SWICFT Institute of Southwest Florida

With an unparalleled commitment to promoting health and well-being, board certified cardiologists James V. Talano, MD, MM, FACC and Sajan K. Rao, MD, FACC have created a comprehensive health and wellness program specifically designed for the cardiovascular patient. The new program enables patients to better manage wellness through lifestyle modification and rigorous clinical management, offering a scope of unrivaled amenities.

 

Dr. Talano, Director and Founder of the Southwest Institute for Cardiovascular Fitness & Treatment (SWICFT) received his MD from Loyola University Medical School and completed his residency and cardiovascular fellowship at Georgetown and Tufts University Hospitals. He was Director and Chief of Clinical Cardiology at Northwestern University, Tulane University and the former Cleveland Clinic in Naples. Dr. Rao is a graduate of George Washington University School of Medicine and completed his residency at University of California - San Diego, followed by a preventive and integrative cardiology fellowship at the Scripps Medical Center in La Jolla, CA. He was subsequently on the academic faculty at Georgetown University and Washington Hospital Center.

 

SWICFT HEALTH provides educational sessions that focus on diet, weight reduction, nutrition and exercise. The nutrition and exercise side of the program is led by well-known dietician, diabetes educator and personal trainer Betsy Opyt, RD, LD/N, CDE, whose goal is to help individuals strike an optimum balance of diet and exercise to improve long-term health.

 

Member patients of the SWICFT Institute benefit from additional service amenities designed to enhance patient convenience, compliance and access to their care team. Dr. Talano and Dr. Rao also accept on-call requests to personally manage their patient’s hospital care.

Pictured, from left: Dr. James Talano, Betsy Opyt, Dr. Sajan Rao