Aravind Rao, MD
Interventional Cardiology · Little Rock, ARNPI 1316162332
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (58.2%), food and beverage and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 25 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 51.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $8,657 and has fallen 75.1% since, to $2,154 in 2025.
Across 159 payments — averaging $106.34 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$9K
- Edwards Lifesciences$5K
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$1K
- Abiomed$354
- Inari Medical, Inc.$293
- Novartis$237
- plus $1K from 19 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$1,2507%
- Travel & lodging$9,83958%
- Food & beverage$5,81834%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 32 | $8,762 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 46 | $4,845 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 1 | $1,250 |
| Abiomed | 9 | $354 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 2 | $293 |
| Novartis | 13 | $237 |
| Abbott | 6 | $231 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 8 | $120 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $111 |
| AstraZeneca | 6 | $104 |
| Pfizer | 5 | $100 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 6 | $97 |
| Boston Scientific | 5 | $84 |
| Amgen | 4 | $61 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 3 | $49 |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc. | 3 | $47 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 1 | $34 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $24 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $15 |
| Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $15 |
| Merck | 1 | $13 |
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.
How this compares
$16,907 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 89 interventional cardiology providers in Arkansas.
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 | 370 | $271,258 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 125 | $101,935 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 85 | $52,388 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 58 | $48,636 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 53 | $38,724 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 36 | $33,821 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 28 | $20,254 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 321 | $4,296 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 450 | $3,215 |
| Losartan Potassium | 212 | $1,986 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 270 | $1,579 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 37 | $1,338 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 232 | $1,129 |
| Carvedilol | 181 | $1,028 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 85 | $945 |
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 | $100 | $271,258370 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $237 | $101,935125 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $120 | $52,38885 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $104 | $48,63658 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $49 | $38,72453 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $111 | $33,82136 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 80th percentile of 89 interventional cardiology providers in Arkansas.
Other interventional cardiology in Little Rock
- Gaurav DharLittle Rock$206K
- Ernesto Ruiz-RodriguezLittle Rock$153K
- Vasili LendelLittle Rock$86K
- Thomas WattsLittle Rock$68K
- Vijay RajaLittle Rock$46K
- Stephen BroughtonLittle Rock$34K
- Mahesh Anantha NarayananLittle Rock$26K
- Patrick TobbiaLittle Rock$14K
- Subhi AlarefLittle Rock$13K
- Hamza RayesLittle Rock$10K
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.