Cardiology: Frequently Asked Questions
Cardiology is the treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels. A cardiologist is a physician who specializes in treating heart conditions such as abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, coronary artery disease, congenital heart defects, and disease of the heart valves. A cardiologist can inform your doctor about new drugs or tests that may be beneficial to you.
Some heart conditions can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle, and can be fatal. Methods that cardiologists use to study heart conditions include stress tests, a monitor to record your heart rate and rhythm, a biopsy, which studies a tiny piece of heart tissue, and an echocardiogram, which uses sound waves to show a picture of how your heart works.
Cardiologists may treat any of the following conditions...
- Cardiomyopathy
- Endocarditis
- Heart attack
- Heart Disease
- High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Hypertension
- Managing Cholestrol
- Myocardial infarction
- Obesity
- Pulmonary Hypertension
Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including Gastric Bypass Surgery, Open Heart Surgery, Bypass Surgery, Valve Repair, Valve Replacement, Cardiac Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Carotid Artery Surgery, Catheter Ablation, Atherectomy, Balloon Angioplasty, Cardiac Bypass Surgery, Cardiovascular Surgery, Carotid Surgery, Coronary Angioplasty, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery, Coronary Bypass Surgery, Heart Transplantation, Laser Angioplasty, and Valvuloplasty.
To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, cardiologists will often perform one of many tests including Cardiac Stress Test, Echocardiogram, Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), Holter Monitor, Blood Test, Sphygmomanometer, Cardiac Enzymes, Coronary Catheterization, Electrophysiologic study, and IVUS.
