Erik Suarez, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Houston, TXNPI 1356589675
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (52.3%), speaking fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 16 manufacturers reported payments, led by Paragonix Technologies, Inc. at 28.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $18,377 and has fallen 94.3% since, to $1,056 in 2025.
Across 110 payments — averaging $382.57 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Paragonix Technologies, Inc.$12K
- Medtronic$8K
- Abiomed$8K
- Abbott$6K
- Livanova USA, Inc.$4K
- Transmedics, Inc.$2K
- plus $2K from 10 others
Across 45 payments — averaging $1232.72 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.
- Medtronic$30K
- Abbott$19K
- Transmedics, Inc.$6K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$22,00052%
- Speaking & faculty fees$7,47018%
- Travel & lodging$5,52613%
- Food & beverage$7,08617%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Paragonix Technologies, Inc. | 3 | $12,000 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 33 | $8,343 |
| Abiomed | 30 | $7,797 |
| Abbott | 13 | $6,194 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 3 | $3,597 |
| Transmedics, Inc. | 1 | $1,654 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 10 | $903 |
| Xvivo Perfusion Inc. | 2 | $695 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 4 | $306 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 3 | $220 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 2 | $151 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 2 | $133 |
| Medinc Of Texas | 1 | $26 |
| Kls-martin L.p. | 1 | $24 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Baylis Medical Technologies Inc. | 1 | $18 |
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.
- Impella$7,252
- HeartWare HVAD$6,557
- CardioMEMS HF System$5,500
- Tandem Life Kit$3,470
- ORGAN CARE SYSTEM$1,654
- XVIVO Perfusion System (XPS)$695
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOSPHERE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM$488
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev$176
- SYNERGY ABLATION SYSTEM$167
- ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM$167
- Grafts$148
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$138
- Relay Grafts$121
- SternaLock Blu$113
- INSPIRIS RESILIA aortic valve$108
- PREVELEAK$107
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM (CRYO2)$105
How this compares
$42,082 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 424 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Texas.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) 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.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Houston
- Michael ReardonHouston$713K
- Danny RamzyHouston$527K
- Randall WolfHouston$283K
- Min KimHouston$185K
- Marc MoonHouston$142K
- Ismael Salas de ArmasHouston$121K
- Shawn GrothHouston$110K
- Mahesh RamchandaniHouston$110K
- Gabriel LoorHouston$106K
- Mara AntonoffHouston$104K
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.