Cardiovascular consultation is the most important aspect of medical treatment. It is an opportunity for patients to discuss about their cardiac problems, current complaints, understand the risks and complications, and to adopt healthy lifestyle habits. It also helps in better understanding the treatment methods and surgery procedure, pre and post-operative preparations, risks, and complications of the surgery.
During the cardiac consultation, your doctor will evaluate past medical history, and perform thorough physical examination and tests to assess the risk of developing heart diseases. Early diagnosis may have a better prognosis and minimize the complications.
Physician consultation is a good opportunity and you should be prepared for it.
Carry all necessary medical records for the discussion. It helps in better understanding your heart condition and avoids repetition of diagnostic tests.
Make sure you discuss your past medical history, surgical history, family history, and medications that you are taking.
Discuss about your lifestyle habits, dietary habits and also about your profession. Your lifestyle and nature of job may be associated with the risk for cardiac diseases.
Some of the cardiac diagnostic tests that are performed to determine heart disease include:
Cardiac angiography
Echocardiography
Stress testing
Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
Once the results are obtained, your cardiologist will design a plan for further evaluation or provide treatment. Your doctor may also suggest lifestyle modifications, such as losing weight, increase physical activities, avoid smoking and chronic alcoholism, and may also suggest cholesterol-reducing medications. If you are diagnosed with coronary artery disease during the scanning, then your cardiologist will suggest coronary revascularization through angioplasty, with or without stenting or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). These surgeries will lower the cardiac risk such as myocardial infarction or death.
Regional Cardiology Consultants is dedicated to providing quality, comprehensive, state of the art, compassionate, cost-effective and timely medical services in the promotion of improved health for the community of the greater Philadelphia and New Jersey areas.
