Kelsey-Seybold doctors get national recognition for heart disease, stroke care

Thirteen more doctors in Houston's Kelsey-Seybold Clinic physicians group have been nationally recognized for their care of patients recovering from heart disease or stroke.

According to a news release, the National Committee for Quality Assurance and American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart/Stroke Recognition Program recognized the physicians for their care of the patients in the areas of blood pressure control, lipid profiles, cholesterol control, use of aspirin or other drugs, or success in reducing smoking.

"Our patients with cardiovascular disease benefit greatly when their physician offers the expertise to help reduce the risk of a repeat event," Dr. Spencer Berthelsen, Kelsey-Seybold's chairman and managing director, said in the news release.

To receive the recognition, the Kelsey-Seybold doctors had to demonstrate in individual reviews that they follow national standards of excellence in patient care involving stroke victims or those with cardiovascular disease, according to the release.

The new additions brings to 58 the number of Kelsey-Seybold doctors who have received NCQA recognition for their care of cardiac disease or stroke patients, or nearly half the state's NCQA-recognized physicians, according to the release.

The Kelsey-Seybold Clinic doctors who now have achieved NCQA-recognized status In Heart/Stroke care are the following:

Family medicine physicians
Maria Argao, Tahirih Baker, Daniel Belley, Dennis Brown, Patrick Carter, Donna Espey, Fahim Farhat, Nicizaki Guzman, Peter Halvorson, Donyale Harris, Son Hoang, Kenneth Kennedy, Yong Li, Chuong Nguyen, Hugh Poindexter, Sebastian Scobercea, Anisa Ssengoba-Ubogu, Stephen Thomas

Internal medicine physicians
Donnie Aga, Cynthia C. Basaldua, Lucy Buencamino, Anh Cacciatore, Jaime Chavarria, Olethia Chisolm, Carminia E. Davidsohn, Hafiza Docrat, Thomas Doneker, Frank Hua, Gerald Isaac, Azam Kundi, James Lewis, Amy Lothian, Cecilia Lowder, Mark MacGregor, Bret A. McAden, Tony Nguyen, Carlos Rivera, Kathleen Ryan, Iftikhar Sarwar, Rosemary Schempp, Adrianne R. Scruggs, Victor A. Simms, Irene Sobolevsky, John Tam, Yasodara Udayamurthy, Keith Vassallo, Debbie Walcott, Vanessa Wellinghoff, Thomas Williamson

Cardiologists
Jonathan Aliota, Bruce Barnum, Pablo Lozano, Madjid Mirzaitehrane, Atasu Nayak, Rupa Puttappa, Haroonur Rashid, Ali Mortazavi

Nuclear medicine
David Mouton

For more information about clinicians who have been recognized by the Heart/Stroke Recognition Program, visit www.kelsey-seybold.com.