Stephen Zouzoulas, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · Concord, NCNPI 1033140892
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $157,734 of the $244,445 with a category attached, or 64.5%. 25 manufacturers reported payments, led by Novo Nordisk at 52.5% of the total. Among advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology clinicians in NC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 616 payments — averaging $396.83 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novo Nordisk$128K
- Abbott$59K
- Novartis$42K
- Cvrx, Inc.$4K
- Biotronik Inc.$4K
- Medicure Pharma Inc.$2K
- plus $5K from 19 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$44,63718%
- Speaking & faculty fees$157,73465%
- Travel & lodging$20,2158%
- Food & beverage$21,8279%
- Education$320%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | 67 | $128,276 |
| Abbott | 285 | $59,020 |
| Novartis | 121 | $42,145 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 30 | $4,204 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 11 | $3,974 |
| Medicure Pharma Inc. | 3 | $1,938 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 20 | $1,091 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 27 | $1,054 |
| Abiomed | 6 | $591 |
| Boston Scientific | 4 | $347 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 14 | $255 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 2 | $232 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 3 | $210 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 3 | $196 |
| Procyrion, Inc. | 1 | $151 |
| Paragonix Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $138 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $125 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 2 | $110 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $110 |
| AstraZeneca | 6 | $105 |
| Merck | 3 | $58 |
| Endotronix, Inc. | 1 | $35 |
| BD | 1 | $33 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $23 |
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.
- Wegovy$62,265
- ENTRESTO$40,008
- Ozempic$29,870
- CARDIOMEMS$25,496
- CardioMEMS HF System$21,881
- Barostim Neo System$3,644
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev$2,878
- 2ND GEN CENTRIMAG PRIMARY CONSOLE$2,500
- ReDS$1,938
- LifeVest$471
- AMVIA EDGE$457
- Sentus$457
- Rivacor 7 DR-T$457
- Edora 8 DR-T$457
- Acticor 7 VR-T DX$457
- Impella$396
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$393
- MitraClip$362
- Assure WCD$340
- LEQVIO$233
How this compares
$244,445 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 31 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in North Carolina.
See all advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in North Carolina →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 209 | $264,889 |
| EliquisApixaban | 134 | $104,780 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 94 | $98,202 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 90 | $86,462 |
| Ambrisentan | 12 | $62,004 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 33 | $32,624 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 14 | $21,644 |
| Torsemide | 152 | $5,938 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 121 | $1,256 |
| Potassium Chloride | 58 | $1,243 |
| Carvedilol | 177 | $1,200 |
| Dofetilide | 17 | $1,166 |
| Spironolactone | 171 | $1,049 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 13 | $803 |
| Furosemide | 166 | $709 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| NovartisEntresto | $42,145 | $264,889209 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $110 | $104,780134 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $23 | $98,20294 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $105 | $86,46290 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $210 | $32,62433 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 90th percentile of 31 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in North Carolina.
Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in Concord
- Priyesh PatelConcord$11K
- Daniel BensimhonGreensboro$2.1M
- Stephen GreeneDurham$582K
- John RommelWilmington$263K
- Hassan AlhosainiWinston Salem$195K
- Vinay ThohanAsheville$164K
- Kishan ParikhRaleigh$158K
- Emil MissovGreenville$71K
- David IshizawarRaleigh$55K
- Lisa Rose JonesWilmington$51K
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.