Drs. Joyce Koppang, Saema Mirza, Anuradha Rao, Elizabeth Branscomb - Cardiovascular Associates
A healthy heart is key to a long, healthy life. A healthy brain and healthy blood vessels supplying all of the organs of your body are important too.
Cardiovascular Associates (CVA) is a world-class group of cardiologists who are trained at some of the country’s finest programs, are on the cutting edge of modern cardiac care and have deep roots in metropolitan Birmingham and the surrounding locales.
At CVA, you can access some of the most up-to-date prevention approaches for your blood pressure and cholesterol to high quality expertise for the most complex of cardiovascular cases involving coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, vein disorders, irregular heart rhythms, congestive heart failure, valve disease and women’s cardiac issues to name a few. The practice also participates in important international research. Their cardiologists go to many area hospitals where just requesting CVA for your cardiac care can help you access this first-class expertise.
CVA has been serving patients across central Alabama for 70 years, with its main office at the Colonnade off of 280 and 13 other outreach locations. Along with the easily accessible and affable group of physicians, nurse practitioners and employees, it houses an array of highly sophisticated and high quality cardiac testing and monitoring. Among the fine physicians of CVA are four woman cardiologists: Dr. Elizabeth Branscomb, Dr. Joyce Koppang, Dr. Saema Mirza and Dr. Anu Rao.
Although equal numbers of men and woman graduate from medical school, less than 15 percent of cardiologists are women.
“Women are underrepresented as cardiologists, and to find a prominent cardiology group, interested in your abilities regardless of gender, is important to us and the women we serve,” Rao said.
Mirza said she enjoys that her job makes her a “jack of all trades.” She travels between Brookwood, Grandview and Citizens Baptist medical centers to treat cases of heart disease, mitral valve prolapse, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular disease and more.
“Men and women who want a smart, caring cardiologist should come to CVA. We can take care of all your heart needs and offer all noninvasive testing right here on campus,” Mirza said.
Heart health is about more than treating these serious diseases. Rao said early efforts to understand individual risk and avoid certain lifestyle choices can prevent some heart problems from occurring later in life. Rao and Koppang said that CVA has the collective knowledge of 33 cardiologists to draw on for each patient’s benefit.
“I enjoy helping people figure out if they’re at risk for or have heart disease, then helping them get on a path to long-term cardiovascular wellness. I take great pleasure in the long-term relationships I’ve formed with many patients and their extended families,” Rao said. “A prevention checkup can save you a lot of ‘heartache’ later.”
CVA doctors have unique skills, research backgrounds and interests that they bring to the table. Rao was among the first cardiologists to develop a women’s heart health program in the U.S. about 20 years ago, and it’s an issue she believes still needs more awareness. She is especially passionate about a thoughtful approach to diagnosing heart disease in women and avoiding unnecessary ionizing radiation, when appropriate, as it is associated with increased risk of breast cancer in women especially under the age of 50.
CVA offers high quality stress echocardiography that their cardiologists employ frequently to cut down on such radiation exposure. Branscomb brings important expertise in nuclear cardiology and helped develop advanced noninvasive evaluation tools such as cardiac PET stress testing, which is another incredibly useful tool in both men and women. In women who need nuclear testing, this type of testing can cut down on the false positive tests that can result from the breasts and stomach getting in the way of the scans. A false positive test can result in unnecessary invasive testing and unneeded risk.
“The techniques we developed had never been done on this scale before,” Branscomb said. “Besides widespread recognition for diagnostic quality, our measures to increase patient safety are now the standard. More importantly, for the past 10 years, we have been able to better diagnose heart problems in thousands of patients, particularly women and larger patients, where imaging is challenging using the normal SPECT stress testing commonly in use. Beyond those skills, however, is my heartfelt desire to really grasp what my patients and their families may be going through in their lives.
“Each person is unique, and I strive to understand not just their symptoms, but also how cardiovascular care can help the patient as a whole,” Branscomb added.
Koppang said a good doctor should focus on the whole patient, not just the heart.
“When I am taking care of my patients, I become very invested in their care. I pay particular attention to the details that I believe in the long run lead to better outcomes. I treat my patients as if they were my own family members,” Koppang said.
The main Cardiovascular Associates campus is located at 3980 Colonnade Parkway. Call 510-5000 or visit cvapc.com for more information about services and locations. Ask your doctor or hospital for a referral to CVA!
► WHERE: 3980 Colonnade Parkway (main campus)
► CALL: 510-5000
► WEBSITE: cvapc.com
