Cardiologist for Lakewood patients
New chest pressure on the walking loop at Mayfair Park? A heart rate that won’t settle after the grandkids leave? Already living with a pacemaker or defibrillator and the cardiologist you used to see has retired? These are the conversations CACVI has with Lakewood patients every week.
Heart conditions weigh on the people around the patient as much as the patient themselves. Lakewood is a community where families have stayed put for generations — the same streets, the same schools, the same neighbors checking in — and a cardiac diagnosis ripples through all of that. The Center for Advanced Cardiac and Vascular Interventions brings thirty years and 15,000+ vascular and cardiac procedures to every visit, and our Lakewood-area cardiologists talk you through it in language your spouse and adult kids can follow.
Find out the cause of your heart condition.
Lakewood patients reach our Beverly Hills office in about forty minutes — the 605 north to the 105 west and the 405 north, or up the 710 if traffic prefers it. The cardiac evaluation we do in-office is built to give you an actual answer in one visit, not a string of referrals. Common reasons Lakewood patients come in: coronary artery disease, heart failure, cardiomyopathy, after a myocardial infarction (MI), arrhythmia workups and atrial fibrillation, and valve concerns including mitral and aortic valve disease.
Lakewood Cardiac Specialists
CACVI’s Lakewood patient base looks like Lakewood itself — long-term homeowners north and south of Carson Street, retirees from the aerospace and county-government careers that built the area, and adult children moving parents into manageable cardiac care. We also see patients out of the surrounding cities the 605 connects to: Cerritos, Bellflower, and Long Beach’s east end. The same two physicians see everyone, no triage to a junior team.
Be prepared.
For Lakewood households where someone has known cardiac disease or a prior arrest, having an AED in the house is a smart precaution. Sudden cardiac arrest doesn’t wait for paramedics, and the survival math gets dramatically better when a defibrillator is on hand in the first few minutes.
If chest pain settles in and won’t ease, or your heart rhythm goes fast enough that you feel like you’re going to pass out, call 911. Lakewood Regional Medical Center on South Street is the nearest emergency room with full cardiac receiving for most of Lakewood — EMS will get you there faster than you can drive yourself. Don’t try to make it to Beverly Hills. Call us once you’re stable so we can coordinate.
The first CACVI visit for a Lakewood patient is a single appointment in our Beverly Hills office — physical exam, full medical history (cardiac symptoms, family history, medications, any prior workups from Lakewood Regional or local cardiology groups), and an in-office EKG and echocardiogram in the same visit. We order labs if they’re useful and review them with you. After the initial workup, most Lakewood patients alternate in-person visits (for imaging or procedures) with telehealth (for med tuning and result discussions), so the 605 trip becomes a few-times-a-year thing rather than a monthly burden.
Protect your heart.
Trust Your Heart to Our Expert Care
Cardiovascular disease kills someone in the U.S. every 37 seconds. 2,353 deaths a day. Lakewood skews older than the LA County median, and age is the one risk factor nobody can modify. Most of the others are measurable on a routine visit, long before there is anything to react to.
High blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease. About half of Americans (47%) have at least one of these three risk factors.
Our goal at CACVI is to help you achieve healthier living. As a stepping stone to healthier living, our physicians perform a variety of tests right here in our office. Our in-office diagnostic procedures can help our physicians and you determine a course of treatment that may help you improve your health and wellness for a better quality of living.
CACVI’s experienced cardiologists are determined to provide each patient with experienced, compassionate care as they work diligently to improve your health.
Dr. Moinakhtar Lala and Dr. Mehran J. Khorsandi
Meet Your Lakewood Cardiologists
The Center for Advanced Cardiac and Vascular Interventions (CACVI) is led by Dr. Khorsandi and Dr. Lala, who have over thirty years of practice with over 15,000 vascular and cardiac procedures performed. Our physicians are determined to provide each patient with experienced, compassionate care as they work diligently to improve your health.
Why Lakewood patients choose CACVI
Our Los Angeles office at 8741 Alden Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90048 is ~40 min northwest via I-605 from Lakewood. Patients commute via I-605 + CA-91 for cardiac evaluation, vascular care, and follow-up imaging.
- Same-week appointments — we keep capacity open for Lakewood patients with acute symptoms (chest pain, palpitations, claudication).
- Hospital admitting privileges — our physicians have admitting/consult privileges at major hospitals serving Lakewood, including Lakewood Regional Medical Center.
- Direct physician contact — not a call center. Dr. Vasim Lala, MD, FACC or Dr. Moinakhtar Lala, MD, FACC, FSCAI, RPVI reviews every new Lakewood case before the appointment.
- Insurance and LA County medical groups — we accept most major commercial plans plus Medicare.
The cardiac lab work Lakewood patients usually get sent out for
Most of what a Lakewood cardiologist orders after a first visit happens in our own rooms, on the same floor you were examined on. An EKG takes minutes. An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart muscle and valves, done while you lie on your side. A stress test watches the heart while you walk. Vascular ultrasound checks the arteries and veins in the neck, abdomen and legs.
If the rhythm is the question and it will not misbehave on command, you go home wearing a monitor and we read what it records over days rather than minutes.
Two scans answer the plaque question without a catheter: a coronary calcium scan, which counts calcified plaque in the coronary arteries, and coronary CT angiography, which shows the arteries themselves.
When the answer is a catheter, not surgery
People search for a cath lab in Lakewood because someone told them they need one. What that usually means: a blocked artery has to be opened, and the cardiologist gets there through a puncture in the wrist or groin instead of opening the chest.
Our interventional team does coronary angiography and stenting, including the complex cases other practices pass on: long blockages, calcified vessels, arteries that were stented before and narrowed again. For a heart too weak to tolerate the procedure on its own, an Impella pump or a balloon pump supports circulation while the work is done.
The same access route treats arteries elsewhere: carotid, renal, and the leg arteries behind cramping and wounds that will not heal.
Atrial fibrillation, and the stroke risk that comes with it
AFib is the reason a lot of Lakewood searches reach this page. The heart’s upper chambers quiver instead of beating, blood pools, and clots can form and travel to the brain.
Finding it is the first job, and intermittent AFib hides from a twelve-second EKG, and that is what the take-home monitor is for.
Managing the stroke risk is the second. Most people do well on a blood thinner. For those who cannot stay on one, because of bleeding or falls, there is the Watchman: a small device placed through a catheter that seals off the left atrial appendage, where most AFib clots form.
If the rhythm needs more than medication, that is handled in house. Dr. Arshia Noori is a board-certified interventional cardiologist and electrophysiologist who treats atrial fibrillation, tachycardia and ventricular arrhythmias with catheter ablation, and who implants pacemakers and defibrillators when the rhythm calls for one.
Frequently Asked Questions for Lakewood Patients
How do I schedule an appointment from Lakewood?
Call (310) 853-2222 or use our online contact form. New patient appointments are typically available within 7–14 days at our Los Angeles office — ~40 min northwest via I-605 from Lakewood.
Do you accept patients from LA County?
Yes. We routinely see patients from Lakewood and the surrounding LA County area at our Los Angeles location.
What symptoms warrant immediate evaluation?
If you experience chest pain lasting more than a few minutes, sudden shortness of breath, fainting, or stroke-like symptoms, call 911. Do not drive to our Los Angeles office serving Lakewood — the nearest emergency room for Lakewood residents is Lakewood Regional Medical Center.
What does an initial CACVI evaluation include?
physical examination, medical history review, EKG (in-office), echocardiogram (in-office), risk stratification, and a personalized treatment plan. Additional testing is scheduled based on findings.
Are your physicians board-certified?
Yes. Dr. Moinakhtar Lala, MD, FACC, FSCAI, RPVI and our other physicians are board-certified with subspecialty training. Verify current certifications via the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Do you offer telehealth for Lakewood patients?
For follow-up visits, medication management, and test-result reviews — yes. For new patients we recommend an in-person initial evaluation at our Los Angeles office.
Is there a cardiac lab in Lakewood?
Not in Lakewood itself. Our testing is done at our Los Angeles offices on Alden Drive and Robertson Boulevard, about 25 miles and roughly 40 minutes northwest via I-605, and most patients get their EKG, echocardiogram, stress test and vascular ultrasound in a single visit rather than across three appointments.
What is the difference between a cardiac lab and a cardiac cath lab?
A cardiac lab runs non-invasive tests: EKG, echo, stress, monitoring. A cath lab is a procedure room where a catheter is threaded into the heart or arteries to look with contrast dye and, in the same session, to open a blockage with a stent.
Can I be seen for atrial fibrillation?
Yes. Diagnosis, monitoring, medical management, catheter ablation, and stroke-risk procedures including the Watchman. Dr. Arshia Noori is a board-certified electrophysiologist.
Do I need a referral to see a cardiologist from Lakewood?
That depends on your plan, not on us. HMO plans usually require one. PPO plans usually do not. Call the number on your card if you are not sure, then call us.
Do you take my insurance?
We contract with most major plans. Rather than guess from a list that goes stale, call us with your member ID and the front desk checks it against your specific plan before you drive out.
Ready to talk with a Lakewood-area specialist?
Call (310) 853-2222 for our Los Angeles office or request a consultation online. We see Lakewood patients within 7–14 days for cardiac evaluation, palpitation workup, hypertension management, and vascular concerns.
What our patients say
