``I think we made significant progress over the years, but still much work is to be done to increase awareness and encourage access to health care,`` he said. Covington Cardiovascular Care's Bekir H. Melek MD, F.A.C.C., F.A.S.E. emphasizes the importance of preventive medicine. He believes the best way to treat heart disease is to prevent it. After finishing a cardiology research scholarship in Germany, Dr. Melek completed his cardiology fellowship at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, where he served as faculty and co-director of Cardiac Imaging. He subsequently finished additional training in cardiac magnetic resonance and cardiac computed tomography at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and is currently level 3 certified in these modalities. His expertise and interests include echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, cardiac MR, cardiac CT, vascular ultrasound and preventive cardiology.