WakeMed Heart & Vascular - Cary Cardiology - Fuquay-Varina

I had an appointment at WakeMed Heart & Vascular in Fuquay-Varina with Dr. Pratik Vipin Desai, MD, FACC, and Jena Donovan, PA. I was referred here by my primary care for cardiology care, and I couldn't be more grateful. Both Dr. Desai and Jena took the time to talk me through everything, answer my questions, and reassure me every step of the way. They were so easy to talk to and genuinely kind, not just as medical professionals but as people. I left my appointment feeling informed, cared for, and supported. I am truly thankful to have met them and would highly recommend them to anyone in need of heart care.

I'm a patient of Dr. Sunil Desai with WakeMed Heart & Vascular in Fuquay-Varina. Dr. Desai is a very friendly doctor. I can go to him with all of my questions and concerns comfortably without feeling rushed. He's not dismissive with me at all. He's also a good listener and doesn't rush his time with me and I appreciate that. Dr. Desai is very attentive and if I tell him I'm not feeling well or a test result comes up with something, Dr. Desai is right on it! His whole staff from the front desk to the nurses are wonderful to work with. I will continue going to Dr. Desai as I feel he cares about his patient's needs.

The only reason this is a 1 star rating is because the staff was friendly and Michelle offered me tissues while I was crying. Outside of that, this visit has further deepened my lack of faith in the health care industry. I was referred to this clinic by the ED, which I had visited 4 days prior due to chest pain, ongoing palpitations and some other scary things for someone my age (31 and healthy from what all the labs at the ED suggested). I am a self pay patient, so upon my arrival, I paid $150 just to be seen. My visit at this clinic consisted of a review of the paperwork from my ED visit and another EKG (I had 1 at Urgent Care who then told me to go to the ED who then administered 2). We also discussed the game plan which included a heart monitor and an echocardiogram. When checking out, I was asked about insurance (which I again reiterated that I do not have any) and then was told that the echocardiogram would be upwards of $600 (fine i get it, this stuff is expensive so I would simply pass on this until I could afford to schedule it). The response to my obvious shock of that quote was "Have you tried the ED?" Why yes, 3 days ago actually - THEY'RE THE ONES WHO SENT ME TO YOU ALL. What about the heart monitor? That seems like something that should be put on immediately so we can get down to the bottom of the anxiety inducing issues I'm experiencing. I was told that typically, patients receive the heart monitor FIRST and then have to reach out to the monitor company themselves to inquire about pricing.........huh??? A.) Why would I put something on without first knowing how much it's going to cost & B.) Why am I doing the leg work for a service that I was told I need? Surely I am not the first self pay patient to walk through these doors and need a heart monitor. Why is this information not available to staff to relay to self pay patients??? Because it wasn't readily available, I LEFT WITHOUT THE MONITOR I WAS TOLD I NEEDED. This only further upset me and caused even more distress. I call the number they gave me for the monitor company, the monitor company does not find my information in their system AND CAN NOT GIVE ME A QUOTE WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT KIND OF MONITOR THAT I NEED - this information was also not given to me at the clinic. So then I call the clinic - after multiple attempts to get through to ANYBODY over 20ish minutes, I FINALLY get someone on the phone and get the information for the monitor to then call the monitor company AGAIN to receive a $350 quote for the 14 day patch. To sum this up, I have spent even more money on another visit that got me nowhere and I am still having the same issues I was having before my ED visit, I STILL DON'T HAVE THE HEART MONITOR I WAS TOLD I NEED, and I have no idea what my next steps are. My expectations of HAVING AN APPOINTMENT VIA ED REFERRAL is that I will leave said appointment further along in the process of figuring it all out. If the pricing information would have been readily available, maybe I could have left with what I needed. This was my third visit with a medical professional since last Thursday (Urgent Care who then sent me to the ED who then recommended a visit with Cardiology) and I honestly don't know if I have the energy to be put through this level of distress again to end up with no progress. Navigating healthcare in this country feels like being stuck in a maze full of nothing but dead ends.

I trust them a great deal and miss Dr. Shah. Wake has the best Cardiologist in NC.

It was my first time in a cardiologist office. The staff was pleasant. Dr. Shah was well educated and was able to explain things for me to understand and made sure that I left with no questions or confusion. He had a great sense of humor and provided some great suggestions for me to live a healthier lifestyle! I will definitely be back!