Brian Howard, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · Marietta, GANPI 1982832267
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (40.3%), speaking fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 35 manufacturers reported payments, led by Cvrx, Inc. at 43.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $42,532 and has fallen 72.1% since, to $11,881 in 2025.
Across 377 payments — averaging $261.81 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Cvrx, Inc.$43K
- Abiomed$36K
- Abbott$9K
- Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.$4K
- Novartis$1K
- Medtronic$874
- plus $4K from 29 others
Across 19 payments — averaging $3957.41 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.
- Cvrx, Inc.$57K
- Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.$18K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$39,76440%
- Speaking & faculty fees$36,15037%
- Travel & lodging$7,4388%
- Food & beverage$15,32516%
- Education$260%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cvrx, Inc. | 87 | $42,881 |
| Abiomed | 12 | $35,581 |
| Abbott | 67 | $9,415 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 13 | $4,344 |
| Novartis | 70 | $1,324 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 11 | $874 |
| Daxor Corporation | 4 | $766 |
| Irras USA, Inc. | 1 | $683 |
| AstraZeneca | 20 | $403 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 15 | $308 |
| Boston Scientific | 6 | $229 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 9 | $227 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 1 | $196 |
| Pfizer | 10 | $185 |
| Merck | 8 | $154 |
| Procyrion, Inc. | 1 | $136 |
| Bayer | 5 | $132 |
| Asahi Intecc USA, Inc. | 1 | $126 |
| Novo Nordisk | 6 | $109 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 5 | $107 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 3 | $63 |
| Teleflex LLC | 1 | $60 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 4 | $57 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $51 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 2 | $44 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $37 |
| Amgen | 2 | $36 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $31 |
| Bridgebio Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Cardiac Dimensions, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $20 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 1 | $19 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
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.
- Barostim Neo System$41,030
- Impella$35,465
- OPTIMIZER$8,267
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$4,029
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Device$3,200
- BVA-100$724
- FLOWTRIEVER CATHETER, S$392
- CardioMEMS HF System$301
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev$258
- Pipeline$195
- SYMPLICITY G3$163
- AORTIX SYSTEM$136
- MitraClip$133
- PERIPHERAL VASCULAR$126
- HeartWare HVAD$112
- ENTRESTO$100
How this compares
$98,703 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 40 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Georgia.
See all advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Georgia →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 22 | $476,076 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 146 | $218,568 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 103 | $152,457 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 70 | $84,415 |
| EliquisApixaban | 43 | $51,471 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 118 | $1,780 |
| Torsemide | 72 | $1,547 |
| Potassium Chloride | 36 | $975 |
| Spironolactone | 109 | $932 |
| Carvedilol | 86 | $491 |
| Warfarin Sodium | 51 | $472 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 36 | $438 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 12 | $392 |
| Losartan Potassium | 35 | $292 |
| Furosemide | 69 | $236 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerVyndamax, Eliquis | $185 | $527,54765 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $1,324 | $218,568146 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $308 | $152,457103 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $403 | $84,41570 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 40 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Georgia.
Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in Marietta
- Abdul Latif BikakMarietta$214K
- Nikolas KrishnaMarietta$124K
- Youssef NasrMarietta$3K
- Levi MayMarietta$2K
- Andrew DarlingtonFayetteville$1M
- Catherine MartiAthens$343K
- Darshak KariaAugusta$296K
- Ugochukwu EgolumGainesville$235K
- Robert ColeAtlanta$213K
- Alanna MorrisGainesville$85K
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.