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.

Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are blood clot, peripheral vascular disease, angioplasty, hypertension, heart attack, congestive heart failure, angina, atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy, coronary heart disease, pericarditis, ventricular tachycardia, acute coronary syndrome, cardiac arrest, bigeminy, heart block, myxoma, cardiac arrhythmias, tricuspid valve disorders, and aortic valve disorders.

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including gastric bypass surgery, open heart surgery, valve replacement, valve repair, bypass surgery, carotid artery surgery, catheter ablation, cardiac surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, cardiac bypass surgery, cardiovascular surgery, laser angioplasty, valvuloplasty, balloon angioplasty, atherectomy, coronary artery bypass surgery, coronary artery bypass graft, coronary angioplasty, heart transplantation, and carotid surgery.

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including electrocardiogram (ecg or ekg), cardiac stress test, holter monitor, echocardiogram, blood test, sphygmomanometer, cardiac enzymes, ivus, electrophysiologic study, and coronary catheterization.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Florida has 1,861 practicing cardiologists. Broken out by city, cardiology doctor density in Altamonte Springs is 33, in Apopka is 7, in Arcadia is 4, in Atlantis is 32, in Aventura is 37, in Belle Glade is 5, in Boca Raton is 47, in Bonita Springs is 30, in Boynton Beach is 26, in Bradenton is 30, in Brooksville is 14, in Cape Coral is 29, in Clearwater is 52, in Clermont is 21, in Cocoa is 3, in Cocoa Beach is 10, in Coral Gables is 24, in Coral Springs is 15, in Davenport is 16, in Daytona Beach is 18, in Deerfield Beach is 4, in Delray Beach is 44, in Deltona is 5, in Dunedin is 25, in Eustis is 3, in Fernandina Beach is 15, in Fort Lauderdale is 91, in Fort Myers is 48, in Fort Pierce is 9, in Gainesville is 61, in Gulf Breeze is 19, in Haines City is 2, in Hialeah is 33, in Hollywood is 63, in Homestead is 3, in Inverness is 5, in Jacksonville is 148, in Jacksonville Beach is 20, in Jupiter is 22, in Kissimmee is 36, in Lady Lake is 16, in Lake City is 17, in Lake Mary is 24, in Lake Wales is 3, in Lake Worth is 30, in Lakeland is 28, in Lantana is 4, in Largo is 47, in Lauderdale Lakes is 10, in Leesburg is 17, in Longwood is 10, in Margate is 12, in Melbourne is 32, in Miami is 221, in Miami Beach is 58, in Milton is 6, in Naples is 35, in New Port Richey is 42, in New Smyrna Beach is 2, in North Bay Village is 2, in North Miami Beach is 10, in Ocala is 38, in Ocoee is 20, in Orange City is 9, in Orange Park is 21, in Orlando is 134, in Ormond Beach is 13, in Oviedo is 28, in Palm Beach Gardens is 20, in Palm Coast is 6, in Panama City is 5, in Pembroke Pines is 44, in Pensacola is 31, in Plantation is 25, in Pompano Beach is 19, in Punta Gorda is 10, in Safety Harbor is 43, in Sanford is 5, in Sarasota is 54, in Sebastian is 6, in Sebring is 39, in Seminole is 5, in South Miami is 25, in South Pasadena is 11, in Stuart is 12, in Sunrise is 7, in Tallahassee is 24, in Tamarac is 19, in Tampa is 113, in Tarpon Springs is 3, in Tavares is 7, in Titusville is 7, in Venice is 18, in Vero Beach is 16, in Wauchula is 4, in West Palm Beach is 41, in Weston is 24, in Winter Haven is 12, in Winter Park is 29, and in Zephyrhills is 15.

Florida’s warm and humid subtropical climate makes it a winter destination for many. Population in 2000 was 15,982,378, according to census statistics. Tallahassee, located in the north panhandle area, is the state capital. Tourism is a major industry in Florida, with Cape Canaveral, Disney World, the Everglades National Park, Universal Studios, the Atlantic coast and the Gulf coast all destinations for visitors and residents. Year-round outdoor activities include camping, golf, scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing and boating.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Florida has a population of 17,789,864. Of this population, 3,975,071 are under the age of 18 and 2,978,335 are at or above the age of 65.