Longtime Pahrump cardiologist advancing medical care in Nye

A longtime cardiologist in Pahrump has increased the level of services being offered to patients in the southern Nye County area.

Dr. Tali Arik opened Pahrump Cardiology, which focuses on early detection of heart disease, inside the HealthCare Partners building on Loop Road in the spring of 2019. In addition to his many years of experience in cardiology, Arik is bringing the latest cardiac imaging equipment to the Pahrump area.

Arik said he is providing “some things that really are as good as someone would get if they went to Las Vegas or a major medical center.”

Pahrump Cardiology, which carries a staff of about a half-dozen, is offering patients position emission tomography (PET) scans, which Arik added to his set of advanced imaging equipment in the first part of October.

Arik explained there are three big advantages of getting a PET scan over conventional nuclear stress testing.

“The three huge advantages are better image quality, one-tenth of the radiation exposure as a conventional nuclear stress test and the speed of which the study is done,” he said.

Arik spoke about an issue he sees with conventional nuclear testing, single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) scan.

“One of the problems with conventional nuclear scanning is that about half the tests have imaging artifact, which can be related to a variety of things…,” he said.

With his additional offerings, Arik said he is eliminating the need to travel to Las Vegas for care.

“We’ve pretty much eliminated that,” he said. “Obviously, for any invasive procedure, something like that, they’ll always have to do that.”

Arik has been practicing in Pahrump for about 14 years.

He began practicing in the Nye County area in 2005, initially coming out every two weeks from Las Vegas, where he lived at the time.

Arik’s presence in the Pahrump Valley increased over time, and he was coming out three times a week to Pahrump after joining HealthCare Partners in 2012.

He moved to Pahrump permanently in 2014.

“It took just two years to build a practice up enough to transition here and working here full time,” Arik said.

Arik received his medical training in the early to mid-80s in Phoenix, later moving to the Las Vegas area.

Arik said he doesn’t intend to retire.

“I enjoy this very much, and I’m very committed to being here, obviously,” he said. “I’ve gone to a lot of effort and expense to create a private business here with some risk involved—obviously some financial risk, taking all this on, very significant.”

Today, Arik is working to bring higher quality care to Pahrump.

Arik said his PET scan could be available six days a week.

“A lot of people like Saturday hours for convenience, so we’ll probably scan six days a week,” he said.

Pahrump Cardiology also offers other cardiac imaging as well: cardiac echo (echocardiogram), “comprehensive artery ultrasound,” electrocardiogram and other tests.

Arik, formally with HealthCare Partners, stayed in HealthCare’s Pahrump building for the convenience of his patients, among other reasons.

“Part of why I want to stay here in this building, obviously, is for the convenience of the patients, so they know where to find me,” he said. “Plus, it’s a great setup. There’s no set- up like this in Pahrump.”

Arik was referring to the one-stop design at HealthCare Partners’ Pahrump building, where the complex has a lab, urgent care and other offerings all in one spot.

For more information, head to pahrumpcardiology.com or call 775-210-8333.

Pahrump Cardiology currently accepts patients with Medicare, Medicaid, Humana and UnitedHealthcare, according to Arik.

Contact reporter Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com, on Twitter @MeehanLv