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Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD

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Specializes in: Interventional Cardiology

University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine (1986)

Professional interests include: ambulatory event monitoring (AEM), percutaneous transluminal coronary artery angioplasty, resuscitation, and more.

2035 Little Road
Trinity, FL 34655

(727) 842-9486

Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD is an interventional cardiologist in Trinity, FL specializing in interventional cardiology. He graduated from University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in 1986 and has 38 years of experience. Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD is affiliated with HCA Florida Healthcare, HCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital HCA Florida Trinity Hospital and INTERVENTIONAL CARDIAC CONSULTANTS PLC.

Office Locations

Address:

2035 Little Road
Trinity, FL 34655

Some issues Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD can help you with:

Cardiac Catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure done to check on the health of the heart. A tiny, flexible tube called a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel through a very small opening, usually in the groin, and threaded through the blood vessel up to the heart. Once the catheter is in place, it can diagnose problems in the heart and perform certain corrective procedures.

A coronary catheter can be used to:

Take blood samples
Inject dye for an angiogram
Check for valve defects
Measure oxygen and pressure levels within the heart chambers
Take a biopsy
Perform a percutaneous coronary intervention, or procedure to clear blocked arteries
Widen narrowed valve openings

Because all of this can be accomplished without the need for open surgery, cardiac catheterization has become a popular option.

Heart Attack

A heart attack is a serious medical event that happens when the blood supplying oxygen to the heart is cut off, usually because of a blockage in an artery. This results in damage or death of part of the heart muscle. The heart can heal, but like any part of the body that was injured it leaves a scar. This scar tissue does not contract effectively, so the ability of the heart to pump is lowered after a heart attack.

A heart attack, sometimes called a myocardial infarction, can happen without warning. However there are certain factors that raise the risk of heart attack. Some of these are:

Age
Gender (most heart attack sufferers are male)
A family history of heart attacks
Smoking
Obesity
High cholesterol
High blood pressure
Diabetes
Unhealthy lifestyle choices (lack of exercise, poor diet, too much alcohol or stress)

Heart attacks typically feel like pain or pressure in the chest that can radiate out to the back, arm, or jaw. Some other symptoms can include fatigue or weakness, shortness of breath, sweating, and nausea.

Treatment aims to increase blood flow to the heart muscle by opening up blocked blood vessels. Medications are sometimes used to dissolve clots in the arteries. Aspirin and other medications such as Plavix can thin the blood and make clots less likely to form. Dilators can widen blood vessels to make room for more blood to flow. Doctors can also use a procedure called catheterization to look at the blood vessels around the heart directly, place stents, or widen vessels using angioplasty. In extreme cases bypass surgery can be used to help blood flow better. After recovery, it is important to lead a healthy lifestyle and take any prescribed medications in order to protect the heart.

Heart Problems

The heart is one of the most important organs in the body. This smooth muscle expands and contracts rhythmically an entire lifetime, pumping blood to the lungs and then to every other cell in the body. When heart problems occur, it becomes difficult for the body to get the nutrients and oxygen it needs via the blood. So while there are a variety of illnesses and disorders that affect the heart, most of them cause weakness, exhaustion and shortness of breath. The most common heart conditions include heart disease, angina, arrhythmia, and valve disorders.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. This includes coronary artery disease, heart attacks, congestive heart failure, and congenital heart disease. Some conditions, such as genetics, cannot be controlled. But there are many other things one can do to lower their risk for heart disease. Controlling high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reducing or stopping smoking, exercising more and losing weight if needed, and eating a diet low in sodium can all protect the heart.

Angina is a squeezing type of chest pain that happens when the muscles around the heart don't get enough oxygen. It can be regular or infrequent. Usually, angina is caused by coronary heart disease. However, not all chest pain is angina. Chest pain can also be caused by a lung infection or panic attack, for example, so it is important to have any sudden pain checked.

Arrhythmia is the word for when the heart beats too fast, too slow, or irregularly with skipped beats. It can feel frightening, and depending on the type it can be dangerous, but in most cases arrhythmia is not serious and can be treated. It is very common, especially in older adults.

Heart valve problems can happen in any one of the the heart's four valves that keep blood flowing where it needs to go. Babies can be born with problems in their heart valves, or valves can be damaged by infections. The valves can stiffen and become less mobile, or they can stop closing properly and 'leak' when the heart beats. Valve problems can usually be repaired surgically.

cardiac procedures	78
doctor visit	467
hospital care	242
inpatient care	243
stress testing	33
ultrasound (sonogram)	46

**Gender**
Male	92
Female	171

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	0
Black	0
Hispanic	246
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	74
From 75 to 84	102
85 and over	72
Less than 65	15

Hypertension	75
High Cholesterol	65
Stroke	9
Ischemic Heart Disease	74
Depression	16
Chronic Kidney Disease	31
Asthma	15
Osteoperosis	24
Atrial Fibrilation	16
Heart Failure	35
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	17
Diabetes	59
Dementia	24
Cancer	13

cardiac procedures	72
doctor visit	684
hospital care	324
inpatient care	325
stress testing	19
ultrasound (sonogram)	54

**Gender**
Male	127
Female	215

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	0
Black	0
Hispanic	310
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	117
From 75 to 84	132
85 and over	79
Less than 65	14

Hypertension	75
High Cholesterol	62
Stroke	7
Ischemic Heart Disease	75
Depression	11
Chronic Kidney Disease	26
Asthma	17
Osteoperosis	15
Atrial Fibrilation	15
Heart Failure	35
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	15
Diabetes	61
Dementia	23
Cancer	11

cardiac procedures	96
catheterization	17
diagnostic procedures	20
doctor visit	245
hospital care	663
inpatient care	664
minimally invasive procedures	17
stress testing	13
ultrasound (sonogram)	63
vascular procedures	17

**Gender**
Male	398
Female	366

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	614
Black	0
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	248
From 75 to 84	232
85 and over	166
Less than 65	118

Hypertension	75
High Cholesterol	75
Stroke	18
Ischemic Heart Disease	75
Depression	34
Chronic Kidney Disease	47
Asthma	23
Osteoperosis	13
Atrial Fibrilation	31
Heart Failure	51
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	35
Diabetes	51
Dementia	20
Cancer	17

**Gender**
Male	229
Female	211

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	388
Black	0
Hispanic	31
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	146
From 75 to 84	147
85 and over	98
Less than 65	49

Hypertension	75
High Cholesterol	75
Stroke	15
Ischemic Heart Disease	75
Depression	34
Chronic Kidney Disease	60
Asthma	43
Osteoperosis	11
Atrial Fibrilation	34
Heart Failure	54
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	43
Diabetes	49
Dementia	23
Cancer	19

cardiac procedures	157
catheterization	26
diagnostic procedures	29
doctor visit	330
hospital care	614
inpatient care	599
lab tests	13
minimally invasive procedures	26
outpatient care	15
stress testing	14
ultrasound (sonogram)	114
vascular procedures	26

**Gender**
Male	232
Female	232

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	407
Black	0
Hispanic	42
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	173
From 75 to 84	150
85 and over	101
Less than 65	40

Hypertension	75
High Cholesterol	75
Stroke	12
Ischemic Heart Disease	75
Depression	38
Chronic Kidney Disease	57
Asthma	13
Osteoperosis	11
Atrial Fibrilation	38
Heart Failure	51
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	40
Diabetes	48
Dementia	26
Cancer	14

cardiac procedures	324
catheterization	18
diagnostic procedures	21
doctor visit	415
hospital care	655
inpatient care	641
lab tests	36
minimally invasive procedures	18
outpatient care	14
ultrasound (sonogram)	317
vascular procedures	31

**Gender**
Male	283
Female	286

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	484
Black	16
Hispanic	50
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	203
From 75 to 84	189
85 and over	113
Less than 65	64

Hypertension	75
High Cholesterol	75
Stroke	12
Ischemic Heart Disease	75
Depression	35
Chronic Kidney Disease	55
Asthma	11
Osteoperosis	10
Atrial Fibrilation	33
Heart Failure	46
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	37
Diabetes	45
Dementia	23
Cancer	15

cardiac procedures	195
catheterization	8
diagnostic procedures	11
doctor visit	397
emergency care	11
hospital care	644
inpatient care	631
minimally invasive procedures	8
outpatient care	13
ultrasound (sonogram)	204
vascular procedures	27

**Gender**
Male	255
Female	242

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	435
Black	11
Hispanic	40
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	171
From 75 to 84	166
85 and over	96
Less than 65	64

Hypertension	75
High Cholesterol	75
Stroke	16
Ischemic Heart Disease	75
Depression	38
Chronic Kidney Disease	66
Asthma	10
Osteoperosis	10
Atrial Fibrilation	31
Heart Failure	48
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	39
Diabetes	47
Dementia	22
Cancer	15

cardiac procedures	227
catheterization	9
diagnostic procedures	12
doctor visit	357
emergency care	16
hospital care	677
inpatient care	678
minimally invasive procedures	9
ultrasound (sonogram)	247
vascular procedures	40

**Gender**
Male	296
Female	341

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	561
Black	18
Hispanic	46
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	220
From 75 to 84	233
85 and over	113
Less than 65	71

Hypertension	75
High Cholesterol	75
Stroke	17
Ischemic Heart Disease	75
Depression	41
Chronic Kidney Disease	66
Asthma	8
Osteoperosis	11
Atrial Fibrilation	31
Heart Failure	49
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	41
Diabetes	49
Dementia	30
Cancer	18

cardiac procedures	998
catheterization	32
diagnostic procedures	35
doctor visit	819
hospital care	1108
inpatient care	1109
minimally invasive procedures	32
ultrasound (sonogram)	1193
vascular procedures	261

Average Medicare Procedure Volume From 2013 - 2021

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD for Medicare patients.

The highest averages for the top procedures that Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD treated as an interventional cardiologist in Trinity, FL were hospital care, inpatient care, cardiac procedures and ultrasound (sonogram).

angioplasty	22
cardiac procedures	267
catheterization	28
diagnostic procedures	24
doctor visit	440
emergency care	13
hospital care	635
inpatient care	627
lab tests	22
minimally invasive procedures	28
outpatient care	17
stent placement (stenting)	11
stress testing	20
ultrasound (sonogram)	265
vascular procedures	64

Average Medicare Patient Data From 2013 - 2021

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD.

**Gender**
Male	191
Female	206

**Ethnicity**
Black / African American	4
Asian / Pacific Islander	0
Non-Hispanic White	288
Native American / Alaskan Native	0
Hispanic	76
Other	0

**Age**
75 to 84	135
85 and over	83
Less than 65	43
65 to 74	135

Average of Total of Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD From 2013 - 2021

The highest averages of the most common conditions of Medicare patients that Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD treated were hypertension, ischemic heart disease, high cholesterol and chronic kidney disease.

Hypertension	60
High Cholesterol	57
Stroke	10
Ischemic Heart Disease	59
Depression	24
Chronic Kidney Disease	40
Asthma	14
Osteoporosis	10
Heart Failure	36
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	26
Diabetes	40
Atrial Fibrillation	22
Cancer	12
Dementia	19

Education & Training

Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD graduated from University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in 1986. He has a state license in Florida.

Medical School: University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine (1986)

Licensed In: Florida

Affiliations & Hospitals

Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD is associated with these hospitals and organizations:

HCA Florida Healthcare

HCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital HCA Florida Trinity Hospital

INTERVENTIONAL CARDIAC CONSULTANTS PLC

Ratings & Reviews

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General Payments

These charts describe general payments received by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD. Doctors may receive payments for a number of reasons, including meal compensation, travel compensation, and consulting.

**Payments by Company**
Abbott Laboratories	$4,090 CardioMEMS HF System $1,533	Pacemakers $930	Assurity Pacemaker $356	MitraClip $217	Ensite Cardiac Mapping System $209	Other $844
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP	$3,331 BRILINTA $1,721	FARXIGA $1,443	BYDUREON $11	$156
Cardiovascular Systems Inc.	$3,265 Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System $1,601	Atherectomy Device $1,501	Peripheral Orbital Atherectomy System $163
Medtronic, Inc.	$1,957 VenaSeal $1,482	Reveal LINQ $373	CoreValve Evolut $87	LINQ II $12	ClosureFast $4
Volcano Corporation	$1,699 iFR $1,699
Other	$13,701 XARELTO $1,543	ENTRESTO $1,393	Repatha $778	Resolute $757	LifeVest $720	Other $8,510

**Types of Payments**
Food and Beverage	$20,070
Travel and Lodging	$7,669
Education	$305

Biography

Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce specializes in interventional cardiology and practices in Trinity, FL. Dr. Sanchez-Ponce studied medicine at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine.

Select Year:

Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD

Office Locations

Some issues Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD can help you with:

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2013 Medicare Procedure Volume

2013 Medicare Patient Data

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD in 2013

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2014 Medicare Procedure Volume

2014 Medicare Patient Data

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD in 2014

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2015 Medicare Procedure Volume

2015 Medicare Patient Data

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD in 2015

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2016 Medicare Procedure Volume

2016 Medicare Patient Data

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD in 2016

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2017 Medicare Procedure Volume

2017 Medicare Patient Data

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD in 2017

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2018 Medicare Procedure Volume

2018 Medicare Patient Data

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD in 2018

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2019 Medicare Procedure Volume

2019 Medicare Patient Data

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD in 2019

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2020 Medicare Procedure Volume

2020 Medicare Patient Data

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD in 2020

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2021 Medicare Procedure Volume

Average Medicare Procedure Volume From 2013 - 2021

Average Medicare Patient Data From 2013 - 2021

Average of Total of Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Rafael Sanchez-Ponce, MD From 2013 - 2021

Education & Training

Affiliations & Hospitals

Ratings & Reviews

General Payments

Biography

Other Providers in Trinity, FL