Cardiology : Specialists

What is cardiology?

Cardiology is a branch of medicine which specialises in diseases of the heart. This includes the diagnosis and treatment of all heart complaints such as coronary heart disease, congenital heart defects, heart failure and electrophysiology.

What is a cardiologist?

A cardiologist is someone who specialises in the diagnosis, treatment and management of disorders of the heart and blood vessels.

Note: a cardiologist does NOT perform surgery. Surgery on the heart is performed by a cardiac surgeon, e.g. coronary artery bypass. It is easy to confuse the two.

What does a cardiologist do?

Whilst a cardiologist doesn’t perform surgery, he or she will undertake the following:

• Diagnose heart complaints using a variety of tests. This will also include a look at the patient’s medical history.
• Prescribe a suitable form of treatment. This may include prescription drugs, changes in diet and lifestyle or surgery. If surgery is required then the patient will be referred to a cardiac surgeon.
• Preventative care: the cardiologist will advise a patient to make changes to their lifestyle in order to reduce the risk of heart disease. This can include advice about healthy eating and exercise.
• Further specialisation: this means focussing on a particular area such as paediatric cardiology (children and heart disorders).
• Help and advise pharmaceutical companies in respect of developing new drugs for cardiovascular conditions.