Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
Choosing a specialist is very difficult; many times, you don’t know which kind of specialists you need for your health problem, and if you do know, it can still be challenging to know which physician to choose.
For instance, you have “circulation” problems because your legs are tired and cramping, skin is hardening and getting dark spots, you have a non-healing ulcer in your feet or ankle, and you have been having leg or ankle swelling.
By having these symptoms, you immediately think you should see a vascular specialist but which one? Do you see a cardiologist or a vascular surgeon?
The best way to go about this is to ask your primary care provider. They will perform an evaluation, and once your doctor has done a thorough examination, they will guide you to whom you should see.
Making sure your specialist is board certified and qualified is critical.
Different vascular specialists care for similar conditions. For example, for individuals with vascular or circulation problems of the legs, cardiovascular specialists, vascular surgeons, and interventional radiologists are all capable of treating vascular-related problems of the leg. All three specialists are highly trained individuals skilled in treating complex vascular conditions, although there are some differences among them.
Many specialists only offer invasive or surgical treatment and would refer you to other specialists for conservative or non-interventional therapy, requiring that you see another specialist.
Finding a comprehensive physician and practice is beneficial in numerous ways for patients.
The Naples Cardiac and Endovascular Center, also known as NCEC, was founded by Dr. Julian J Javier, a board certified cardiac and endovascular expert. The center is dedicated to conditions of the heart and arterio-venous disease and was created with the purpose of providing a “patient-centered care” approach for patients with heart and vascular problems in one location.
Vascular-related problems go hand to hand with heart disease and share the same risk factors: age, hypertension, high cholesterol, genes, smoking, diabetes, obesity, all risk factors that lead to cardiac and vascular problems of venous and arterial origin.
Not all conditions require invasive procedures.
The NCEC specialists offer preventive and conservative care, diagnostic testing, and the most highly sophisticated interventions at the comfort of their center. Understanding that not all heart and vascular conditions need to be treated invasively or surgically, the center offers its knowledge of conservative and preventive therapies as well.
Dr. Javier’s expertise is in heart and venous disorders; he is well known and considered an expert in venous disease, including DVT, varicosities, venous ulcer, venous insufficiency. He is a well-published author and invited speaker to some of the most prestigious endovascular meetings in the US and abroad. Dr. Javier is one of the earliest cardiologists adopting the “wrist approach,” which is doing heart catheterization via the wrist, starting this approach in 1996, and presenting his experience in the SCAI annual meeting in 2003 in Boston, MA. The radial approach, also called the wrist procedure, has become the recommended approach by the cardiology societies in the US for heart catheterization in the last five years.
Dr. Leandro Perez is a board-certified cardiac and endovascular specialist with extensive expertise in arterial disease and also an expert in the “wrist procedure” for heart catheterization and limb angiograms. His primary focus is limb amputation prevention and limb ischemia and leads NCEC in these efforts educating the community and health care providers in Southwest Florida on these conditions. He uses a non-surgical treatment of arterial disease to preserve the arteries of the leg, similar to the techniques he uses to treat the arteries of the heart. He is dedicated to combatting the epidemic of limb amputation using his skills and experience in helping these patients at risk for losing a toe, feet, or limbs due to poor circulation.
Dr. Jesus Mendiolaza is a recently added member to NCEC, well known to Southwest Florida practicing in the area for over ten years; he is a multiple board certified cardiologist with expertise in imaging, 3-dimensional echocardiogram, transesophageal echo, cardiac CT /MRI, and cardiac critical care.
Dr. Art Labovitz is another dear member of NCEC, a board-certified cardiologist with vast experience, well known nationally for his diagnostic expertise in echocardiogram and valve disease, extensively published, and former chairman of the cardiovascular department of St Louis University and the University of South Florida. He is also a leader in cardiac research and currently a principal investigator in cardiac clinical trial research for newer therapies for heart disease.
Why Choose NCEC?
NCEC offers in the comfort of their office cardiac and vascular diagnostic tests, preventive care, chronic care, and non-surgical intervention to treat vascular and heart conditions. The center has a team of nurse practitioners that includes Zulay Zayas, Laura Severyn, and Warly Gonzales that complete a team of nurses and technicians highly specialized to care for cardiac and vascular patients.
When choosing a physician, it’s essential to research their expertise. If you have vascular issues, you must see a cardiovascular specialists that has the skills, history, outcomes, and innovative abilities that will provide you with optimal results.
At NCEC, they put their patients first, take their time to discuss options, and explain procedures in full detail.
For more information call 239-300-0586 or visit www.heartvein.com.
Naples Cardiac and Endovascular Center
(239) 300-0586
www.heartvein.com
1168 Goodlette-Frank Rd N Naples, FL 34102
9400 Bonita Beach rd. S.E. Suite 203.
Bonita Springs FL 34135