Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart. The term ''cardiology'' is derived from the Greek word ''καρδιά'' (transliterated as ''kardia'' and meaning ''heart'' or ''inner self''). Physicians specializing in this field of medicine are called cardiologists.
The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology.
The Cardiology as a specialty is further divided into Interventional Cardiac procedures in the cath lab, Cardio thoracic and Valvular surgeries, Paediatric Cardiology and Electrophysiology like RFA etc. All the sub specialties in Cardiology are different and have specialized doctors engaged in the procedures.
Cardiologists should not be confused with cardiac surgeons, cardiothoracic and cardiovascular, who are surgeons who perform cardiac surgery via sternotomy - open operative procedures on the heart and great vessels.
If you are suffering from Cardiac problems the following is the list of a few tests that would be needed for our panelists to make a comprehensive opinion
ECG or EKG – Electrocardiogram
Tilt Table Test
Electrophysiology Test
Heart MRI Scan
Chest X-Ray
Echo Cardiogram
Holter's Test or electro Cardiograpy
Stress Test on a tread mill
Coronary Angiogram
CT Heart Scan
Your Local Physician / Cardiologist will prescribe a few of these diagnostic procedures which will enable hime to prepare a line of treatment for your which could be
CAG – Coronary Angiography / Cath Study
PTCA – Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty
MVR – Mitral Valve Replacement/ Repair
Pacemaker Installation
ASD – Arterial Septal Defect Closure
PDA – Patent Ductus Arteriosus
PTMC – Percutaneous Transmitral Balloon Commisurotomy
CABG – Coronary Arterial Bypass Graft
AVR – Aortic valve Replacement/ Repair
DVR – Dual Valve Replacement
Open Heart Surgery
VSD – Ventricular Septal Defect Closure
EPS & RFA – Electro Physiology Study & Radio Frequency Ablation
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
There are various kinds of Implants that are used during the Cardiac Procedures. Some of them are listed below
BMT – Bare Metal stent during PTCA
Prosthetic Valves – During AVR/ MVR/ DVR
IABP – Intra Aortic Balloon Pump during CABG
DES – Drug Eluting stents during PTCA
Tissue Valves – During AVR/MVR/ DVR
Pace Maker
Interventional cardiology is a branch of cardiology that deals specifically with the catheter based treatment of structural heart diseases. Dr Purshotam Lal has a number of firsts in this field and is the premier Interventional Cardiologists in india.
A large number of procedures can be performed on the heart by catheterization. This most commonly involves the insertion of a sheath into thefemoral artery (but, in practice, any large peripheral artery or vein) and cannulating the heart under X-ray visualization (most commonlyfluoroscopy). The radial artery may also be used for cannulation; this approach offers several advantages, including the accessibility of the artery in most patients, the easy control of bleeding even in anticoagulated patients, the enhancement of comfort because patients are capable of sitting up and walking immediately following the procedure, and the near absence of clinically significant sequelae in patients with a normalAllen test.
Pediatric cardiology can correct many problem and diseases such as atrial septal defects, congenital valve problems, arrhythmia, bradycardia, congenital heart diseases, Ebstein's anomaly, Eisenmenger's syndrome, heart transplant, heart valve malfunction, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, mitral valve disease, mitral valve regurgitation, mitral valve stenosis, myocarditis, patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonary atresia, pulmonary valve disease, pulmonary regurgitation, pulmonary stenosis, tetralogy of Fallot, ventricular septal defects, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, innocent heart murmurs, Kawasaki's disease, long QT syndrome, rheumatic fever, tachycardia, tricuspid atresia, tricuspid valve disease, tricuspid valve regurgitation, tricuspid valve stenosis, and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
Cardiology is the Medical specialty that deals with the heart and the physicians dealing with that condition are called Cardiologists. The Cardiologists are the first people that the Patient visits to ascertain the severeity of the disease and the tests they need to undergo. On the review visit with the test results the physician makes a diagnosis and refers you to the specialists who would perform the correctional procedures for your heart disorders
Each day, thousands of people around the world have heart surgery. There are many different types of heart surgery. Surgeries may be used to Repair or replace the valves that control blood flow through the heart's chambers. They can Bypass or widen blocked or narrowed arteries to the heart and repair aneurysms , or bulges in the aorta, which can be deadly if they burst.
Surgeons Implant devices to regulate heart rhythms and help destroy small amounts of tissue that disturb electrical flow through the heart. They make channels in the heart muscle to allow blood from a heart chamber directly into the heart muscleand also boost the heart's pumping power with muscles taken from the back or abdomen.
Last but not the least surgeries help replace the damaged heart with a heart from a donor
Vascular surgery is a surgical subspecialty in which diseases of the vascular system, or arteries and veins, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures, and surgical reconstruction. Vascular surgery is a specialty dealing with diseases affecting the vascular system including diseases of arteries, veins and lymphatic vessels. Many patients referred to a vascular specialist do not require surgical or radiological intervention, but rather reassurance and lifestyle advice (lose weight, take regular exercise) coupled with measures to reduce their future risk of heart disease and stroke (antiplatelet and lipid-lowering therapy, blood pressure control). Additionally smoking is a major cause of vascular disease and over 80 per cent of vascular patients are current or ex-smokers.
The specialty evolved from general and cardiac surgery as well as minimally invasive techniques pioneered by interventional radiology .The vascular surgeon is trained in the diagnosis and management of diseases affecting all parts of the vascular system except those of the heart and brain. Cardiothoracic surgeons and interventional cardiologists manage disease of vessels of the heart. Neurosurgeons and interventional neuoradiologists manage surgical disease of the vessels in the brain
Vascular surgery encompasses surgery of the aorta, caorta,carotid arteries,and lower extremities , including the illac,femoral,and tibia arteries . Vascular surgery also involves surgery of veins, for conditions such as May-Turner syndrome and for varicose veins . In some regions, vascular surgery also includes dialysis access surgery and transplant surgery.