Chima Nwaukwa, MD
Interventional Cardiology · Beaumont, TXNPI 1477657807
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (53.5%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Merck accounts for 74.0% of it on its own, with 27 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $21,792 and has fallen 93.4% since, to $1,440 in 2025.
Across 437 payments — averaging $79.68 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$26K
- Boston Scientific$3K
- Shockwave Medical, Inc$1K
- Edwards Lifesciences$780
- Abbott$581
- Novartis$466
- plus $3K from 22 others
Across 5 payments — averaging $16,698 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.
- Amgen$83K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$18,62053%
- Travel & lodging$6,43318%
- Food & beverage$9,74728%
- Education$220%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | 80 | $25,780 |
| Boston Scientific | 74 | $3,015 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 80 | $1,240 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 36 | $780 |
| Abbott | 15 | $581 |
| Novartis | 25 | $466 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 18 | $442 |
| Pfizer | 15 | $298 |
| AstraZeneca | 12 | $296 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 16 | $279 |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc. | 4 | $229 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 12 | $219 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 8 | $133 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 6 | $123 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 2 | $119 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 5 | $113 |
| Abiomed | 1 | $107 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 6 | $102 |
| Amgen | 6 | $99 |
| Gilead | 1 | $98 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 3 | $68 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $53 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 2 | $51 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 2 | $50 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $31 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Cleerly, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 1 | $14 |
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
$34,821 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 686 interventional cardiology 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 | 349 | $393,193 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 178 | $160,125 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 110 | $142,813 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 84 | $76,358 |
| VerquvoVericiguat | 44 | $37,868 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 29 | $34,024 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 54 | $29,395 |
| NexletolBempedoic Acid | 38 | $18,782 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 16 | $16,725 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 83 | $13,263 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 11 | $10,162 |
| Icosapent Ethyl | 15 | $7,885 |
| Dabigatran EtexilateDabigatran Etexilate Mesylate | 16 | $6,212 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 368 | $4,191 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 358 | $3,352 |
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 | $298 | $393,193349 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $279 | $160,125178 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $466 | $142,813110 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $296 | $105,752138 claims |
| MerckVerquvo | $25,780 | $37,86844 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $68 | $34,02429 claims |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.Nexletol | $102 | $18,78238 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $123 | $16,72516 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 686 interventional cardiology providers in Texas.
Other interventional cardiology in Beaumont
- Salem SalemBeaumont$108K
- Juan GranadaHouston$4.1M
- Vamsi KrishnaKyle$2M
- Jeffrey CarrTyler$1.9M
- John IsaacHouston$1.8M
- Robert ChiltonSan Antonio$1.3M
- Sameh SayfoPlano$1M
- Srinivasa PotluriPlano$781K
- Karim Al-AziziPlano$734K
- Robert StolerDallas$587K
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.