Ramez Nairooz, MD
Interventional Cardiology · Little Rock, ARNPI 1750710810
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (57.4%), travel and lodging and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. It is spread thinly across 38 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 23.1%. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $3,995 and has fallen 79.9% since, to $804 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for interventional cardiology clinicians in AR, where the typical reported total is $7,561.
Across 193 payments — averaging $40.74 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$2K
- Terumo Medical Corporation$1K
- Medtronic$1K
- Novartis$878
- Boston Scientific$703
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$596
- plus $2K from 32 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1182%
- Travel & lodging$3,22941%
- Food & beverage$4,51657%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Abbott | 15 | $1,813 |
| Terumo Medical Corporation | 6 | $1,009 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 6 | $1,005 |
| Novartis | 58 | $878 |
| Boston Scientific | 5 | $703 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 27 | $596 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 1 | $196 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 14 | $152 |
| Stryker | 1 | $134 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 1 | $133 |
| Pfizer | 7 | $110 |
| Abiomed | 4 | $96 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 3 | $83 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 2 | $82 |
| Amgen | 5 | $81 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | 2 | $62 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3 | $62 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 2 | $56 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $52 |
| Acist Medical Systems, Inc. | 2 | $50 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $49 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 3 | $49 |
| Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $46 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 2 | $46 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 2 | $42 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $23 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $22 |
| Solventum Corporation | 1 | $22 |
| Altathera Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $21 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $16 |
| Merck | 1 | $16 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Itamar Medical Inc | 1 | $15 |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc. | 1 | $12 |
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.
- Omnilink Elite vascular stent system$1,134
- VenaSeal$885
- Navicross$830
- Glidesheath$830
- GlideWire$830
- JETSTREAM$558
- Assurity Pacemaker$331
- FLOWTRIEVER CATHETER, S$196
- CT THROMBECTOMY SYSTEM KIT$196
- ARTIX MT$134
- KENGREAL$133
- GENERAL ATHERECTOMY$105
How this compares
$7,863 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th 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 | 245 | $295,224 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 53 | $59,435 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 30 | $30,213 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 16 | $24,197 |
| Colchicine | 68 | $4,694 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 276 | $3,023 |
| Flecainide Acetate | 40 | $1,980 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 178 | $1,836 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 199 | $1,643 |
| Ezetimibe | 55 | $1,514 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 121 | $1,306 |
| Losartan Potassium | 121 | $1,266 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 13 | $937 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 32 | $680 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 93 | $678 |
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 | $110 | $295,224245 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $62 | $59,43553 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $878 | $30,21330 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 50th 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
- Aravind RaoLittle Rock$17K
- Patrick TobbiaLittle Rock$14K
- Subhi AlarefLittle Rock$13K
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.