Medicare Enrolled
Dr. Arvind Nirula, M.D.
Cardiovascular Disease · Fountain Valley, CA
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology
— Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Low-engagement
Very High
DATA COVERAGE
Data in 4 of 4 federal sources
Measures public federal data availability — not provider quality
Informational, not a quality rating.
This page presents federal public records about Dr. Nirula from CMS (NPPES, Open Payments, Medicare Provider Utilization, PECOS). It is not medical advice, an endorsement, or a judgment of clinical quality. Always consult the provider directly and a licensed clinician for medical decisions. Read methodology →
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What this data tells you about Dr. Nirula
Dr. Arvind Nirula is a cardiovascular disease specialist in Fountain Valley, CA, with 19 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Nirula performed 2,666 Medicare services across 1,756 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Nirula received a total of $18,115 from 45 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 520 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in cardiovascular disease. Most payments are for meals and travel — low-value interactions common across virtually all practicing physicians. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.
The Data Coverage level for Dr. Nirula is Very High — reflecting how much public federal data is available about this provider. Patients are encouraged to use this data as one of several factors when choosing a healthcare provider.
✓ 19 years in practice
▲ Top 40% volume in CA
$18,115 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗2,666
Medicare services
Top 40% in CA for cardiovascular disease
1,756
Unique beneficiaries
$79
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · How to read this →
~140 Medicare services per year of practice
Top procedures by volume
Ranked by number of services performed for Medicare patients. Avg. submitted charge is what the provider billed; avg. Medicare payment is what CMS paid.
| Procedure | Volume | Avg. paid | Avg. submitted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) A follow-up office visit for an existing patient lasting between 30 and 39 minutes. The visit involves medical evaluation and management of the patient's condition. |
763 | $100 | $158 |
| Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead A standard heart rhythm test using at least 12 leads to record electrical activity. A healthcare provider interprets the results and provides a written report. |
344 | $12 | $50 |
| EKG interpretation and report A standard electrocardiogram test that records the heart's electrical activity using at least 12 leads. The service includes a professional interpretation of the results and a written report. |
311 | $7 | $14 |
| Hospital follow-up visit, high complexity Subsequent hospital inpatient or observation care for an existing patient involving high-level medical decision making, with at least 50 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
244 | $99 | $250 |
| Regadenoson injection (Lexiscan) for heart stress test An injection of regadenoson, a medication used to stress the heart during diagnostic testing. |
160 | $47 | $105 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic An ultrasound of the heart that uses color to show blood flow, rate, direction, and valve function. |
134 | $173 | $693 |
| Initial hospital admission, high complexity Initial hospital inpatient or observation care for a new patient involving high-level medical decision making, with at least 75 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
91 | $135 | $275 |
| Technetium Tc-99m sestamibi diagnostic injection A diagnostic injection of technetium Tc-99m sestamibi used for imaging studies. |
89 | $73 | $800 |
| Remote patient monitoring management, 20 min/month Management based on results from remote vital sign monitoring for the first 20 minutes per calendar month. |
70 | $44 | $115 |
| Remote patient monitoring device, 30 days Initial setup of devices for remote monitoring of body functions with daily data transmission or alerts. This service covers the first 30 days of the monitoring period. |
69 | $48 | $150 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with ECG A heart stress test performed using exercise or medication while monitoring the electrocardiogram under physician supervision and review. |
67 | $64 | $265 |
| New patient office visit (45-59 min) An initial office visit for a new patient lasting between 45 and 59 minutes. This code covers the total time spent by the physician or qualified healthcare professional on the date of the encounter. |
48 | $128 | $203 |
| Ultrasound of arm or leg veins An ultrasound exam of the veins in the arm or leg. The test uses sound waves to check blood flow and may include compression and other maneuvers. |
46 | $176 | $450 |
| Nuclear stress test of heart muscle A nuclear medicine imaging test that evaluates blood flow to the heart muscle at rest and during stress using a special camera. |
32 | $409 | $1,100 |
| Hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity Follow-up hospital visit for an existing patient involving moderate medical decision making. The visit requires at least 35 minutes of time spent on the date of service. |
27 | $67 | $115 |
| Ultrasound of head and neck blood flow, bilateral An ultrasound exam that uses sound waves to visualize and assess blood flow in the vessels of both the head and the neck. |
26 | $171 | $455 |
| Ultrasound guidance for blood vessel access Use of ultrasound imaging to help locate and access a blood vessel. This guidance assists healthcare providers in performing procedures such as inserting IV lines or drawing blood. |
21 | $11 | $43 |
| Sedation by physician, initial 15 minutes Administration of a drug to induce depression of consciousness by the physician performing a procedure. This code covers the initial 15 minutes of sedation for patients aged 5 years or older. |
21 | $10 | $20 |
| Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min) An office or outpatient visit for an existing patient lasting between 40 and 54 minutes. This level of service is determined by the total time spent on the date of the encounter. |
21 | $158 | $300 |
| 2-day continuous ECG monitoring A continuous electrocardiogram recording that captures heart activity over a 48-hour period. This test helps detect irregular heart rhythms or other cardiac issues that may not appear during a standard, short-term ECG. |
16 | $12 | $110 |
| 2-day continuous ECG with professional review A two-day continuous electrocardiogram recording that includes a review by a healthcare professional. |
16 | $11 | $95 |
| Continuous ECG monitoring, up to 30 days Continuous heart rhythm monitoring for up to 30 days, including professional review and reporting of the results. |
14 | $22 | $90 |
| Coronary angiography A procedure to insert a tube into a coronary artery to capture diagnostic images of the heart's blood vessels. |
14 | $140 | $650 |
| Echocardiogram with color Doppler An ultrasound of the heart that uses color imaging to visualize blood flow, measure flow rate, and assess valve function. |
11 | $22 | $200 |
| Stress echocardiogram with ECG monitoring An ultrasound of the heart performed while monitoring heart rhythm during rest, exercise, or medication-induced stress, followed by a review and report of the findings. |
11 | $215 | $800 |
How to read this data: This reflects Medicare patients only (typically 65+). Payment amounts are what Medicare paid the provider, not your out-of-pocket cost. A higher procedure volume generally indicates more experience with that procedure.
5.0% high complexity
17.4% medium
77.6% routine
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$18,115
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $2,588/year across 7 years
Top 19% in CA for cardiovascular disease
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
45
Companies
520
Individual payments
All payments are legal and publicly reported · Not evidence of wrongdoing · How to interpret →
Payment profile
Industry payments classified by relationship type. Not all payments are equal — research and consulting reflect different relationships than speaking programs or meals.
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$18,115 (100.0%)
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
2024
$2,593
2023
$5,821
2022
$2,736
2021
$2,260
2020
$634
2019
$2,314
2018
$1,757
Payments by company (2024)
Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Inari Medical, Inc.
$268
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$246
ShockWave Medical, Inc
$239
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$210
CARDIVA MEDICAL, INC.
$198
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$182
ABIOMED
$177
Amgen Inc.
$174
ATRICURE, INC.
$139
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$132
Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc.
$129
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$76
PFIZER INC.
$69
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$65
BIOTRONIK INC.
$51
Medtronic, Inc.
$50
Novo Nordisk Inc
$47
Abbott Laboratories
$31
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$30
Boston Scientific Corporation
$26
SCPHARMACEUTICALS INC.
$23
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$15
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$15
Top 3 companies account for 29.1% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$3,865
Abbott Laboratories
$1,357
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$1,134
PFIZER INC.
$1,057
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$910
Inari Medical, Inc.
$863
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$818
BIOTRONIK INC.
$709
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$586
ABIOMED
$573
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$570
ShockWave Medical, Inc
$512
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$434
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$432
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$402
Amgen Inc.
$364
Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc.
$310
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
$310
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$300
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$294
CARDIVA MEDICAL, INC.
$277
Penumbra, Inc.
$271
Mallinckrodt LLC
$243
ATRICURE, INC.
$200
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation
$200
Relypsa, Inc.
$128
Boston Scientific Corporation
$128
Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC
$111
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$108
Amarin Pharma Inc.
$102
Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
$100
Venclose Inc.
$70
Medtronic, Inc.
$64
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
$53
Novo Nordisk Inc
$47
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.
$44
Allergan Inc.
$27
Astellas Pharma US Inc
$24
SCPHARMACEUTICALS INC.
$23
Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc.
$22
Lundbeck LLC
$19
GE HEALTHCARE
$14
Shockwave Medical, Inc
$14
Tactile Systems Technology Inc
$14
PORTOLA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
$13
Top 3 companies account for 35.1% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
AMPLATZER AMULET · AMVIA EDGE · AMVUTTRA · ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM · Accent Pacemaker · Acticor 7 VR-T DX · Amplatzer Cardiac Plug · Arcalyst · Assure WCD · BEVYXXA · BIOMONITOR · BRILINTA · BYSTOLIC · BioMonitor · BodyGuardian · CAMZYOS · CARDIOMEMS · CARDIVA VASCADE 6/7F VCS · CARDIVA VASCADE MVP VVCS 6-12F · CHANTIX · CONFIRM RX · COREVALVE EVOLUT R · CardioInsight · CardioMEMS HF System · Confirm Rx · DEFINITY · DIAMONDBACK PERIPHERAL · EDWARDS SAPIEN 3 TRANSCATHETER HEART VALVE (THV) · ELIQUIS · ENTRESTO · Edora · Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve · FARXIGA · FLEXITOUCH · FLOWTRIEVER CATHETER · FUROSCIX · GENERAL STRUCTURAL HEART · GENERAL TACHY · GENERAL TACHY · GENERAL - THERAPIES · GORE CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder · INVOKANA · Iforia 5 VR-T DX · Impella · Indigo · JANUVIA · JARDIANCE · JOT DX · LATITUDE · LEQVIO · LEXISCAN · LUX DX · LifeVest · MITRACLIP · MULTAQ · Micra · NORTHERA · OFIRMEV · ONPATTRO · ONYX FRONTIER · OPTIS · Ozempic · PK Papyrus · PRADAXA · PRALUENT · PREVELEAK · PRO-Kinetic Energy · Penumbra System · Repatha · Rivacor · S · SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA · SAVVYWIRE · SELECTSECURE · SHOCKWAVE IVL SYSTEM WITH THE SHOCKWAVE C2 CORONARY IVL CATHETER · Shockwave IVL System with the Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL Catheter · Solia · VERQUVO · VYNDAQEL · Vascepa · Vascular Lithotripsy · Veltassa · VenaSeal · WATCHMAN · WATCHMAN Access System · WATCHMAN FLX · XARELTO · Xience Sierra Coronary Stent System
Should you be concerned? Payments from pharmaceutical and device companies are legal and common — 57% of U.S. physicians receive at least one. They often reflect legitimate consulting, research, or education. What matters is whether a recommended drug or device appears in your doctor's payment records. If so, consider asking your doctor about it. How to interpret this data →
Most payments (100%) are for meals and travel — low-value interactions that are common across virtually all practicing physicians.
Geographic Context
Cardiologists within 10 mi
316
Per 100K population
10.0
County median income
$113,702
Nearest hospital
UCI HEALTH - FOUNTAIN VALLEY
0.0 mi
0.0 mi
Data Sources
| Provider Registry | ✓ NPPES | Weekly updates |
| Medicare Enrollment | ✓ PECOS | Monthly updates |
| Practice Data | ✓ Medicare Util. | Annual (CY lag) |
| Industry Payments | ✓ Open Payments | CY 2024 |
| Disciplinary History | — Not public | N/A |
This provider has data in 4 of 4 available federal datasets, with a Data Coverage level of Very High. This reflects how much public data is available about a provider. How we calculate this →
Summary
Dr. Nirula is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, with low-engagement industry engagement in the top 19% of CA peers, with 19 years of NPI registration.
This summary is auto-generated from federal data, describing data availability and patterns. Read our methodology →
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dr. Nirula experienced with office visit, established patient (30-39 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Nirula performed 763 office visit, established patient (30-39 min) services. Research suggests that higher procedure volume is often associated with better outcomes, particularly for complex procedures. Note that Medicare data only captures patients aged 65 and older, so the total practice volume across all patients is likely higher.
Does Dr. Nirula receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Nirula received a total of $18,115 from 45 companies across 520 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common among physicians — 57% of all U.S. physicians receive at least one industry payment. Patients may wish to ask their doctor about these relationships, especially if a recommended drug or device appears in the payment records.
How do Dr. Nirula's costs compare to other cardiologists in Fountain Valley?
Dr. Nirula's average Medicare payment per service is $79. Note that these figures represent what Medicare pays, not your out-of-pocket cost, which depends on your specific insurance plan and deductible. Procedure-level data above shows both what was submitted and what Medicare paid for each service type.
What does Data Coverage mean?
Data Coverage (currently Very High for Dr. Nirula) measures how much public federal data is available about a provider. It is not a quality rating. A "Very High" or "High" level means the provider has data across multiple federal sources (NPPES, PECOS, Medicare Utilization, Open Payments), indicating a long track record of practice, Medicare participation, and industry disclosure. A "Low" or "Moderate" level may simply mean the provider is newer, does not see Medicare patients, or has not received any industry payments — none of which are inherently negative. Read our full methodology →
Is this data up to date?
Each data source has its own update cycle. Provider registry data (NPPES) is updated weekly. Medicare enrollment (PECOS) is updated monthly. Medicare practice data has a ~2 year lag — the most recent available is typically 2 years prior. Industry payment data (Open Payments) is published annually, usually in June, covering the prior calendar year. We display the data date prominently on each section so you always know how current it is. See our data freshness policy →
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About this page
All data on this page is sourced verbatim from public federal records published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): NPPES ↗, Open Payments ↗, Medicare Provider Utilization ↗, and PECOS. Publication is mandated by the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (§6002 ACA, 42 U.S.C. §1320a-7h) and the Freedom of Information Act.
This page is not medical advice, an endorsement, a recommendation, or a quality rating. Data Coverage reflects data completeness — how much federal information exists for this provider — not clinical performance, patient outcomes, or quality of care. Always verify information directly with the provider and consult a licensed clinician before making medical decisions.
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