Minhal Makshood, MD

Provider is directly employed by MedStar Health

Minhal Makshood, MD, is a board-certified general and preventive cardiologist at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center. She treats a broad spectrum of cardiovascular conditions, with particular expertise in women’s health and cardio-obstetrics.

Dr. Makshood focuses on preventing and managing cardiovascular disease in both men and women. Her approach is comprehensive and personalized, integrating lifestyle changes such as exercise, stress management, and nutrition with evidence-based therapies and advanced diagnostic tools. She offers individualized and culturally sensitive counseling to support sustainable changes that promote long-term heart health. With Level III training in echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography, she performs and interprets advanced cardiac imaging with precision, ensuring accurate diagnoses and informed treatment decisions.

A specialist in women’s cardiovascular health and cardio-obstetrics, Dr. Makshood is deeply committed to improving outcomes for women across the reproductive lifespan, particularly in addressing the rising rates of maternal morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease. She counsels women with pre-existing cardiac disease on the safety of pregnancy and provides close monitoring before, after, and during pregnancy, including guiding labor and delivery and postpartum care. In collaboration with maternal-fetal physicians, she treats a wide variety of pregnancy-related cardiac conditions such as preeclampsia, hypertensive disorders, heart failure, and cardiomyopathy of various etiologies. Overall, Dr. Makshood has a unique understanding of the presentation of cardiac disease in women and how hormonal changes, particularly in menopause, affect cardiac risk.

Dr. Makshood’s research centers on pregnancy-related cardiovascular disease and ethnic disparities in heart health. She is especially passionate about reducing risk factors in South Asian populations, who are disproportionately affected by premature coronary artery disease. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Atherosclerosis, Cardiovascular Risk Reports, and JACC: Case Reports, and she has presented at international conferences, including the Cardiac Problems in Pregnancy (CPP) meeting.

Dr. Makshood completed her medical training at Albany Medical College, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. She then did her residency at Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, where she was selected to serve as Chief Resident. After her residency, she completed a three-year general cardiology fellowship with specialized training in women’s health and cardio-obstetrics. She went on to do a one-year advanced fellowship training in advanced imaging with a focus on echocardiography and nuclear imaging.

Throughout her career, Dr. Makshood has been recognized for her clinical excellence, research contributions, outstanding character, and integrity. She received the Lou and Nancy Endowed Research Fellowship to support her research during her fellowship at Johns Hopkins and the Hynson Howell Marwell, Jr. Scholarship for embodying qualities such as respect and dedication to helping others from diverse backgrounds.

She is a member of the American Medical Association, the American College of Cardiology, the American Society of Echocardiography, and the American Heart Association.

Philosophy of Care

“I believe that every patient, regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status, or background, deserves compassionate, personalized, and high-quality cardiovascular care. My guiding philosophy centers on health equity, cultural humility, and patient empowerment, with a particular commitment to addressing the unique cardiovascular risks faced by women, especially during and after pregnancy, and by racially marginalized communities."