India's first female cardiologist, Dr. Sivaramakrishna Iyer Padmavati worked for 12 hours a day and five days a week, at the National Heart Institute in Delhi.

She dedicated her life to the Indian medical sector. She worked as President of the Cardiological Society of India and National Academy of Medical Sciences; Member Governing Body – Indian Council of Medical Research, All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, Bangalore and Dean - Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi. She founded the All India Heart Foundation in 1962, as the official member of World Heart Federation with Sahu Ashok Jain of Bennett Coleman Ltd.

She retired at 98 in 2015. But even after retirement, she still visited the institute every week to see some of her old patients. She died of covid on August 29, 2020 at age 103.