HAVI South Pinellas Care Center - The Heart Institute of St. Petersburg (HISP)

The Formation Years

The Heart and Vascular Institute of Florida (HAVI) is the largest cardiovascular group in Tampa Bay, with two dozen cardiologists and over 200 employees.  Our programs span the entire spectrum of cardiovascular medicine.  Such an organization does not spring into existence over night.  While HAVI was formed through the merger of two of the area's leading groups of cardiologists, The Heart Institute of St. Petersburg and Coastal Cardiology, our roots go back over 35 years.

The Heart & Vascular Institute of Florida (South Care Center) can be traced back to 1964 when Dr. James Mason established his private practice in downtown St. Petersburg, typical of the HAVI physicians who followed him. Dr. Mason immediately assumed a leadership role in the community. He implanted the first pacemaker, performed the first cardioversion and directed the Bayfront Coronary Care Unit. Dr. Mason also began the tradition of technical excellence carried on by HAVI by acquiring the first equipment in the St. Petersburg area to perform electrocardiograms and echocardiograms.

In 1978, Dr. Mason recruited Dr. John Hoche from the faculty of Columbia University in New York to form Cardiology Consultants. Dr. Hoche was previously involved with aerospace medicine during his service in the U.S. Navy. Together, Dr. Mason and Dr. Hoche developed the first nuclear cardiology program in the St. Petersburg area.

As Cardiology Consultants continued to grow, Dr. Dean Bramlet was recruited from Duke University to add to the nuclear cardiology staff. Dr. Jeffrey Witt came to St. Petersburg that same year, joining Suncoast Medical Clinic, and later became a senior partner of HISP. Dr. Bramlet and Dr. Witt introduced balloon angioplasty to the local medical community, forming the first coronary intervention program for St. Petersburg area patients.

HAVI physicians have always taken the lead on introducing new technologies to our community.  In 1989, Dr. Michael McIvor was recruited from Johns Hopkins Hospital because of his expertise in advanced interventions.  As Chairman of Adult Cardiology at All Children's Hospital, Dr. McIvor expanded the program beyond balloon procedures to include the new tools of lasers, cutting and extraction atherectomy and new blood thinners to make the procedures safer and more effective.  During this time, Cardiology consultants became The Heart Institute of St. Petersburg with Drs. Hoche and McIvor as managing partners.

Dr. Andrew Rosenthal came to the Institute from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, and Dr. John Walsh from the University of South Florida in 1992, both of whom were added to the interventional team of the Heart Institute.  With such a wealth of expertise, HISP physicians placed the first stents in the state of Florida.

Dr. Robert Sheppard was recruited in 1995 from the faculty of Hahnemann University in Philadelphia and became the first board- certified electrophysiologist in our medical community, expanding arrhythmia services at HISP.  Dr. Sheppard developed the electrophysiology laboratory at Bayfront Medical Center.  

To bolster our cardiac imaging services, Dr. James Post joined the Heart Institute from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Reynaldo Mulingtapang joined the group from Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans.  He has begun our successful peripheral vascular disease program.  Also from Ochsner Clinic is Dr. Peter Wassmer, who has special interests in echocardiography and stress echocardiography.

Dr. Gregg Schuyler came to us in 2000 from the Medical University of South Carolina where he was involved in basic research in the molecular mechanisms of cardiac hypertrophy.  He brings to HAVI level III echo, nuclear, and research experience.  He is the Director of our Congestive Heart Failure Clinic and Research.

Recently, we added Dr. Robert Sanchez and John Colleran to the group.  They had a successful practice at Northside, Largo, and Suncoast Hospitals.  To round out their team, Dr. Geraldo Garcia joined the group in 2001.

In July 2002, Dr. Francisco Cardona joined the group as our second electrophysiologist.  He has special interests in ablative therapy.  

From Dr. Mason's solo practice in 1964, the Heart Institute of St. Petersburg has grown to a comprehensive resource for cardiovascular services with over 50 employees in office locations serving the entire St. Petersburg and surrounding areas. We have remained an organization that continually challenges itself to find new and better ways to treat patients. Through our 35 years, we have achieved a number of milestones for the community.

The Heart & Vascular Institute of Florida looks back with pride on its history of growth and accomplishments. With our specialized programs in prevention, heart failure, interventions and research, we are confident that our patients are experiencing the highest standard of care available for their heart disease. Although we are proud of our accomplishments, we cannot be completely satisfied with what we have done. As an organization that thrives on learning, we embrace the exciting future that lies ahead for medical technology and the Heart Institute.