When would I need a cardiologist?

If a person has symptoms of a heart condition, their physician may refer them to a cardiologist.

Symptoms that can indicate a heart problem include:

• shortness of breath
• dizziness
• chest pains
• changes in heart rate or rhythm
• high blood pressure

A cardiologist can carry out tests for a heart murmur or an abnormal heart rhythm.

They often treat patients who have had a heart attack, heart failure, or other heart problems. They help make decisions about heart surgery, heart catheterization, and angioplasty and stenting.

Heart diseases that a cardiologist can help with include:

• atherosclerosis
• atrial fibrillation
• arrhythmias
• congenital heart disease
• coronary heart disease
• congestive heart disease
• high blood cholesterol and triglycerides
• hypertension
• pericarditis
• ventricular tachycardia
• high blood pressure, or hypertension

The cardiologist can give advice about preventing heart disease.

A person may need to see a cardiologist even without symptoms, if they have a family history of heart disease or high cholesterol, if they are or have been a smoker, if they have diabetes, or if they are starting a new exercise program.

A woman who has had pre-eclampsia may be at higher risk of heart problems in a later pregnancy or during the menopause.