With the early January 2010 opening of the Advanced Cardiovascular and Vein Center, Alexander Alperovich, MD, combines his passion for interventional cardiology with his interest in treating vein disorders to patients across West Tennessee. The center’s main location is in Jackson, but it has part time satellite offices in Brownsville, Lexington, Dyersburg and Milan. 

 

Alperovich, who grew up in Vilnius, Lithuania, learned early on in life what it took to be a physician. His mother was an internist who specialized in infectious diseases. “I saw her going to work, I was good at school and liked the idea of helping people,” said Alperovich, whose father and brother are engineers. “When I went to medical school, I found I was very interested in the cardiovascular side of medicine.”

 

“In medical school one of my mentors was a cardiologist, and I found myself fascinated by him,” said Alperovich, who realized in his last few years of medical school that he wanted to pursue cardiology. “I loved how the specialty integrates chemistry, biology, physics, requiring a basic understanding of all sciences. I came to the United States to specialize in cardiology as in Lithuania it is a difficult specialty to get into due to political reasons.”

 

Alperovich graduated in 1982 from Kaunas Medical Institute, which changed its name in 1998 to Kaunas University of Medicine. He came to the United States in 1989 to complete his residency in internal medicine followed by a three-year cardiovascular fellowship at Beth Israel Medical Center, an affiliate of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Alperovich then completed a one-year interventional cardiology fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worchester. To be eligible to practice in the states, he was required to take and pass a special exam for foreign medical graduates that was based on federal medical guidelines.
“In the 1980s, cardiology was very different than it is today,” said Alperovich. “The practice of cardiology has seen many changes through the past two decades, both in technology, surgical options and interventional cardiology in terms of what we can do and also in how we can change lives of patients with heart disease. The field is very technologically dependent, which I find fascinating.”

 

At the end of his interventional fellowship in 1996, Alperovich headed south to Orlando, Florida, where he co-founded and was managing partner of a cardiovascular practice for 11 years. “I had spent enough cold winters in New York and Massachusetts,” said Alperovich, who also was named chief of medical staff and co-director of Florida Hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab. “The warm sunshine of Florida and the big city of Orlando sounded great to me.”

 

Alperovich, who has a special interest in the treatment of vein disorders, received additional training in phlebology seven years ago. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases and interventional cardiology and is a member of the American College of Phlebology. He is actively involved in clinical research, participating in multiple drug and interventional studies, which involve new medications, devices and cardiovascular technologies.

 

In 2008, Alperovich started to tire of the demands and pace that life in a big city competitive practice placed on him. His search led him to Jackson, which he said offered him a normal-paced life with the amenities of a big city without all the hustle and bustle. “I liked Tennessee; my wife had worked here as a traveling nurse before I met her in Orlando,” Alperovich said. “Shari and I married before we moved to Jackson in November to join an existing practice.

 

“When I decided to open my own clinic, I knew I would stay in Jackson,” said Alperovich. “I have always felt very welcome and comfortable here. Jackson-Madison County General Hospital has been very accommodating. I was also excited at the opportunities Jackson held for my experience in complex coronary interventions and interventional peripheral vascular disease management, including ischemic limb salvage and modern interventional treatment of deep vein thrombosis.”

 

The cardiology side of Alperovich’s practice includes the evaluation and treatment of various cardiovascular conditions, such as cardiac arrhythmias, angioplasty, implanting pacemakers and defibrillators, stent placement and general prevention of heart disease. The vein center will treat diseases of the vein, such as varicose veins, ischemic limb salvage, deep vein thrombosis and non-healing ulcers.

 

Besides the conventional methods of treating varicose veins and “spider veins,” the vein center also uses ablation as a means of treatment. “With this relatively new technology, a thin catheter is inserted into the affected vein and tiny electrodes heat the walls of the varicose vein,” said Alperovich. “This destroys the vein tissue and prevents it from carrying blood. The body eventually absorbs the vein, and the blood is re-directed to healthier veins in your leg. This is a promising and less invasive treatment of varicose veins, and we are excited to offer it to our patients.”

 

“I take a great interest in my patients and take the time to get to know them,” said Alperovich. “I see the patient as a whole, and if he or she has issues outside the scope of my practice, I will make sure the patient is pointed in the right direction to get the problem addressed and treated.”