Our Team – Bradenton Cardiology Center

Click on the team members face in the photo above or on their name below to view their profile.

Dr. Thomas has been practicing cardiology in Manatee County for more than twenty years. He currently serves as Chair on the Florida Board of Medicine. Born and raised in Southern India, he was trained in cardiology at New Jersey Medical School, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. He founded the Bradenton Cardiology Center along with Dr. Ballard Smith in 1984. His areas of special interest include nuclear cardiology and echocardiography, and he holds a nuclear license. He has served as the chairman of cardiology committee, chief of medicine, chief of staff, and member of the board of directors of Manatee Memorial Hospital. He was also the president of the Manatee County Medical Society, chairman of the We Care Committee and the chairman of the IMG section of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Smith became Manatee Countys first Board Certified cardiologist in 1977. Dr. Smith received his medical degree from the University of Miami and cardiology training at the Mayo Clinic. As director of L.W. Blake Cardiology Center, he introduced echocardiography, exercise testing, Holter Monitoring, cardiac rehabilitation and sophisticated coronary care to our community. After teaming up with Dr. George Thomas to open the Bradenton Cardiology Center in 1984, they were able to bring cardiac catheterization and open heart surgery to this area for the first time. Dr. Smiths areas of special interest include cardiac catheterization and echocardiography. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Medical Staff Education Committee and on the Board of Directors for Manatee Memorial Hospital, and also served as the hospitals Chief of Staff. In addition, Dr. Smith was the President and Board Member for the Suncoast Chapter of the American Heart Association.

Dr. Montalvo received his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine. From there he proceeded with training in internal medicine at the University of Miami, and then completed a Fellowship in cardiovascular diseases at Tampa General Hospital in 1987. After joining Bradenton Cardiology Center, he became the first Interventional Cardiologist of Manatee County and performed the first Coronary Angioplasty in 1988. He is Board Certified in cardiovascular diseases and interventional cardiology. He specializes in coronary angioplasty, stents, rotoblator, and coronary laser. He has served as Chief of Medicine and Chief of Staff at Manatee Memorial Hospital. He has been a member of the Board of Directors at Manatee Memorial Hospital for several years, and previously the Chairman of the Board. Dr. Montalvo is the Medical Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Manatee Memorial Hospital and performs cardiac catheterizations, procedures and interventions at both Manatee Memorial and Blake Hospital.

Dr. Pizzo was born in New York in 1956 and attended school through college in New York state. After college, he attended medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico, then returned for clinical and hospital training in the United States with a first graduate year at the State University at Stoney Brook. Afterwards, Dr. Pizzo underwent his training in internal medicine and cardiology at Norwalk Hospital, an affiliate of Yale University. Dr. Pizzo is Board Certified in cardiology and internal medicine. He joined Bradenton Cardiology Center in 1989. His practice includes general cardiology with expertise in cardiac catheterization, interventional cardiology procedures including angioplasty, intracoronary stent placement, laser and rotational atherectomy, as well as the implantation of permanent pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators.

A native of Washington, D.C., Dr. Lipskind graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in biochemistry, and then attended graduate school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1989. From there, he completed his internal medicine residency at UMDNH Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He completed his Cardiology Fellowship at Brown University.

Dr. Rothfeld was born in Miami and moved to the northeast at the age of four. He received his medical degree from the prestigious John Hopkins School of Medicine, which was followed by a Fellowship in cardiology and electrophysiology in Vermont. Dr. Rothfeld moved to Bradenton in the summer of 1998 to join our practice. He is Board Certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases and electrophysiology.

Dr. Eugene M. Parent is from Marlborough, Massachusetts. He attended Boston University School of Medicine where he graduated Cum Laude and earned membership to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. His internship and medical residency were performed at Yale-New Haven hospital in New Haven, Connecticut. His Fellowship in cardiovascular diseases was completed at Yale University, where he received advanced training in echocardiography and nuclear cardiology. Dr. Parent is Board Certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases, and nuclear cardiology, cardiac computed tomography and has special competency in echocardiography. He is an instructor for MD Imaging Network where he has developed a training program for Peripheral Vascular CTA imaging and also instructs in Cardiac CTA imaging and echocardiography. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a member of the Society for Cardiac Computed Tomography and American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. When not working he enjoys sailing and boating with his family.

Dr. Iyengar was born and raised in New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University followed by medical school at Ross University. He completed his internal medicine training at the Jewish Hospital/University of Cincinnati, which included a year as Chief Resident. This was followed by a four-year fellowship at the Ohio State University in cardiovascular medicine, which included a self-obtained grant-supported year in Heart Failure/Cardiac Transplantation research. After completing this fellowship, Dr. Iyengar continued on to a two-year advanced fellowship in Interventional Cardiology and Peripheral Endovascular training at Columbia University. Dr. Iyengar has first-authored more than twenty manuscripts in such journals such as Circulation, Journal of Invasive Cardiology, and Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. He has also written a number of book chapters and Online presentations, as well as actively contributing and participating in national medical meetings and live-case presentations. He is Board Certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, and interventional cardiology. His primary interest revolves around the use of percutaneous endovascular therapies and their further development in both the academic and clinical settings.

After attending Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, Dr. Jay Mathews went to Medical and Graduate School at Tufts University, receiving his Medical Degree and Masters in Health Communication. He completed his General Cardiology and Advanced Cardiac Imaging Fellowships at Washington University in St. Louis with a focus in Peripheral Vascular Imaging Research.

Dr. Mathews completed his Interventional Cardiology Fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis having trained in advanced coronary, peripheral endovascular, and structural heart procedures. His primary interests include general consultative cardiology, complex cardiac and endovascular interventions, and development of novel device therapies.He is Board Certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, nuclear cardiology and interventional cardiology.

Dr. Friedman is one of the areas only fellowship-trained ablation specialists. He completed his internal medicine fellowship at the Mayo Clinic and his cardiovascular disease fellowship at Tulane University. He then completed an electrophysiology fellowship at Saint Louis University where he specialized in all aspects of implantable cardiac rhythm devices and advanced ablation techniques for atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. After his training, Dr. Friedman served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Saint Louis University. He is Board Certified in Cardiovascular Diseases, Nuclear Cardiology and Electrophysiology. Dr. Friedman is now available for new patient appointments at the Bradenton Cardiology Center complete cardiac care facility.

Dr. James Nguyen earned his medical degree from St. Georges University School of Medicine at 23 years old and graduated with a bachelors degree in biology from University of California, Irvine.

Dr. Nguyen says he set his sights on cardiology when he was inspired by the doctors who saved his fathers life.

He comes to Bradenton Cardiology Center from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas where he trained as an interventional cardiologist. Prior to that, Dr. Nguyen did his residency in internal medicine at Orlando Regional Medical Center and was a chief resident at the University of Arizona where he subsequently also did his general cardiology fellowship.

He speaks fluent Vietnamese and is a member of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

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Our Team - Bradenton Cardiology Center