Cardiologist

Cardiology (from the Greek kardiā, “heart” and -logia, “science”) is a branch of internal medicine that deals not only with methods for diagnosing and treating disorders of the heart, but also with the circulatory system as a whole. Although the cardiovascular system is closely related to the blood, cardiology is relatively unrelated to hematology and its diseases. Some obvious exceptions that affect heart function will be blood tests – electrolyte imbalances, abnormal troponins, anemia and hypovolemic shock, as well as coagulopathy – pathological conditions associated with a violation of the blood clotting system. This branch of medicine is becoming more and more relevant every year, because the number of cardiovascular diseases is constantly growing and they are the very first cause of death in the world.

Doctors who work in this area of ​​medicine are called cardiologists. Since this is a fairly complex field in medicine and people usually spend a lot of time in it, working with other medical professionals, the specifics of their day-to-day duties may vary depending on the choices they have made when it comes to specialization. All cardiologists are clinical cardiologists who focus on the diagnosis, use of drugs, and prevention of cardiovascular disease. Some clinical cardiologists specialize in pediatric cardiology, which means they diagnose and treat heart problems in children. When clinical cardiologists treat only adult patients, they specialize in adult cardiology. Surgical aspects are not included in cardiology and belong to the field of cardiothoracic or cardiac surgery. For example, coronary artery bypass surgery or valve replacement. These are surgical procedures that are performed by surgeons, not by cardiologists. However, the placement of stents and pacemakers is controlled and, in many countries, even carried out by cardiologists themselves.

Main responsibilities

As with any medical specialist, the main task of a cardiologist is to care for patients, maintain their health and improve their quality of life. However, while general practitioners can meet people with various conditions and diseases, a cardiologist usually only deals with things related to the heart.

This does not mean that there is no diversity. There are many different things that lead to problems with the heart not working properly, from birth defects to damage caused by an accident or illness. Therefore, it is a job that requires a lot of study, practice and constant attention to detail.

What does a cardiologist treat?

Much of the focus is on improving survival and quality of life after heart attacks, heart failure, or arrhythmias, but cardiologists are also concerned with understanding disease processes and their prevention.

Cardiology doctors most often encounter the following pathologies, such as:

• ischemic heart disease;
• defects (acquired over the years or discovered from birth);
• angina pectoris (chest pain caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries);
• arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat);
• cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle) with heart failure;
• coronary artery thrombosis or myocardial infarction (heart attack), often associated with hypertension and high cholesterol;
• arterial diseases (atherosclerosis, arteritis) and aortic aneurysms;
• damage to the muscles of the heart that occurs against the background of inflammation of different areas (carditis);
• thrombosis and thrombophlebitis.

Doctors also treat patients who have experienced acute conditions, such as myocardial infarction or others. They help make decisions about cardiac surgery, angioplasty, and stenting.

Reasons for visiting a cardiologist

In almost all highly developed countries, consultations with a cardiologist are included in the mandatory scheduled examinations. If this doctor is ignored, it can end very badly for a sick patient. All people understand and know about this, but still, the majority constantly postpones or ignores a visit to the doctor, knowing that they have heart problems. Cardiologists around the world have come to the conclusion that if every person was conscious and serious about their health, they could save up to 200000 human lives every year.

Below are the most common complaints that should definitely lead you to a cardiologist:

1. Pain in the region of the heart. They have a different character and can be pressing, aching, squeezing, burning, tearing, can give to the lower jaw, upper limbs, shoulder blades. This is the most common symptom in humans, which requires careful examination and diagnosis, as it leads to a number of serious diseases. It can even lead to death.
2. The appearance of shortness of breath and a feeling of lack of air at rest or with little physical exertion.
3. Loss of consciousness for no particular reason or state of pre-fainting.
4. Changes in heart rate or feeling of irregular heartbeat. This usually leads to a general deterioration in the person’s condition.
5. Constantly recurring headaches, dizziness, decreased performance and general weakness.
6. A sharp increase in body weight.

Risk factors are conditions or habits that make a person more likely to develop a disease. They may also increase the chances of an existing disease worsening. Important risk factors for heart disease that the doctor and the patient can control are the following reasons.

High blood pressure

If your pressure is higher than 139/90 mm Hg, then you should definitely consult a doctor. It causes excessive pressure on the walls of blood vessels and leads to a violation of the normal functioning of many organs and, in general, leads to damage to blood vessels. If the pressure is not controlled by the right way of life or medication, then this leads to such pathologies as a heart attack or stroke, the formation of an aneurysm, narrowing of blood vessels in the kidneys and their weakening, metabolic syndrome, impaired concentration, memory and attention, rupture of the eye vessels.

High total cholesterol

Total cholesterol is the sum of all cholesterol in the blood. This can be said to be the main indicator of fat metabolism in the body. It plays an important role in the diagnosis of atherosclerosis and in determining the risk of coronary heart disease. Accordingly, the higher the cholesterol level, the higher the risk of heart disease. And if the indicators are above 5,2 mmol / l, then the lipid profile needs to be examined in more detail in order to prevent possible health problems.

Diabetes and physical activity

If you have been diagnosed with this disease, you are at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Physical activity is known to reduce this risk of type 50 diabetes and better protect your heart. One study showed that walking at least two hours a week reduced the rate of premature death from cardiovascular disease by about XNUMX%. People with diabetes are thought to have improved blood glucose control, which reduces its negative impact on vascular health.

Smoking

It has been known since the 1940s that smoking is linked to heart disease and cancer. Since then, tobacco has been an important risk factor for many diseases that can be fatal. If you have been smoking since childhood, your risk of cardiovascular disease is much higher than that of someone who started smoking as an adult. Smoking contributes to cardiovascular disease through a number of mechanisms. It damages the endothelium, increases fatty deposits in the arteries, increases blood clotting, increases LDL cholesterol, reduces high density lipoprotein, and promotes coronary artery spasm. Nicotine, the addictive component of tobacco, speeds up heart rate and raises blood pressure. Women who smoke are also known to be at a higher risk of heart attack than men. If you are a woman and smoke three to five cigarettes a day, you double your risk of having a heart attack. A man would have to smoke six to nine cigarettes a day to double his risk. It is estimated that smoking increases the risk of stroke, coronary heart disease and impotence by 100%, increases the risk of death from undiagnosed coronary heart disease by 300%.

Obesity or overweight

You can tell if you’re obese by your waist size, your waist-to-hip ratio, and your height-to-weight ratio. The latter is known to everyone as the body mass index (BMI). It’s not a perfect way to check your cardiovascular risk, but as your BMI increases, so does your risk of heart disease and stroke. After all, there are currently 400 million obese adults worldwide and one billion overweight adults. There are also rising rates of obesity in children. Worldwide, an estimated 17,6 million children under the age of five are overweight. How does fat affect the heart? Intra-abdominal fat affects your blood pressure, blood lipid levels, and interferes with the effective use of insulin, which further causes diabetes. Statistics show that 58% of diabetes and 21% of coronary heart disease are attributable to elevated BMI in people over 21 years of age.

Improper diet

The role of diet is critical to the development and prevention of cardiovascular disease. Diet is one of the key factors that you can change, which will affect all other risk factors. A diet high in saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. It is estimated to cause about 31% of coronary heart disease and 11% of strokes worldwide. In comparison, a diet low in saturated fat but high in fresh fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of heart problems by 73%.

Some risk factors, such as age, ethnicity, or a family history of heart disease, cannot be changed. For women, age becomes a risk factor at age 55. After menopause, women are more prone to heart disease, in part because their estrogen levels drop.

A family history of early heart disease is a risk factor that cannot be changed. If your father or brother had a heart attack before age 55, or if your mother or sister had one before age 65, you are more likely to have problems with heart disease.

You need to make lifestyle changes gradually. But doing them is very important. Other women may wonder: if I only have one risk factor for heart disease—say, I’m overweight or have high blood cholesterol—am I more “safe”? Definitely not. Each risk factor significantly increases the chances of developing heart disease. But having more than one risk factor is particularly serious because these factors tend to “cheat” and worsen each other’s effects. Thus, every woman needs to take her lifestyle seriously.

Preventive medicine

Because many heart problems are chronic long-term conditions, a cardiologist focuses on preventive medicine to neutralize and stop any progression of heart disease. Cardiologists perform a physical examination and interview the patient to assess their current health status and anticipate any potential problems. In addition to prescribing medications, a cardiologist may also provide nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle advice to improve heart health.

Methods for diagnosing and preventing cardiovascular diseases

An echocardiogram (ECG) is the primary diagnostic tool used by a cardiologist to determine the health of a patient’s heart. Echocardiography uses standard XNUMXD, XNUMXD, and Doppler ultrasounds to create images of the heart. It has come to be used regularly in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients with any suspected or known heart disease. This test can provide a wealth of useful information, including the size and shape of the heart (a quantification of the size of the inner chamber), throughput, and the location and extent of tissue damage. An echocardiogram can also give doctors other assessments of heart function, such as calculating cardiac output, ejection fraction, and diastolic function (how well the heart relaxes). Echocardiography can help detect cardiomyopathies such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, and many others. The use of stress echocardiography can also help determine whether chest pain or related symptoms are related to heart disease. The biggest advantage to echocardiography is that it is non-invasive and has no risks or side effects to the body.

An electrocardiogram (ECG) records the electrical activity of the heart. That is, heart rates while a person is exercising or else registering their regular activity at rest. This study helps to determine the frequency and arrhythmia of the heart, if any. The so-called cardiac arrhythmias. The ECG also determines if there are any violations of the blood supply to the heart muscle.

Daily blood pressure monitoring. With the help of this study, a cardiologist can evaluate changes in the level of pressure throughout the day and see at what time of the day it is high or low, and what this may be due to.

Holter monitoring evaluates the work of the heart for a long time (even up to 3 days). Electrodes are placed on the patient’s chest, they are attached to the so-called holter, which a person carries with him on his belt while the changes that are present in the heart are recorded. The doctor can then analyze the rhythm disturbances in more detail and determine myocardial ischemia by analyzing the results of the study.

Stress test or treadmill test. It shows changes in heart rate during rest and during exercise. The study is a cardiogram that is made to the patient on the treadmill and after it. This makes it possible to see how the patient reacts to physical activity and how his cardiac system reacts.

Patient care

Once the cardiologist knows what the patient’s diagnosis is, they must decide which treatment option is best. He may need to refer the patient to cardiovascular surgery for surgery, such as a valve replacement. Or he may decide that the patient’s condition is best treated with medication. Regular check-ups are required from time to time.

Therefore, we can conclude that a cardiologist is one of the most important medical professions. Since it is he who is engaged in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, which rank first in the world in terms of statistics of all health problems.