You Can Trust Pasco Cardiology Associates To Keep Your Heart In Rhythm

By Matt Wiley

Have you ever gone to the doctor’s office and felt so rushed through the appointment that you left without all of the answers to your medical questions?

At Pasco Cardiology Associates — located across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) in the Windfair Professional Center — the doctors spend quality time with their patients discussing not only their medical problems but also preventive steps they can take to help them avoid future health issues.

Dr. Binu Jacob, MD, FACC (Fellow of the American College of Cardiology), and Dr. Ramanath Rao MD, FACC, focus on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiological conditions for adults ages 18 and over. In 1988, Dr. Rao opened the first Pasco Cardiology Associates office in Zephyrhills. Dr. Jacob joined the practice in 2010 and is now a full partner. They opened the Wesley Chapel office together in 2012, when the doctors discovered that 30 percent of their patients already came from our area. Dr. Rao and Dr. Jacobs rotate between these two main offices and their three satellite offices in Dade City, Lakeland and on N. 56th St. in Tampa.

Dr. Jacob earned his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Biology from the University of Miami, FL, where he also earned his M.D. degree. He completed a cardiology fellowship at the University of Florida in Gainesville, followed by an electrophysiology fellowship at both the University of Miami and at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland.

Dr. Jacob says, “This is my calling, my purpose. If I’m giving my patients good care, that’s what makes me happy at the end of the day.”

An electrophysiologist and heart failure specialist, Dr. Jacob performs Holter monitoring (devices that continually keep track of electrical activity in the heart), electrophysiology studies, tilt table testing (which assess heart rate and blood pressure response when moving an individual from a supine to a tilted position), ablations and device implantation and management (of pacemakers and defibrillators).

Dr. Jacob’s mother was a nurse for 33 years and says that he never forgets the advice she gave him, “Don’t ever be a dumb doctor because there are plenty of them out there and don’t ever cheat your patients because you’re only cheating yourself.”

So, Dr. Jacob says he always tells his patients, “I’m always going to give you ethical care, I’m only going to order the tests you need and I’m going to do the best that I can by you as if you were my own mom or dad.”

Dr. Ramanath Rao earned his M.D. degree from the University of Mysore Medical College in Mysore, India. He completed his cardiology fellowship at the prestigious Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in The Bronx, NY. Dr. Rao focuses on clinical cardiology, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, interventional cardiology and varicose vein treatment.

Both Dr. Rao and Dr. Jacobs have cardiology and interventional privileges at Bayfront Health Dade City, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel and at Florida Hospital Tampa.

As Dr. Jacob likes to explain to his patients, “I’m the electrician of your heart, and Dr. Rao is the plumber.” That means that while Dr. Jacob takes care of the electrical aspects of the heart, Dr. Rao focuses on the valves themselves.

Meadow Pointe resident Chandra Amin went to see Dr. Jacob after a hospitalization for a heart condition. She’d seen cardiologists in the past when she lived in New York, but she really liked Dr. Jacob’s reassuring nature with her and her family. “I especially appreciated the follow-up (Dr. Jacob) gives his patients,” she says. “He called me back personally to answer all of my questions. He is very knowledgeable and knew exactly how to handle my case.”

Pasco Cardiology Associates treats a variety of conditions, including:

• Aneurysms (bulges in the wall of a blood vessel)

• Angina Pectoris (chest pain)

• Arrhythmia (irregular heart beat)

• Atrial Fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm)

• Cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease)

• Peripheral Artery Disease (obstruction of large arteries)

• Ventricular Fibrillation (uncoordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle)

• High Cholesterol

• Congenital Heart Disease

• Congestive Heart Failure

• Heart Attack

• Heart Failure

• Heart Murmurs

• High Blood Pressure

• Hypertension

• Obesity

• Stroke

At Pasco Cardiology Associates, a doctor sees patients during each visit — there are no “mid-level” practitioners. Dr. Jacob also spends just as much time focusing on preventive techniques (such as weight loss and proper diet) as he does treating his patients’ medical conditions. “I’ve been trained to do very complex procedures, but if I haven’t taught a patient how to eat properly, how to watch his sodium and sugar, check his blood pressure and watch for symptoms and signs of angina and stroke, then I haven’t done the basics,” he says. He adds that if patients make important life changes like reducing caffeine, nicotine and stress, medication or surgery may not be necessary.

Dr. Jacob currently is developing a program called “Walk With a Doc,” that he hopes the Adventist Health System (the parent company of Florida Hospital) will sponsor. He says that he wants to practice what he preaches and get out once a week to walk with participants to promote exercise, while also sharing his cardiovascular knowledge. Pasco Cardiology Associates also partners with the American Heart Association on different topics each month. In November, the practice will be sponsoring a team for the 2014 5K Heart Walk, which will be held on Saturday, November 15, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Dr. Jacob lives in Arbor Greene and will soon be moving into the new Estancia at Wiregrass. “My family and I are a part of this community, and I want to service the people who live here.” Dr. Rao is a Tampa Palms resident. 

Vein Treatments, Too!

Special to the Wesley Chapel office is the Vein Center. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, more than 25 million people in the US suffer from venous disease, which affect the veins in the legs, causing heaviness, aching, swelling, rash, skin color changes and unsightly veins (including varicose and spider veins).

Dr. Rao screens patients in his office and will prescribe the best course of action depending upon the severity of the condition. If needed, vein ablation treatments can be done in the office on an outpatient basis.

The Wesley Chapel office of Pasco Cardiology Associates is located at 2649 Windguard Cir., Suite 102. You can make an appointment at any one of their locations by calling 788-0439. For more information about the practice, visit PascoCardiologyAssociates.com.