Sapna Desai, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · New Orleans, LANPI 1538335500
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (44.5%), food and beverage and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Abbott accounts for 80.1% of it on its own, with 26 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $15,405 and has fallen 91.1% since, to $1,377 in 2025.
Across 286 payments — averaging $103.44 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$24K
- Abiomed$3K
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$389
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$265
- United Therapeutics Corporation$243
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$235
- plus $1K from 21 others
Across 41 payments — averaging $2942.32 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.
- United Therapeutics Corporation$67K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$53K
- Merck$500
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$13,17945%
- Speaking & faculty fees$4,03814%
- Travel & lodging$3,40612%
- Food & beverage$8,60029%
- Education$3611%
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 | 131 | $23,684 |
| Abiomed | 52 | $3,421 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 8 | $389 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 11 | $265 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 17 | $243 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 13 | $235 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 2 | $231 |
| Pfizer | 9 | $155 |
| Novo Nordisk | 6 | $155 |
| Novartis | 7 | $147 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 4 | $117 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 2 | $98 |
| Merck | 4 | $63 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $55 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3 | $49 |
| AstraZeneca | 3 | $45 |
| Mannkind Corporation | 1 | $25 |
| Bayer | 1 | $24 |
| Cardiac Dimensions, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Amgen | 1 | $22 |
| Bridgebio Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $19 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $17 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $15 |
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.
- CardioMEMS HF System$8,898
- HeartMate Touch$5,335
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev$4,393
- Impella$2,075
- HeartMate PHP$1,137
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$550
- Shockwave IVL System with the Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL Catheter$231
- DRAGONFLY OPSTAR$144
- Accent Pacemaker$135
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Device$134
How this compares
Too few advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Louisianato place this figure against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.
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 | 25 | $565,794 |
| UptraviSelexipag | 31 | $515,826 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 269 | $222,941 |
| AdempasRiociguat | 15 | $200,463 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 124 | $100,838 |
| Ambrisentan | 18 | $43,282 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 44 | $42,236 |
| EliquisApixaban | 55 | $37,026 |
| Tadalafil | 33 | $25,388 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 16 | $11,466 |
| Mycophenolic AcidMycophenolate Sodium | 19 | $8,924 |
| Tacrolimus | 49 | $6,958 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 54 | $4,770 |
| Torsemide | 102 | $3,479 |
| Bumetanide | 66 | $3,285 |
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 | $155 | $602,82080 claims |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.Uptravi | $389 | $515,82631 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $147 | $222,941269 claims |
| BayerAdempas | $24 | $200,46315 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $17 | $100,838124 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Symbicort | $45 | $45,25156 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $49 | $11,46616 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. There are too few advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Louisianaon file to place this against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.
Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in New Orleans
- Clement EiswirthNew Orleans$277K
- Senthil AnandNew Orleans$51K
- Hector VenturaNew Orleans$39K
- Selim KrimNew Orleans$9K
- Frank SmartNew Orleans$4K
- Hamang PatelNew Orleans$3K
- Adam LickNew Orleans$2K
- Thierry LejemtelNew Orleans$506
- Peter FailHouma$206K
- Shane PrejeanHouma$102K
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.