Today we’d like to introduce you to Priya Kothapalli.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m Priya Rao Kothapalli, MD — a quadruple board-certified interventional cardiologist and the founder of Open Heart, a podcast and storytelling platform at the intersection of medicine, creativity, and healing. For years, I lived at the extremes of high-stakes medicine, performing emergency procedures for patients in life-threatening moments. That work taught me precision, presence, and the value of every heartbeat. Over time, I felt called to expand beyond the hospital walls — to explore creativity, fashion, global healing traditions, and new ways of caring for the human spirit. What began as a podcast is now evolving into a media ecosystem, weaving science with soul.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been smooth. Medicine itself is a demanding path — long hours, high stakes, and very few women in the field I chose. Along the way I’ve navigated burnout, self-doubt, and the pressure to fit into boxes that didn’t reflect all of who I am. Personally, I’ve also walked through the unraveling of relationships and seasons of feeling like I had to choose between my career and my creativity.
The struggles taught me resilience and, more importantly, alignment. They pushed me to ask bigger questions: What does it mean to live fully? How can I bring my whole self — science, creativity, spirituality — into the work I do? The challenges became catalysts. They gave me the courage to create Open Heart and to show up authentically, even when it looks different from the traditional path.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an interventional cardiologist — one of fewer than 5% of women in my field — and the founder of Open Heart, a podcast and media platform where science meets soul. My work has always been purpose-driven, whether it’s opening a blocked artery in the cath lab or opening a conversation that inspires someone to reconnect with themselves. I see all acts of compassion in the same light — none too big and none too small.
Through Open Heart, I weave science, creativity, and spirituality in a way that reminds us that we are deeply interconnected and that healing is multi-dimensional. The journey itself has been guided by synchronicity and supported by many, which makes the work feel less like mine alone and more like something flowing through me and into the world.
Embodying authenticity in everything I do feels like an essential part of my soul’s journey — even when it’s uncomfortable or when there isn’t a clear path to follow. What sets me apart is integration: a deep trust in intuition, both clinically and in life; an openness to healing traditions beyond what I learned in medical textbooks; the precision of science alongside the fluidity of art; and the intensity of the hospital balanced with the expansiveness of creative expression. I don’t separate these parts of myself; creativity isn’t an afterthought — it’s at the heart of how I live and how I lead.
Walking the New York Fashion Week runway this year was a symbolic reminder that you don’t have to choose just one box. For those who, like me, spent years waiting for permission to step into their fullest expression, this is a reminder that embracing your wholeness is not only possible but profoundly powerful — the kind of impact that can shift culture in places where it’s most needed, like medicine. I’m most proud of having the courage to step outside the expected path and create a platform that reflects my own wholeness — and, in doing so, hopefully inspires others to step into theirs.
How do you think about luck?
I see every experience — whether it feels like good luck or bad luck in the moment — as a catalyst for growth. Each one arrives to teach us something and help us evolve. The difficult seasons have strengthened my ability to hold space for others, care for myself, and show up more whole. They’ve helped me release fear and control and move instead toward alignment, love, and compassion.
Leaving a very corporate practice of medicine to work as an independent contractor — and to build a media company centered on creative storytelling to spark curiosity and shift culture — was not an easy decision. It was shaped by synchronicity as much as by some very dark seasons that forced me to untangle my sense of worth from external validation and traditional measures of success. In many ways, it was an ego death that brought me back into alignment with my truest self. Now, the world feels wide open, and I feel both energized and deeply at home on this path.
I don’t believe in coincidences anymore. I see all experiences as happening for us, not to us. What might look like luck from the outside often feels, to me, like synchronicity guiding the next step on my path. I’ve also learned that keeping my vessel clear — physically, energetically, and emotionally — helps me attune to that path and purpose in a way that makes the journey deeply fulfilling, no matter the season.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.openheartpodcast.com
- Instagram: @dr.kothapalli & @openheartthepod
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/pkothapalliMD
- Twitter: @pkothapalliMD & @openheartthepod
- TikTok: @dr.kothapalli & @openheartthepod
Image Credits
I will have more professional photos from fashion week within the next 1-2 weeks to swap out these low resolution images.
