Premier Heart & Vascular Doctors Keep Hearts Pumping & Blood Flowing

Over the course of a lifetime, a healthy human heart proves itself to be a reliable muscular pump, beating thousands of times a day and sending blood throughout the body via a network of veins, vessels and capillaries. When working right, most people don’t even notice this life-supporting cardiovascular system functioning.

But, when something goes wrong, such as clogged arteries, heart disease or other damage, the physicians and staff of Premier Heart & Vascular Center in the Summergate Professional Park off S.R. 56. Dr. Sunil Gupta, MD, FACC (Fellow of the American College of Cardiology), founded the practice with an objective that has remained constant throughout its 15-year existence.

“Our goal is to provide care to patients and do it promptly and do it right,’’ says Dr. Gupta, whose FACC fellowship was conferred by virtue of his cardiology training at the Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, NJ. “That’s what drives us.”

According to Dr. Ketul Chauhan, MD, FACC, another one of the physicians at Premier Heart & Vascular, patients benefit from the ability to devote the substantial resources and knowledge available within the practice to provide needed treatment.

“We’re able to take care of them from seeing them and diagnosing them to consulting with them and fixing them with interventional procedures if needed,” Dr. Chauhan says. That’s as comprehensive as it gets.” Dr. Chauhan earned his M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies, and earned his FACC through Tampa General Hospital.

Premier’s physicians specialize in interventional cardiology and among the non-invasive services provided to patients are diagnostic procedures like tilt-table, treadmill and pharmacological tests; as well as Coumadin, pacemaker/defibrillator, and congestive heart failure (CHF) clinics. They also perform laser vein ablation, which treats varicose veins by sealing them.

Invasive procedures performed on an inpatient basis include angioplasty, which uses small balloons to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels, and implanting stents (small, mesh-like devices made of metal, which are placed inside of a coronary artery to support and keep it open to ensure adequate blood flow).

Pacemaker implantation as well as heart valve repairs and replacements also are performed.

There are seven physicians who are part of the Premier Heart & Vascular team, treating patients at five clinics in the Tampa Bay area, from Carrollwood to Lakeland. An additional clinic in Dade City is closed because it is in the process of being relocated.

Dr. Gupta says Premier has grown by performing work that promotes a good reputation in the local cardiology community, which brings in more patients and qualified professionals to treat them.

“Because of our reputation, we are able to attract good people to work for us —physicians, physician assistants and other staff members,” he says.

All of the doctors are Board-certified cardiologists, with advanced training in diagnosing and treating cardiovascular disease.

A Variety Of Sub-Specialties

Each physician also brings unique knowledge and skills that emphasize particular aspects of the field, such as Dr. Chetan Khamare, MD, FACC, who has a focus on congestive heart failure. Dr. Khamare received his M.D. degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica, and earned his FACC through his work at West Virginia University Hospital in Morgantown.

When there are structural problems with a patient’s heart, such as a defective valve, Dr. Konstantinos Marmagkiolis, MD, FACC, contributes his expertise of the emerging field of structural heart disease. Dr. Marmagkiolis graduated with his M.D. degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Medicine in Thessaloniki, Greece, and achieved his FACC through the Montreal Heart Institute of the University of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Supporting the body’s natural cardiovascular system with technology such as stents and pacemakers requires a deft hand and the training required to implant devices. Dr. Chauhan performs device implants, as does Dr. Vikas Soma, MD, FACC, whose M.D. degree was awarded by Santiago University of Technology School of Medicine in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dr. Soma’s FACC was achieved through his fellowship training at St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers in New York, NY.

One of the ways that cardiac health is evaluated is through stress tests conducted using nuclear isotopes. Besides earning his medical degree from the University of Debrecen Medical & Health Science Institute in Debrecen, Hungary, and his FACC fellowship training at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Dr. Rajesh Lall, MD, FACC, also is Board-certified in nuclear cardiology.

Also supporting Premier Heart & Vascular’s nuclear cardiology program is Dr. Jaime Caballero, MD, FACC, who also has received training in the proper handling of radioactive materials used in the practice’s accredited nuclear stress test lab. Dr. Caballero earned his M.D. degree from the University of Tolima School of Medicine in Ibagué, Colombia, and received his cardiac fellowship training at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

It can be stressful when people find themselves needing the services of a cardiologist and Premier’s Wesley Chapel office manager, Lisa Sylvester, has the prescription for easing patients’ concerns.

“From the time they walk in the door, the greeting is important. Smiles on the faces are big,” she says. “It could be their first time at a cardiologist, so it’s important to let them know that we are here to help them.”

Dr. Gupta also recognizes that patient care begins with caring professionals.

“It’s the people,” he says. “Our defining principle is doing the right thing and that allows us to always put the patient first.”

Outstanding Reviews & More

Louis Capasso expresses his patient satisfaction by awarding Premier a five-star Google review with the comment, “Fantastic. Everything was explained to me so that I understood things,” he wrote.

Premier accepts a long list of insurance plans and is willing to add to it, according to Robbie Balbontin, RN, who as Premier’s clinical manager, coordinates the practice’s administrative operations.

“We take everything,” she says. “If we don’t take it, we’ll apply for it.” Premier also accepts Medicare and even Medicaid, which Balbontin says is not typical. “We’re one of the few cardiology practices that accepts Medicaid.”

Since starting the practice 15 years ago, Dr. Gupta has seen it grow to its current level of five locations employing 45 healthcare professionals.

“We are surprised at how fast we are able to grow,” he says. “More patients are coming to us and more doctors are joining us.”

Much of that growth is taking place at the Wesley Chapel office, which opened seven years ago. In order to accommodate the increase in patients, Premier is moving to a new 8,000-sq.-ft. building to be located across Bruce B. Downs Blvd. from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel this summer.

Premier Heart & Vascular Center’s Wesley Chapel  is currently located in the Summergate Professional Park at 27424 Cashford Cir. You can learn more about Premier by visiting online at PremierHeartandVascular.com or by calling 788-1400.