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Cardiology is a branch of medicine dealing with diseases of the heart and circulatory system. A cardiologist recognizes congenital cardiological diseases, conducts and interprets tests such as ECG, heart echo, echocardiography, orders treatment and supervises the rehabilitation process of patients with problems in this area. Check what diseases are diagnosed by a cardiologist and what are the specializations in the field of cardiology.

Cardiologistdeals with diseases and defects of the heart (congenital and acquired) and of the circulatory system.Cardiologyis one of the key areas of medicine today, as cardiovascular diseases rank at the top of the list of the most common causes of death in developed countries. Cardiology developed most in the 20th century. Currently, this field is divided into several subspeci alties:

  • non-invasive cardiology - deals with the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases without interfering with the body's structures (e.g. through ECG, echocardiography, scintigraphy);
  • invasive (or interventional) cardiology - allows you to treat heart diseases without opening the chest. A vascular catheter is used for the treatment, mainly using two techniques: cardiac catheterization and angiocardiography (coronary angiography);
  • children's cardiology - deals with diseases of the heart and circulatory system in children;
  • cardiac surgery - a department dealing with the surgical treatment of heart diseases, among cardiac surgeries there are heart transplants, replacement of valves, pacemakers, and by-pass implantation.

It is worth adding that hypertensiology, i.e. a separate specialization dealing with the treatment of arterial hypertension, emerged from cardiology.

Contents:

  1. Cardiology - scope of the field. What does a cardiologist do?
  2. Cardiologist - what diseases does he treat?
  3. Cardiology - research
  4. Cardiology - treatment methods

Cardiology - scope of the field. What does a cardiologist do?

A doctor specializing in cardiology deals with:

  • diagnostics of heart and blood vessel diseases, both congenital and acquired;
  • establishing treatment methods and supervising the rehabilitation of patients withdiseases of the cardiovascular system;
  • conducting research in the field of non-invasive and invasive cardiology;
  • primary intensive care;
  • together with specialists in other fields of medicine, formulating guidelines aimed at increasing the effectiveness of cardiac treatment and surgical techniques.

Cardiologist - what diseases does he treat?

The cardiologist deals with the diagnosis and treatment of the following diseases:

  • coronary artery disease (ischemic heart disease)
  • hypertension
  • heart failure
  • myocardial infarction
  • atherosclerosis
  • angina (angina)
  • heart rhythm disturbance
  • myocarditis
  • heart defects, incl. mitral regurgitation, aortic regurgitation, mitral valve stenosis, aortic stenosis, tricuspid regurgitation, Fallot's syndrome,
  • tachycardia,
  • bradycardia.

Cardiology - research

Tests that are used to diagnose diseases and defects of the heart and circulatory system include:

  • EKG
  • electrocardiographic stress test
  • holter EKG
  • pressure recorder
  • Chest X-ray
  • heart echo
  • echocardiographic stress test
  • radioisotope SPECT study
  • 32 or 64-row spiral tomography
  • MRI
  • positron emission computed tomography (PET)
  • tilt test.

Cardiology - treatment methods

The following procedures are used in cardiology:

  • cardioversion - restores the correct heart rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation, and with ventricular and supraventricular tachycardia, by applying electrodes to the patient's body and triggering an electrical impulse that restores the correct heart rhythm;
  • RF ablation - it is performed in patients suffering from cardiac arrhythmia by inserting the femoral artery or vein and placing it in the place where the electrode arrhythmia is created, which restores the correct heart rhythm;
  • coronary angioplasty (ballooning) - consists in widening the narrowed arteries with the use of special balloons, the procedure is performed in patients suffering from ischemic heart disease;
  • pacemaker - the device is implanted under local anesthesia under X-ray control. The doctor cuts open the skin on the chest and creates a pocket in it for the device. Through the vein, electrodes are placed in the heart and connected to the pacemaker. Patient aftercan eat and walk during the treatment;
  • implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator - the procedure is similar to that of a pacemaker, the device is implanted in patients with arrhythmias, e.g. ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation;
  • rotablation - a procedure to shear atherosclerotic plaques in narrowed veins in patients with atherosclerosis;
  • percutaneous aortic valve implantation - through the femoral artery, using special guides and catheters, the aortic valve is implanted into the heart. The patient may return to normal functioning after 3-7 days.

Among the methods of open-heart surgery, the following can be mentioned:

  • by-pass implantation - the operation is performed under general anesthesia in patients with advanced ischemic heart disease. The procedure is to enable the proper flow of blood from the aorta to the narrowed or closed coronary arteries of the heart by creating "bypasses" from the veins taken from the patient's calves and / or the artery from the inside of the chest;
  • heart transplantation - organ transplantation in situations where the muscle damage is so extensive that the patient's life is at risk;
  • replacement of the heart valve - an open-heart surgery procedure that involves sewing a properly fitted valve prosthesis in a patient under general anesthesia. The procedure takes about 5-6 hours, the patient requires several days of rehabilitation afterwards;
  • aortic aneurysm surgery - it is performed in the case of excessive (over 50%) widening of the aorta, i.e. the largest vein in the human body running from the left ventricle to the abdominal cavity. The aneurysm is cut out and then a specially selected artificial prosthesis is placed in its place.

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