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Category (Cardiologist)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is a Cardiologist?
Cardiologists are professionals with training and education in the treatment of the cardiovascular system including the heart and blood vessels. A cardiologist also helps in spreading awareness and promoting good heart health habits. They specialize in treating diseases that are associated with the whole cardiovascular system. Cardiologists have practice in performing various tests and procedures such as Catheterizations, inserting pacemakers, and angioplasty.
What are the qualifications of a Cardiologist?
A cardiologist is trained for more than 10 years to gain the licensing and medical training:
- Four years of the medical school from an accredited university.
- Additional years of education to complete an M.D. degree.
- Three years of residency program completion in internal medicine.
- Additional few years of training in subspecialty can be obtained.
What conditions do cardiologists treat?
A cardiologist has the training to treat the following conditions:
- atherosclerosis
- atrial fibrillation
- ventricular tachycardia
- high blood pressure, or hypertension
- high blood cholesterol and triglycerides
- hypertension
- arrhythmias
- congenital heart disease
- coronary heart disease
- congestive heart disease
- pericarditis
What are the subspecialties of Cardiologists?
A cardiologist can decide to get a subspeciality in any of the following:
- Adult Congenital Heart Disease
- Advanced Heart Failure
- Transplant Cardiology
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
- Hypertension
- Coronary artery disease
- Cardiac arrest
- Cardiogeriatrics
- Clinical cardiac electrophysiology
- Adult cardiology
- Preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation
- Pediatric cardiology
- Coronary circulation
- Cardiac examination
What diagnostic tests are required by a Cardiologist?
Some of the diagnostic tests that may be ordered by a cardiologist include:
- Electrocardiogram
- Ambulatory ECG
- An exercise test or stress test
- Echocardiogram
- Echocardiography
- Cardiac catheterization
- Nuclear cardiology
- Infarction imaging
- single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT)
- Planar imaging
- Myocardial perfusion imaging
- Cardiac electrophysiology
When should you visit a Cardiologist?
A cardiologist must be visited in case of any of the following signs and symptoms:
- You have a genetic history of cardiovascular diseases running down your family
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Chest pain
- Pre-eclampsia- history of having high blood pressure during pregnancy
- Palpitations
- Low blood pressure
- Starting a diet plan or exercise
- Inborn heart diseases
- Smoking
- Heart skipping beats
- Erratic thumping in the chest region
- A racing heart
- ashen color
- excessive sweating
- A high-intensity feeling of tightness and pain in the chest
- Moving and fast-spreading pain in arm or chest
- Nausea
- dizziness
- confusion or feeling lost
- Very low heart rate
- extremely fast heart rate
- Palpitations
What can you expect from your first visit with a Cardiologist?
When you go to the cardiologist, they will most probably ask you a lot of questions about your symptoms and behaviors. They may also perform or order a variety of tests to pinpoint specific cardiovascular issues. Some of the tests that may be performed on cardiology patients are as follows:
- EKG
- Cardiac biopsy
- Stress test
- Cardiac catheterization
- Ultrasound
The physical examination helps in assessing your overall cardiovascular health. A cardiologist will diagnose the disease or illness and prescribe a treatment plan after reviewing your test results. The family medical history and patient’s previous medical records, prescription drugs, and other such factors play a crucial role in determining the right treatment plan.