Cardiologist Taya Thayapran

Several years ago, Lindsay resident Pearl Edna Shropshire saw her physician for an abnormal heart rhythm. After spending a couple of days in the hospital, she was discharged but advised to find a cardiologist to follow up with and was handed a list of several doctors.

“I asked all around and everyone said the same thing — Dr. Taya Thayapran was the best,” Shropshire said. “So I went to him.”

One year ago, while participating in a Zumba class, Shropshire suddenly felt something was not right in her chest.

“I got in my car and drove straight down to my doctor,” Shropshire said. “It wasn’t a heart attack. It turned out to be arterial fibrillation — my heart was beating faster than it should.”
But what impressed Shropshire was how prompt the staff and doctor were with her.

“They got me right in and then sent me over to the hospital and I stayed all night,” Shropshire said. “He saved my life.”

Shropshire said she now tells all her friends about him and would never hesitate to trust him completely.

“Dr. Thayapran and his staff are first-class. All of the technicians and the assistants there are the best,” Shropshire said. “I love them all. They always greet me and are so helpful. He’s the best.”

Thayapran is a local cardiologist who was recruited to the area by Sierra View District Hospital.

After opening a practice on West Putnam Street moved his office to his present location, 999 W. Morton Ave., Suite B.

“I trained in Sri Lanka and then practiced in Long Island New York,” Thayapran said. “I also spent four years in Ohio and had a practice in Southern California.”

Cardiology is something that always interested him, he said. A cardiologist specializes in the structure and function and disorders of the heart.

“I see anyone with chest pain, shortness of breath, leg swellings, leg pains, strokes,” he said. “It’s not just heart attacks or angina.”

His office includes several rooms, including five patient rooms and three testing rooms.
In the nuclear medicine, stress test room, the doctor injects a small amount of radioactive material into the patient’s bloodstream. Then a camera scans the material in the blood as it flows through the heart muscle and Thayapran said he can view the results on a monitor.

“It’s like bread slices,” Thayapran said. “I have 16 to 17 [picture] slices of the heart and if there is a blockage, it shows up. This gives us an idea on how the heart is pumping and how the blood is circulating.”

In the ultrasound room, Thayapran said he can obtain an ultrasound of the heart.
“It shows the heart and how the heart is muscle is pumping and shows if the heart valves are working,” Thayapran said. “This gives me an idea of the neuro strength of the heart and of the valve action.”

The treadmill stress test is another way to check the heart, he said.

He is also able to perform TEE — Transesophageal echocardiography — in his office. The test allows for clearer pictures than standard echocardiography taken from outside the chest, by taking the photos from inside the esophagus, or food pipe. During this test, harmless sound waves echo off the heart to create images on a video screen.

“Early detection is very important to prevent heart attacks or heart failure,” Thayapran said. “With proper medications and treatment — sometimes that means surgery or angioplasty — patients can have a good prognosis.”

But no matter how many tests he can run in his office, Thayapran said he is limited as to what he can do at the local hospital. Surgery for angioplasty, peripheral angioplasty, stints and pace-makers can only be performed at a hospital with a cardiac catheterization lab, something the local hospital does not have, he said.

Thayapran said he is waiting for Sierra View District Hospital to open a cardiac catheterization laboratory but plans to go forward with the lab have been slow.

“It was initially decided that we would get one but now studies are underway to see if we really need it,” Thayapran said. “The hospital is trying to develop a heart project but in the meantime I am sending patients to Kaweah Delta in Visalia and two hospitals in Bakersfield because we can’t do any of those procedures here. They’ve been talking about it for 10 years but it is important to move faster.”

Recently, a lengthy discussion about the Cath Lab took place during the Sept. 29 Sierra View District Hospital regular board meeting after board member Brent Gill questioned its viability.

“We have to be absolutely certain that money invested will not be at a loss,” Gill had said before pointing out changes in Medical and Medicare reimbursement. “It’s best to be certain we are not making a mistake. I think we should get an outside source to look at the figures.”

The discussion had led to a motion by Gill to have a feasibility report completed. All of the board members, except Ashok Behl, who is a cardiologist, voted for the report.

Thayapran also said he would like to see a cardiologist-on-call program initiated.

“We have three cardiologists in town but not an on-call program. Someone who can be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “If we are all ever out of town at the same time, that’s it. It’s crucial to get this started and stop delaying it.”

In the meantime, Thayapran said he is providing excellent care to his patients.

“The patients’ needs come first. Comfort and concerns are foremost. I try to accommodate everyone,” he said. “Walkins with chest pain are accommodated right away, as is anyone who might be passing out or having shortness of breath. I either treat or admit them.”

Thayapran is assisted by six full-time employees, and three part time employees — a nurse, echo tech and a technologist.

“He’s very dedicated and very skilled at what he does,” said Barbara Lewis, office manager. “I would trust him to work on me. He is very qualified, very caring and loves his patients.”