Walter Hepp
Cardiovascular Disease · Sarasota, FLNPI 1275535817
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 116 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 20 manufacturers reported payments, led by ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) at 25.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $945 and has fallen 95.9% since, to $38 in 2024. That places this record below the midpoint for cardiovascular disease clinicians in FL, where the typical reported total is $2,774.
Across 116 payments — averaging $20.45 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$592
- Novartis$332
- Amgen$241
- Medtronic$227
- Johnson & Johnson$172
- Boston Scientific$156
- plus $650 from 14 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,372100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 14 | $592 |
| Novartis | 31 | $332 |
| Amgen | 23 | $241 |
| Medtronic | 3 | $227 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 9 | $172 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $156 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $118 |
| Pfizer | 8 | $105 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 5 | $82 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 3 | $75 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 3 | $64 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Acutus Medical, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Abbott | 2 | $38 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Abiomed | 1 | $17 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. | 1 | $15 |
| Sobi, Inc | 1 | $14 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $13 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $11 |
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.
How this compares
$2,372 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 1,740 cardiovascular disease providers in Florida.
Other cardiovascular disease in Sarasota
- Manfouz El ShahawySarasota$116K
- Kevin MakatiLutz$1.6M
- Hiram BezerraTampa$698K
- William OneillNaples$637K
- Theodore FeldmanMiami$637K
- John Gerald CantoLakeland$588K
- Alan MillerJacksonville$547K
- Seth BaumBoca Raton$517K
- Elliott EliasMiami$497K
- Vijay HaryaniVero Beach$413K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.