Cardiologist serving Palm Desert
Pressure in the chest on the back nine at Indian Wells? Skipped beats during the afternoon heat in July? Already living with a pacemaker, a defibrillator, or a stent — and your last cardiology visit was somewhere back east before you moved out to the desert? CACVI takes those calls from Palm Desert all season.
For people who chose the Coachella Valley for retirement or for a second home, heart problems are often the thing nobody planned for. The Center for Advanced Cardiac and Vascular Interventions takes a longer view: our cardiologists serving Palm Desert draw on thirty-plus years and more than 15,000 vascular and cardiac procedures, and we explain what’s happening in language a patient and spouse can both follow.
Find out the cause of your heart condition.
Our Victorville office is the closest CACVI location to Palm Desert — the drive is about two hours, generally I-10 west to I-15 north. For most desert patients we structure that drive around a single, thorough cardiac evaluation visit, then handle most follow-ups by telehealth. We treat the conditions that show up most in an older patient population — coronary artery disease, heart failure, cardiomyopathy, post-heart attack (MI) care, arrhythmia and AFib, plus mitral and aortic valve disease.
Palm Desert Cardiac Specialists
A good share of our Palm Desert panel are seasonal residents — six months in the valley, six months somewhere colder — and they need a cardiologist who can coordinate with their home team back in Vancouver, Minneapolis, or Boston without making the patient repeat themselves. We’re also the local-but-not-too-local option for full-time desert residents in Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta, and Sun City Palm Desert who’d rather not handle every cardiac question through a single local group.
Be prepared.
Heat and dehydration in the Coachella Valley push the cardiac risk up every summer, so an AED in the house is a reasonable precaution if a household member has known heart disease — same goes for HOA clubhouses and country club pro shops, where most cardiac arrests in this demographic happen.
If chest pain or a sudden chaotic heartbeat hits, call 911. Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage is the primary cardiac receiving hospital for the Palm Desert area — let the EMS crew take you there. After you’re stable, call us so we can fold the event into your ongoing plan.
An initial CACVI consultation for a Palm Desert patient typically means one trip down the 10 and up the 15 to our Victorville office. We use that visit to do a thorough physical, take a careful history (cardiac symptoms, family history, medication list, anything diagnosed by your previous cardiologist), and run in-office EKG and echocardiogram. Labs go to a local Palm Desert draw site if you’d rather not do them with us. From there, follow-up visits are usually telehealth, with imaging or procedures scheduled at intervals that minimize the desert-to-mountain commute.
Protect your heart.
Trust Your Heart to Our Expert Care
The Palm Desert demographic skews older than the California average, and roughly two-thirds of adults sixty-five and up live with high blood pressure — the single biggest driver of heart disease in the Coachella Valley. Diabetes and obesity rates in Riverside County are also above the state mean. Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of adults in the valley, and most of the deaths follow risk factors that were identifiable years earlier.
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 Palm Desert 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 Palm Desert patients choose CACVI
Our Victorville office at 12441 Hesperia Road, #A5 & #A6, Victorville, CA 92395 is ~2 hrs south via I-15 + I-10 from Palm Desert. Patients commute via I-10 + CA-111 for cardiac evaluation, vascular care, and follow-up imaging.
- Same-week appointments — we keep capacity open for Palm Desert patients with acute symptoms (chest pain, palpitations, claudication).
- Hospital admitting privileges — our physicians have admitting/consult privileges at major hospitals serving Palm Desert, including Eisenhower Medical Center.
- Direct physician contact — not a call center. Dr. Mehran J. Khorsandi, MD or Dr. Moinakhtar Lala, MD, FACC, FSCAI, RPVI reviews every new Palm Desert case before the appointment.
- Insurance and Riverside County medical groups — we accept most major commercial plans plus Medicare.
Frequently Asked Questions for Palm Desert Patients
How do I schedule an appointment from Palm Desert?
Call (760) 951-2210 or use our online contact form. New patient appointments are typically available within 7–14 days at our Victorville office — ~2 hrs south via I-15 + I-10 from Palm Desert.
Do you accept patients from Riverside County?
Yes. We routinely see patients from Palm Desert and the surrounding Riverside County area at our Victorville 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 Victorville office serving Palm Desert — the nearest emergency room for Palm Desert residents is Eisenhower 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 Palm Desert patients?
For follow-up visits, medication management, and test-result reviews — yes. For new patients we recommend an in-person initial evaluation at our Victorville office.
Ready to talk with a Palm Desert-area specialist?
Call (760) 951-2210 for our Victorville office or request a consultation online. We see Palm Desert patients within 7–14 days for cardiac evaluation, palpitation workup, hypertension management, and vascular concerns.
What our patients say
