Dr. Afshine Emrani on Medical Freedom of Speech and His Iranian Roots

During the darkest days of the pandemic, Dr. Afshine Emrani’s social media posts were showing up all over newsfeeds, Twitter timelines and WhatsApp groups. He discussed his opinions on COVID – which were sometimes controversial – but he always kept an open mind and welcomed the criticism. 

“I received a lot of pushback from multiple sources, including colleagues whom I respect,” said Emrani, a cardiologist in Tarzana. “Most of the discussions were respectful. If people disagree with each other in a respectful manner and present their data, I respect them. That’s how societies function. That’s how we learn from each other. If you’re in an echo chamber, you don’t grow and learn.”

Emrani experienced firsthand the cost of not being able to speak his mind. He was born in Iran, and his father was in charge of the country’s coal mining industry – its second largest, after oil. His father helped build cities, schools, roads, hospitals and theaters. But when the Iranian Revolution hit in 1978, suddenly, he feared for his life.

“The tide changed both because he was a Jew and because he was working for the Shah,” said Emrani. “My father was rushing to save what money he had made in 30-plus years of service to his country and get his wife, mother and four little boys out of a war zone. Bullets were flying over our house and people were rioting in the front, setting cars on fire on our street.”

In the summer of 1979, the Emrani family was able to flee.

“My father got rid of everything we had and we escaped,” said Emrani. “We were some of the lucky ones.”

The Emranis lived in England for about three years and then came to Los Angeles to be among other Iranian Jews, but it was a rough transition.

“People were making fun of me, this Persian Jew who sounded British,” Emrani said. “In England, we would dress in suits as our school uniform, and when I came here, I showed up to Uni High in a suit. I was promptly told not to do that again.”

The school placed Emrani in AP biology and math, which was fitting because he always wanted to be a doctor. When he was a child, he’d dissect the nonedible parts of the meat his mother would bring home from the butcher shop. 

“I would try to figure out how it all worked,” he said. “I had this fascination to try and help people get better. I thought there was no better reward in life than to help people, and I still feel that way.” 

Emrani attended the University of California, San Diego and worked at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as well as Kaiser Permanente before opening up his own practice, Los Angeles Heart Specialists. In his everyday work, he sees that one of the biggest public health threats is loneliness – especially among the elderly. 

“Many elderly people come to my office once a month and, believe it or not, that’s the only human interaction they have,” he said. “Some of their families don’t visit or they don’t go out. That contributes to dementia and heart disease and many other problems.”

The doctor also sees processed food and inactivity causing a number of issues.

“In our society, people live off of processed food, not off the land,” he said. “They’ll eat whatever is quick and in a wrapper or in a box. Most people are behind their computer all day and they don’t move. Between not moving and eating processed foods, they’re becoming obese and suffering from heart disease.” 

Though the pandemic is not making headlines as much anymore, Emrani is still speaking out about it. 

“For two years, we had lockdowns that were really disastrous,” he said. “Many people didn’t get their proper follow-ups or go in for routine exams. There was a lack of access to healthcare and increased loneliness and anxiety, and there was worsening obesity, drinking, smoking and mental health problems.” 

On top of everything, Emrani said that the delaying of healthcare led to a rush back once the pandemic receded.

“Many doctors are giving appointments three-to-six months out,” he said. “This further exacerbates the problems. Many doctors ended up retiring during COVID because they were burned out, and it left many patients without care.”

Emrani has been outspoken not just about COVID, but also about Assembly Bill 2098, a bill that Governor Gavin Newsom signed that targets doctors who spread COVID misinformation.

“Having escaped from Iran, where human expression was censored, the bill brings back my PTSD,” he said. “Science is based on opposition and questioning.”

He continued, “Many things labeled as ‘misinformation’ over the past two years ended up being correct. For science to function, we need people to ask questions that are the direct opposite of the main narrative. Without it, we have a failure of science.”

Like other Persian Jews, Emrani is deeply Zionist and passionate about defending Israel. Recently, he tweeted to his over 50,000 followers, “I’m a proud Zionist Jew. If you have a problem with that, you’re a racist bigot. If you’re cool with it, I love you.”

“Everything that I do is based on my Jewish beliefs. I have always taken care of everybody regardless of color or creed or religion.“ 
– Dr. Afshine Emrani 

“Everything that I do is based on my Jewish beliefs,” he said. “I have always taken care of everybody regardless of color or creed or religion. I always welcome everyone to come to my practice, and they are very comfortable because they feel my love towards them. I want them to know that my Judaism dictates that I take care of them, just like God wants.”

Simply put, Emrani is living his dream, which is to be of service. 

“My goal is to be a good Jew and help people,” he said. “As we say, saving one life is like saving the entire world.”