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. Texas has 1,751 practicing cardiologists. Broken out by city, cardiology doctor density in Abilene is 17, in Alice is 3, in Amarillo is 37, in Angleton is 6, in Arlington is 25, in Austin is 110, in Bastrop is 4, in Bay City is 2, in Beaumont is 20, in Bedford is 12, in Beeville is 9, in Bellville is 4, in Big Spring is 3, in Brenham is 6, in Brownsville is 12, in Bryan is 5, in Burleson is 23, in Carrollton is 16, in College Station is 9, in Conroe is 22, in Corpus Christi is 36, in Corsicana is 10, in Dallas is 198, in Decatur is 7, in Denison is 6, in Denton is 19, in Desoto is 2, in Edinburg is 6, in El Paso is 41, in Ennis is 3, in Euless is 5, in Fort Worth is 71, in Friendswood is 5, in Frisco is 5, in Galveston is 34, in Garland is 12, in Granbury is 4, in Grand Prairie is 2, in Grandview is 1, in Grapevine is 38, in Greenville is 15, in Gun Barrel City is 3, in Harlingen is 22, in Houston is 390, in Humble is 14, in Huntsville is 4, in Irving is 16, in Katy is 11, in Kenedy is 1, in Killeen is 7, in La Porte is 1, in Laredo is 5, in Lewisville is 11, in Live Oak is 5, in Longview is 12, in Lubbock is 43, in Lufkin is 14, in Mansfield is 3, in Marble Falls is 8, in Mcallen is 46, in Mckinney is 20, in Mesquite is 42, in Midland is 10, in Mission is 3, in Mount Pleasant is 6, in Nacogdoches is 7, in Nederland is 2, in New Braunfels is 17, in North Richland Hills is 8, in Odessa is 13, in Palestine is 3, in Paris is 8, in Pasadena is 19, in Pearland is 7, in Plainview is 2, in Plano is 74, in Port Arthur is 12, in Richardson is 9, in Richmond is 4, in Round Rock is 17, in Rowlett is 5, in San Angelo is 12, in San Antonio is 162, in San Marcos is 6, in Stephenville is 6, in Sugar Land is 42, in Temple is 44, in Terrell is 4, in Texarkana is 6, in Texas City is 15, in Tomball is 10, in Tyler is 37, in Victoria is 9, in Waco is 11, in Waxahachie is 10, in Weatherford is 9, in Webster is 16, in Weslaco is 18, in Wichita Falls is 13, and in Woodway is 2.

Texas achieved statehood in 1845, and its capital is Austin. Houston is home to the Johnson Space Center with its world-famous NASA Mission Control. Texas offers a multitude of outdoor activities: you can visit a ranch or a rodeo, or go hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, or canoeing. Popular sites are the Alamo in San Antonio, the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, the Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio, or the Padre Island National Seashore in Corpus Christi. Famous Texans include former presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Dwight D. Eisenhower, actors Tommy Lee Jones and Joan Crawford, and musicians Janis Joplin and Buddy Holly.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Texas has a population of 22,859,968. Of this population, 6,219,854 are under the age of 18 and 2,258,423 are at or above the age of 65.