Nuclear Cardiology Accreditation Tucson Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory Gains National Accreditation The Heart Center of Southern Arizona One of First to be Named in United States TUCSON, ARIZ (September 17, 2007) – The Heart Center of Southern Arizona announced today it is the one of the first nuclear cardiology laboratories in the United States to receive national accreditation from the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Nuclear Medicine Laboratories (ICANL). ICANL accreditation signifies that the facility has been reviewed by an independent agency that recognizes the laboratory's commitment to quality testing for the diagnosis of heart disease. “We are so pleased to work with the ICANL in the accreditation process and being named a certified nuclear cardiology laboratory in the Tucson region,” said Dr. Kathryn L. Bates, medical director for nuclear cardiology at The Heart Center of Southern Arizona. “This reaffirms our core commitment to detecting cardiovascular disease before the occurrence of heart attacks.” Committed to balancing the changing needs of nuclear medicine, the ICANL was established with the support of sponsoring nuclear medicine and cardiology organizations. The commission provides a peer review mechanism to encourage and recognize the provision of quality diagnostic evaluations by a process of voluntary accreditation.   “The general public and members of the nuclear medicine communities will be able to recognize The Heart Center of Southern Arizona’s unmatched commitment to providing quality health care through their recent ICANL accreditation,” said Cindy Weiland, director of accreditation for the ICANL. The Heart Center of Southern Arizona was the first to achieve national accreditation of its Echocardiography Lab through the ICAEL and now adds Nuclear Cardiology to its list of accredited diagnostic imaging services. (posted: 09/17/2007) New Cardiologist Joins The Heart Center The Heart Center of Southern Arizona is very pleased to announce the arrival of another outstanding cardiologist to join with Dr. Pennock and Dr. Bates.  Hiren P. Shah, MD, most recently from Pittsburgh, has moved to Tucson with his family to join The Heart Center's practice. Dr. Shah was born in Bombay, India and grew up in Los Angeles.  He attended medical school at the Rural Medical College in India.  After completing his medical degree in 2000, Dr. Shah moved to Pittsburgh where he completed a three-year residency in Internal Medicine at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital, Temple University Clinical Campus in Pittsburgh.  He then completed a three-year fellowship in cardiovascular disease, followed by an additional year of training in Interventional Cardiology.   He is qualified to perform complex coronary and peripheral vascular interventions. Dr. Shah is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, Adult Comprehensive Echocardiography, and Nuclear Cardiology.  He is also qualified in interpreting Cardiac Computed Tomographic Angiography.  In addition to general cardiology and interventional Cardiology, he has special interest in Peripheral Arterial Disease. (posted: 07/26/2007)