Alexandra Bastiany, Canada’s first Black woman interventional cardiologist, was raised in Montreal by a Haitian mother who pursued a career in nursing and a father who worked as a chemist. Thus, Bastiany’s ambition to become a doctor has been present since she was a young child.
She told Heart and Stroke, “Both my parents had defied the odds by attending college and university and becoming young professionals in a foreign country. I was determined to follow in their footsteps and achieve my dreams, despite how the world perceived me, and independently of what society expected from me. I was determined to rise above the statistics and the stereotypes. I must also say, I love a challenge.”
But even as a teenager, she was inspired by the intricacies of “such a simple organ” called the heart and understood that practicing cardiology was what she wanted to do.
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“During my first year in medical school, I fell in love with the heart, but I did not think cardiology was for me until I learned about interventional cardiology (this is a practice that works on the arteries in the heart to remove blockages using non-invasive procedures, through the wrists or groin),” she said.
After nearly 15 years of education at the University of Montreal and a fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at the University of Alberta, the Montreal native graduated in 2020 and started work at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
The 36-year-old trailblazer has, however, gone beyond her career achievements to advocate for other women and people of color to pursue careers as interventional cardiologists.
She told City News, “There are not a lot of women doing what I do. Women make up maybe 6 percent of the pool of interventional cardiologists.”
She also campaigns for better cardiovascular treatment for women through the Canadian Heart Health Alliance.
Bastiany shared her own story of how difficult it was to get into her field. She recounted, “My bosses did not understand my reality as a Black student, as a Black person, period. My relationship with patients, my issues with certain patients, it would sometimes be really hard for them to understand, even realize, that there were some microaggressions happening.”
Citing times when some patients would ask for a senior cardiologist, she stated, “I know why, either because I was a woman, or I was black.”
She explained, “[Patient’s] words sometimes don’t reflect what they’re thinking. They’re stressed, they’re sick, they’re in pain so I try not to take it personally. But I realized with time, it’s time for change and by myself, I can’t do anything but if I have my nurses, I have my staff, and people who helped me put my foot down and also stand by me when there’s problematic behavior and that is how the world’s going to change.”
During Black History Month in 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned Bastiany in his statement. “Black Canadians and their communities have a long history of being trailblazers and change makers. Among them is Dr. Alexandra Bastiany, an advocate for diversity in medicine who recently became Canada’s first Black woman interventional cardiologist,” his statement read.
In recognition of her role as a mentor to other girls, the Montreal-based business Brown Diva Dolls also designed the “Diva Dr. Alex” to resemble her, replete with scrubs, a stethoscope, and thick-rimmed spectacles, according to CTV News.
She expressed, “I hate to call myself a mentor or trailblazer and all this kind of stuff, even though I know that’s what it is, but I just want to help build a better future, not just for people of color, but also for women and not just in cardiology and medicine, but science in general.”
Bastiany attributes her successes to her family and network of supporters.
She advised other young dreamers who want to venture into the medical field, “You belong there. Don’t let anybody stop you. Do not lose sight of who you are. Never tone yourself down. Spread your wings! Speak up, stand up, because you belong there.”
