Leighton Forrester, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Largo, MDNPI 1831240191
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 97.7% of the total across 314 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 31 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 12.1% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $2,195, 2.7 times the $823 reported in 2019.
Across 314 payments — averaging $24.27 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novartis$920
- Biotronik Inc.$846
- Amgen$826
- Novo Nordisk$698
- Pfizer$511
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$470
- plus $3K from 25 others
Across 8 payments — averaging $2697.32 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.$22K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$7,44298%
- Education$1782%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novartis | 56 | $920 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 15 | $846 |
| Amgen | 34 | $826 |
| Novo Nordisk | 34 | $698 |
| Pfizer | 25 | $511 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 26 | $470 |
| AstraZeneca | 16 | $389 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 12 | $305 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 8 | $302 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 15 | $287 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 5 | $229 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 9 | $206 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 6 | $171 |
| Abbott | 2 | $160 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 8 | $151 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 5 | $137 |
| Boston Scientific | 5 | $134 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $132 |
| Merck | 7 | $130 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $107 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $85 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 4 | $78 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 2 | $69 |
| Bayer | 3 | $65 |
| Bridgebio Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $62 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $29 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| G Medical Diagnostic Services, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, 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.
- Acticor 7 VR-T DX$150
- Selectra$150
- Solia$150
- AMVIA EDGE$150
- PAMIRA$150
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$138
- Repatha$123
- MOUNJARO$107
How this compares
$7,619 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 507 cardiovascular disease providers in Maryland.
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 | 279 | $381,389 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 87 | $151,862 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 80 | $133,655 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 64 | $84,467 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 47 | $59,406 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 40 | $59,098 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 19 | $29,786 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 484 | $11,987 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 29 | $11,142 |
| Ezetimibe | 246 | $10,806 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 11 | $10,705 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 444 | $8,558 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 439 | $6,996 |
| Eplerenone | 52 | $5,776 |
| Clonidine | 31 | $4,606 |
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 | $511 | $381,389279 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $698 | $151,86287 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $920 | $133,65580 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $206 | $84,46764 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $305 | $59,09840 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta, Crestor | $389 | $43,37741 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 75th percentile of 507 cardiovascular disease providers in Maryland.
Other cardiovascular disease in Largo
- David GoorayLargo$333K
- Navin KapurBaltimore$1.5M
- Michael BlahaBaltimore$609K
- Sanjay RajagopalanBaltimore$521K
- Allen TaylorN Bethesda$456K
- Erin MichosBaltimore$257K
- Seth MartinBaltimore$166K
- Erika FellerBaltimore$121K
- Mark HaigneyBethesda$121K
- Charles CummingsBaltimore$114K
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.