TEXAS: Thursday evening drew to a close in the usual manner at the Healthy Heart Center in Odessa-Midland as Dr Suresh Gadasalli , a renowned cardiologist, rapidly went on the rounds in his busy practice. It was just after 4pm when he entered a patient examination room, and staff heard him exclaim "Oh ... my ... God!" Several loud pops that sounded like gunfire rang out before a patient, later identified as his friend Ayyasamy Thangam, latched the door behind him. Another shot was heard. Police arrived soon and found both men dead.

The apparent murder-suicide has shocked the mid-sized Texas twin-city (population 250,000) best known as the home-town of Laura and George Bush (Laura was a school librarian here). The city has a large Indian-American community, and almost every fourth physician here is of Indian-origin, attracted by the warm weather and relatively low medical malpractice insurance rates, which indeed were what in 1993 also attracted Dr Gadasalli here from Milwaukee, where he began his career in 1983.

Originally from Bangalore, Dr Gadasalli, a graduate of the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Belgaum (1982 batch), was an immensely popular cardiologist, as attested by tributes that poured in on the local press and social media. He was much loved by his patients and a respected community leader who had given generously to many charitable causes and also made political contributions. Ayyasamy, 60, was not only his patient but also a good friend, and the two were part of a group that played cards every week, according to community members.

Police, who are still investigating the incident, have not established any motive so far. According to local media accounts, Dr Gadasalli was investigated by the FBI recently in a currency structuring case, accused of making cash withdrawals of just under $10,000 to escape reporting requirements for over $10K withdrawals. Some reports said authorities had absolved him of any wrongdoing.

Regardless, his professional popularity and excellence was unquestioned. In 2005, he along with Dr Sudhir Srivastava performed what was then the world’s first simultaneous hybrid vascularization, a two-technique cardiac procedure that allows repairing of multiple coronary artery disease in patients in one session using a robot. Dr Gadasalli said in an interview with ToI at that time that because the procedures were conducted simultaneously in one session, the patient did not have an extended stay and reduced hospital costs by thousands of dollars. Recovery was quicker. The patient left hospital for home just two days after the operation.

Many such patients poured their hearts out on social media after news of Dr Gadasalli death, recalling his extraordinary service to the community. Some of them recalled how he had extended their lives by years with his immaculate surgeries and one patient remembered how he had returned early from a Christmas vacation in India for an emergency surgery.

Dr Gadasalli leaves behind his wife Arathi, and two children, Sanjay, who is just starting his medical school, and Divya, who has just enrolled at a business school. Thangam is survived by his wife Dr Shanthi Thangam, a psychiatrist who ran the Happy Heart Psychiatry, which frequently received referrals from Dr Gadasalli's Healthy Heart Center.

On Thursday, the many people in Midland-Odessa felt anything but happy or healthy as gun violence, endemic in the US, once again touched the Indian-American community. — TNN