Cardiologist Joins South Nassau Communities Hospital to Advance Cardiovascular and Primary Care in Long Beach

Oceanside, NY, August 31, 2018 --(PR.com)-- Dr. Lee Weitzman, a Long Beach-based physician who has been practicing cardiology and internal medicine for more than 34 years on the barrier island, has joined South Nassau Communities Hospital to improve and expand cardiovascular health and primary care services for residents of the city and surrounding communities.

This partnership is part of South Nassau's commitment to help enhance health care services and revitalize the network of community-based physicians available for the residents.

"Dr. Weitzman is a respected physician who established his career in Long Beach through decades of dedication to his patients and commitment to quality cardiac and primary care," said Adhi Sharma, MD, Chief Medical Officer at South Nassau Communities Hospital. "We share in his commitment to his patients and look forward to expanding our network of practicing physicians in the community."

"This partnership represents South Nassau's continuing commitment to residents of the barrier island and is part of our plan to strengthen the availability of specialists to Long Beach patients so they don't have to leave the barrier island for services like non-emergency cardiology care. Dr. Weitzman is a well-respected and established clinician and we are excited about having our staff of cardiovascular experts work with him and his patients," said Richard J. Murphy, South Nassau's President & CEO.

Located at 325 West Park Ave. in the heart of Long Beach, the practice provides full-range cardiac diagnostic services, including nuclear stress testing (which uses radioactive dye and an imaging machine to create pictures showing the blood flow to the heart); cardiac stress test (the heart is stimulated either by exercise on a treadmill, pedaling a stationary exercise bicycle ergometer, or with intravenous pharmacological stimulation, with the patient connected to an electrocardiogram that records the heart's response and blood pressure to the activity) and echocardiography (the use of ultrasound to examine and measure the structure and functioning of the heart and to diagnose abnormalities and disease). The practice is open to see patients 8AM-4PM Monday-Thursday and 8AM-1PM on Friday.

As a result of the partnership, Dr. Weitzman's office staff has expanded to include experienced clinical cardiologists Jason Levi Esses, MD, FACC, and Michael Sood, MD, who also specializes in internal medicine. Dr. Esses is seeing patients full-time at the practice while Dr. Sood rotates through the practice once a week.

"Dr. Esses and Dr. Sood are known for their clinical acumen as well as attentive and responsive relationships that they establish with their patients," said Dr. Weitzman, who also served as the Chief of Medicine at the now-closed Long Beach Medical Center. "South Nassau is a first-rate hospital with an excellent cardiovascular interventional lab and cardiology team. I look forward to continuing to serve Long Beach and the surrounding communities and seeing this successful partnership to its fruition."

Dr. Esses specializes in coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, arrhythmias, stress testing, noninvasive imaging, hypertension, lipid disorders, and valvular disease. He is board-certified in Cardiovascular Disease, Echocardiography, Nuclear Cardiology and Internal Medicine. He is also a board-certified Clinical Lipidologist, which encompasses cholesterol management, cardiovascular risk assessment and intervention. He obtained his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, NY, completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, NY and his fellowship at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Esses is a Diplomate of The National Board of Echocardiography and The Board of Nuclear Cardiology and a Fellow American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Sood is board-certified in cardiovascular disease, internal medicine, echocardiography and nuclear cardiology. He completed his residency in internal medicine at New York Methodist Hospital, Park Slope, Brooklyn, an affiliate via Weill Cornell Medical College. He was fellowship-trained in cardiovascular disease at New York Methodist Hospital, where he also served as chief fellow. He earned his medical degree from Saba University School of Medicine, Saba, Netherlands Antilles and additionally earned a master's degree in hyperbaric medicine. He also completed a research fellowship with level 3 training in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. Prior to joining the faculty at South Nassau Communities Hospital, Dr. Sood was in private practice. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and a member of the American College of Physicians and Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. He has strong interests in clinical medicine, teaching and advanced cardiac imaging.