Aston Hypertension Specialty Clinic

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center's Hypertension Clinic:

PHYSICAL ADDRESS:

James W. Aston Ambulatory Care Center
(sometimes referred to as the Aston Center)
8th (Eighth) Floor, Internal Medicine Subspecialties Clinic
5303 Harry Hines Blvd.
Dallas TX 75390

MAILING ADDRESS:

UT Southwestern Medical Center
Hypertension Division
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Dallas TX 75390-8586

TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT:

Most appointments with a Hypertension Specialist at UT Southwestern are made through referrals from the office of your Primary Care Physician.

To make an appointment, please call: (214) 645-2800.  For a list of available doctors and individual appointment hours, see the section "What doctors are available for me to see?"

To reach the Hypertension academic office, please call: (214) 648-2103.

DIRECTIONS:

The Aston Center is located on Harry Hines Blvd. between Motor and Inwood Streets. The nearest major highway is I-35E.

I-35E, Motor Street Exit
Take the Motor Street exit, turn East. Stay in the inside left lane. At Harry Hines Blvd., turn left (Northbound). Stay in the left lane (for valet parking) or right lane (for self-parking). The Aston Center is on the left, just past Lofland Street (notable for its overhead pedestrian walkway) and Parkland Hospital.

I-35E, Inwood Street Exit
Take the Inwood Street exit, turn East. Stay in the right lane. At Harry Hines Blvd., take the right (Southbound) ramp. On Harry Hines Blvd., stay in the right lane (for valet parking) or left lane (for self-parking). The Aston Center is on the right, just past Butler Street. If you pass Parkland Hospital or go under the overhead pedestrian walkway, you have gone too far.

Maps and Directions -- Dallas Vicinity Map

Campus Overview Map

Parking

Self-parking is available across the street from the clinic. Blue Line Shuttle provides service between the James W. Aston Ambulatory Care Center and the Aston Parking Lot. Hours of operation are 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Average round trip is 10 minutes.

This service is free, but you must request a validated parking slip from the check-in desk of your doctor's office. Present this slip to the attendant in the parking lot booth. Without the slip, the cost of parking will be $4.00.

For information on the shuttle service pickup points and schedules, please call 214-645-2800.

Valet Parking is offered at the door for a fee of $5.00. The attendant will give you a blue valet receipt. Take this to the check-in desk of your doctor's office. They will stamp and date it. When you leave, give the blue slip to the valet attendant in the front entry. Without the slip, the cost of valet parking will be $25.00.

Valet parking is free to all vehicles with handicap hangtags or license plates.

Parking Locations

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What doctors are available for me to see?

Currently, UT Southwestern has five specialists in its Hypertension Clinic who are all certified through the American Society of Hypertension and who specialize in a wide range of blood pressure problems, including difficult and unusual cases, as well as low blood pressure.  Hypertension specialists cannot serve as primary care physicians (PCP); for health issues unrelated blood pressure, patients should see their primary care physician. 

Ronald G. Victor, M.D. (Cardiologist)
Appointments 8:00 AM-2:00 PM Wednesdays.

Norman M. Kaplan, M.D. (Endocrinologist)
Sees patients on referral from a primary care physician (PCP) for high blood pressure problems only. The patient is evaluated and follow-up care returned to the PCP. Dr. Kaplan's schedule varies according to other commitments, but he generally sets aside two-to-four clinic days a month. If a patient requires an evaluation without long-term follow-up care, Dr. Kaplan is generally easiest to schedule.

Shawna D. Nesbitt, M.D., M.S. (Internist)
Appointments Noon - 5:00 P.M. Thursday afternoons.

Wanpen Vongpatanasin, M.D.  (Cardiologist)
Appointments 9:00 AM-1:00 PM Wednesdays.

Dr. Joseph Ravenell, M.D. (Internist)
Appointments 12:00 PM - 5:00 P.M. Friday afternoons.

Due to the high demand for Hypertension Specialists, it is not unusual to schedule a patient as far as two months or more in advance'; however, new patients will be seen within two weeks or sooner, if needed.  In instances where a patient's elevated blood pressure (sustained average readings higher than 180/110) poses an immediate health risk, special appointments are available.

In instances where a patient is in hypertensive crisis, the patient is urged to go to the nearest urgent care clinic or emergency room for evaluation and treatment.

To learn more about what the role of a Hypertension Specialist, please visit the American Society of Hypertension website.

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What insurance plans do you accept?

We accept most managed care health plans. Health Care Providers decide whether or not to pay for any care given at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Prior to making any appointment, we highly recommend that you contact your health plan's administrator if you have questions about where you can receive care.

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Other Services

(2)  Parkland Hypertension Clinic

The Parkland Memorial Hospital Hypertension Clinic is a specialty clinic that focuses on resistant hypertension and hypertension from secondary causes such as pheochromocytoma, hyperaldosteronism, renovascular hypertension, polycystic kidneys, and renal disease.

Patients will be evaluated by Hypertension specialists and follow-up care provided by our hypertension team of a Nurse Practitioner, Nurse, and staff. A complete evaluation for secondary causes of hypertension will be performed as necessary and a treatment regimen tailored to the patient. The clinic will provide 24-hour ambulatory monitoring upon request with full interpretation.

Our primary goal is to assist and educate primary care physicians in managing difficult cases of hypertension. We will inform patients of hypertension protocols for participation in hypertension research.

(3)  Zale in-patient Consults

(4) Multi-specialty evaluation and treatment of adrenal hypertension

Adrenal Hypertension Service

We have a multi-specialty evaluation and treatment of patients with a rare form of hypertension caused by excessive production of hormones from the adrenal gland. Some hormones, such as adrenaline and noradrenaline, which are found to be elevated in patients with pheochromocytoma can cause constriction of blood vessels and rapid heartbeat. Other types of hormones, such as aldosterone, which are found to be elevated in patients with primary hyperaldosteronism, can cause the kidney to retain salt and potassium wastes leading to elevation in blood pressure.

Our team is comprised of:

1) Hypertension Specialists [Ronald Victor, Wanpen Vongpatanasin, Norman Kaplan, and Shawna Nesbitt];

2) Endocrinologist [Richard Auchus];

3) Adrenal Surgeons with special expertise in performing laparoscopic surgery [William Snyder III and Fiemu Nwariaku];

4) Interventional Radiologists who have expertise in obtaining blood samples from adrenal glands for hormone measurements [Bart Dolmatch and Shellie Josephs].

All personnel involved in the adrenal hypertension service have extensive experience in evaluating patients with this suspected form of hypertension. We are a referral center that services both the local community and beyond, including outside the state of Texas.

(5) Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitors (ABPM)

UT Southwestern Medical Center's Hypertension Clinic also offers Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitor (ABPM) service for our own patients or for other doctors' patients who simply want us to place and interpret the monitor as a service but not to see their patients in consultation.

What precisely is ABPM?

An Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitor is a device similar to a familiar blood pressure cuff, with a small computer either clipped to a belt or suspended on a shoulder strap. The computer, about the size of an average paperback book, is connected to a BP cuff that is placed around the patient's arm. The computer is programmed to activate at a given interval (usually every 20 minutes during the day and once an hour at night). The blood pressure readings are stored within the machine's memory. When the unit is returned to the clinic, the nurse downloads the data and provides a copy of the results to one of our Hypertension Specialists. The results are interpreted and a report forwarded to the requesting physician.

What can ABPM readings tell me?

By interpreting the highs and lows of a patient's blood pressure, the time of day, or activity performed at a given time, a physician can adjust medications, dosages, and times to best meet the patient's individual needs.

How do I apply for this service?

If you are a physician's office, please contact us for an email copy or call 214-648-2103 for a fax copy of the Referral Form. If your are a prospective patient interested in this service, please ask your primary care physician's office contact us at 214-648-2103.

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