Amir Azeem, MD
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology · Houston, TXNPI 1265526339
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $14,954 of the $23,242 with a category attached, or 64.3%. 31 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 42.5% of the total. That places this record below the midpoint for clinical cardiac electrophysiology clinicians in TX, where the typical reported total is $27,892.
Across 500 payments — averaging $46.48 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$10K
- Boston Scientific$3K
- Medtronic$3K
- Biosense Webster, Inc.$2K
- Cardiofocus, Inc.$2K
- Cardiva Medical, Inc.$783
- plus $3K from 25 others
Across 40 payments — averaging $11,610 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- Eli Lilly$300K
- Pfizer$81K
- Amgen$52K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$32K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$5002%
- Travel & lodging$7,71833%
- Food & beverage$14,95464%
- Education$700%
Most of this is food and beverage — typically meals provided during product presentations at a clinic or hospital. Nationally that is the single largest category of reported payments by count.
General payments by program year
Who reported the general payments
Companies are grouped under their corporate parent — a single manufacturer often files under several CMS reporting entities. Research and ownership payments are counted separately and are not in this table.
| Company | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Abbott | 223 | $9,886 |
| Boston Scientific | 64 | $3,429 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 36 | $2,503 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 58 | $2,131 |
| Cardiofocus, Inc. | 3 | $1,616 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 33 | $783 |
| Abiomed | 12 | $616 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 12 | $285 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 11 | $223 |
| Novartis | 4 | $207 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 4 | $179 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $169 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 2 | $158 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $125 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 1 | $122 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 3 | $118 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 6 | $112 |
| Amgen | 1 | $78 |
| Pfizer | 5 | $77 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 4 | $73 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 2 | $70 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3 | $63 |
| Elutia, Inc. | 2 | $48 |
| Preventice Services, LLC | 1 | $33 |
| Medicomp Inc | 1 | $26 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Vital Connect, Inc | 1 | $21 |
| Merit Medical Systems Inc | 1 | $20 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Convatec Inc. | 1 | $11 |
What the payments were tied to
Products named in the reported payments. Only payments of $100 or more are attributed here — the typical reported payment nationally is a meal worth about $16, and listing those product-by-product would be noise.
- AVEIR$4,182
- Micra$1,970
- Confirm Rx$706
- Carto 3$529
- Ensite Cardiac Mapping System$511
- ASSURITY$319
- OPTIMIZER$304
- LUX-Dx Insertable Cardiac Monitor$250
- WATCHMAN Access System$149
- Quartet CRT Lead$145
- Impella$143
- JARDIANCE$125
- GENERAL TACHY$125
- QUARTET$123
- AngioVac$122
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$109
- Watchman$105
- Carto 3 System$102
How this compares
$23,242 in reported general payments places this provider in the 40th percentile of 233 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Texas.
See all clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Texas →
Medicare billing
What this is not: this is the amount Original Medicare Part B allowed for services this provider billed in 2024. It is not their income. It excludes Medicare Advantage — now more than half of all Medicare enrollment — along with Medicaid and all commercial insurance, and it is gross practice revenue before staff, rent, supplies and malpractice premiums. CMS also suppresses any figure covering ten or fewer patients, so low-volume providers appear smaller than they are.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 250 | $231,931 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 52 | $61,142 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 205 | $5,187 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 194 | $3,094 |
| PaceroneAmiodarone Hcl | 13 | $2,974 |
| Flecainide Acetate | 82 | $2,847 |
| Digoxin | 63 | $1,164 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 118 | $1,011 |
| Carvedilol | 49 | $585 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 15 | $449 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 70 | $380 |
| Potassium Chloride | 21 | $363 |
| SotalolSotalol Hcl | 15 | $340 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 15 | $312 |
| Losartan Potassium | 37 | $265 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $77 | $231,931250 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $63 | $61,14252 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 40th percentile of 233 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Texas.
Other clinical cardiac electrophysiology in Houston
- Miguel ValderrabanoHouston$461K
- Mehdi RazaviHouston$358K
- Ilyas ColombowalaHouston$204K
- Ramesh HariharanHouston$165K
- Nadim NasirHouston$162K
- John SegerHouston$147K
- Alexander DrtilHouston$126K
- Hamid Afshar-KharaghanHouston$112K
- David BurklandHouston$101K
- Jie ChengHouston$82K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Billing: Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners, data year 2024. Original Medicare Part B only.
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.