amazing experience from that standpoint.”

Dr. Mumtaz takes his mission of helping people across the world – literally. He returns to Pakistan several times a year to perform heart surgery at Tahir Heart Institute in Rabwah, in connection with the organization Humanity First.

Heart surgery is a challenging job, but Dr. Mumtaz appreciates that challenge.

“I still feel every day when I come to work that it’s amazing stuff that we do,” he says. “No two patients are the same. No two hearts are similar. So it keeps challenging you.”

At UPMC, Life Changing Medicine means working together to help others.