Cardiology

Any time you have a significant heart or related condition, you may require the attention of a cardiologist. Their skills and training are required for decisions about heart catheterization, balloon angioplasty, heart surgery and other procedures.

Your cardiologist will review your medical history and perform a physical examination which may include checking your blood pressure, weight, heart, lungs and blood vessels. While some problems may be diagnosed from this examination, your cardiologist may order an ECG, x-ray or blood tests. In addition, an ambulatory ECG, echocardiogram, exercise test, heart catheterization and/or nuclear imaging may be required.

Interventional cardiologists have additional training that allow them to perform "interventions," meaning they can insert stents, perform angioplasty and other similar procedures.

At each stage of their training, these specialists must pass rigorous exams that test their knowledge and judgment, as well as their ability to provide superior care.

Cardiologists, pediatric cardiologists and cardiac surgeons must first become board-certified in their primary specialty (internal medicine, pediatrics and surgery respectively), and then certified in their subspecialty (cardiology, pediatric cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery respectively).

If your cardiology specialist adds F.A.C.C. — Fellow of the American College of Cardiology — to his or her name, it is a sign of significant accomplishment and commitment to a profession, a specialty, and to the provision of the best health care for the patient.

Election to ACC membership is based on training, specialty board certification, scientific and professional accomplishments, length of active participation in a cardiovascular-related field, and peer recognition. Members are expected to conform to high moral and ethical standards.

If your general doctor or cardiologist feels that surgery may be the best treatment for your heart condition and medication alone will not be enough, then you will be referred to a cardiac surgeon for further evaluation. The surgeon will review your medical records and tests, especially the heart catheterization results, if bypass, cardiac valve or heart surgery for a congenital defect is being considered. The cardiac surgeon will then discuss your case with you and your doctors, to give further advice about the risks and benefits of surgery.

Cardiac surgeons perform many operations in our hospitals, including - coronary artery bypass, heart rhythm surgery, valve replacement or repairs, and repairs of complex heart problems present from birth (congenital heart disease). They also are qualified to operate on organs other than the heart, such as the lungs, esophagus and blood vessels.