A cardiologist is a doctor who specialises in diagnosing and treating diseases of the cardiovascular system. The cardiovascular system consists of the heart, blood vessels and the blood. As such, cardiovascular diseases affect the heart, the blood vessels or both.
A cardiologist will review a person’s medical history and carry out a physical examination. A cardiologist may check the person’s weight, heart, lungs, blood pressure and blood vessels, and carry out some tests like Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), ambulatory ECG, exercise test or stress test and Echocardiogram.
The following are the groups of persons who should see a cardiologist;
Persons who have symptoms like
Shortness of breath
Dizziness
Chest pain
Changes in heart rate or rhythm
These are symptoms of a heart condition.
Persons who have had a heart attack or heart failure.
Persons who have heart diseases like;
Atrial fibrillation
Arrhythmia
Congenital heart disease
Atherosclerosis
Coronary heart disease
High blood cholesterol and triglycerides
Congestive heart disease
Hypertension
Pericarditis
Ventricular tachycardia
Persons who neither have the aforementioned symptoms nor heart diseases but have a family history of heart disease or high cholesterol.
A person who is or has been a smoker.
Persons who are diabetic.
A woman who has pre-eclampsia or had it and is currently pregnant or in her menopause. This is because she may be at higher risk of heart problems.
A person who is about to start a new exercise program
A person who has chronic kidney disease. This is because damaged kidneys increase the risk of heart attack, congestive heart failure and stroke.
A person who has peripheral artery disease (PAD)
A person who is experiencing leg pains, especially ones that are associated with activity. This could be a sign of blockages in the leg caused by peripheral artery disease (PAD) which is a disease highly associated with stroke and heart attack.
In addition to these categories of persons, every other person may see a cardiologist to find out their personal health numbers, these are a person's blood pressure, body mass index(BMI), fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol and HDL (good) cholesterol. These numbers provide important clues to a person's heart health. In addition to this information, a cardiologist can give expert advice generally on how to prevent heart disease.
In a nutshell, everyone should see a cardiologist.
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