Heart Institute has Las Cruces’ specializes in all aspects of cardiology, electrophysiology

Dr. Lookman Lawal is the founder and chief medical officer of ASC of the Heart Institute, 1250 N. Sonoma Ranch Blvd. Lawal is board certified in cardiology and in cardiac electrophysiology, which is the branch of cardiology that deals with the treatment of heart rhythm disorder.

The Heart Institute is the only facility in Las Cruces that specializes in electrophysiology, said the institute’s director of nursing, Jared Felton. It also is the only one that offers cardiac ablation, a minimally invasive procedure used to treat heart rhythm issues (arrhythmias).

“No other cardiologist can do it in Las Cruces,” Felton said.

Lawal provides preventive and all other aspects of cardiac care for his patients, he said.

“His expertise includes evaluation of patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), syncope (passing out) and tilt table test,” Felton said. He also performs procedures such as stress test, echocardiogram, Holter monitor, ablation of cardiac arrhythmia, implantation of pacemakers and defibrillators. He is one of the few physicians that specialize in Watchman implant for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation.”

Individual counseling provided by Lawal helps patients deal with high blood pressure, obesity, smoking and other issues that can stress the heart, Felton said. An electrocardiogram (EKG), which records the electrical signal from the heart, is often a good start, Felton said, along with a stress test and a discussion of a person’s lifestyle choices and any history of heart disease in his or her family.

If a person is having issues breathing, has low energy or is “just not feeling right,” it might be a good time for a conversation with his or her family doctor, who can then make a referral to Lawal to continue that discussion and recommend healthy lifestyle changes or medical procedures, if necessary.

In many cases, Felton said, a person’s insurance may not require a referral from a family-care physician, so he or she can come directly to Lawal.

“It’s not an assembly line. These are people’s lives,” said Felton, a native of Alamogordo who has been a nurse for 13 years and came to the Heart Institute a year and a half ago. He has a degree in nursing from New Mexico State University and worked previously at Memorial Medical Center.

Lawal completed his internship and residency training at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, followed by fellowship training in cardiovascular diseases at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He then completed a fellowship in clinical cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Texas Southwestern School Of Medicine in Dallas, where he spent an additional year in advanced fellowship training in electrophysiology, focusing on complex ablation therapies for arrhythmias. Lawal’s medical degree is from College of Medicine, University of Ibadan in Ibadan, Nigeria.

He is an assistant professor of medicine at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in El Paso, and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in Las Cruces, where he is actively involved in teaching. 

ASC of the Heart Institute is open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Call 575-323-3010. Visit https://ascheart.com.