With the increasing pace of heart diseases everywhere around the world, Cardiologists or heart doctors are the only helping hand. Just like other countries, in Singapore also, heart diseases are very frequent irrespective of the age. A heart specialist doctor is referred to the individuals to save themselves from life-threatening heart diseases.
Who is a Heart Specialist Doctor?
According to Thomson Medical, a heart specialist doctor is commonly known as a cardiologist in the medical term. This is because they diagnose and give treatment for the diseases related to the cardiovascular system and blood vessels. The major components of the cardiovascular system include arteries, capillaries, veins, Portal veins, Heart, Coronary vessels, Lungs, Brain, Kidneys, and Lymphatic system.
What kind of diseases are treated by Heart specialists?
source: medicalnewstoday.com
Some of the major diseases that are treated by heart doctors are-
a) Atherosclerosis ( narrowing of the artery)
b) Atrial Fibrillation ( Abnormal heart rhythm)
c) Arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat)
d) Congenital Heart Disease (Fault in the structure of the heart)
e) Coronary heart disease (narrowing of blood vessels and coronary arteries)
f) Heart attack
g) Congestive Heart Disease (Improper pumping of blood by heart)
h) High Cholesterol
i) Hypertension (High blood pressure leading to heart stroke, heart disease, and death)
j) Pericarditis (Inflammation of the pericardium surrounding the heart)
h) Ventricular tachycardia (irregular heartbeat due to improver ventricular activity)
Roles and Responsibilities of a Heart Doctor
1. Consultation
The first responsibility of a heart specialist is to consult the concerns of the patient. The consultation process involves checking the patient heartbeats, blood pressures, weights, hearing to their discomforts and based on that suggesting medicine and exercises as required. After an initial consultation, If the concern is serious further diagnosis is recommended.
2. Cardiac Testing
If the doctor feels the concern can be serious, he/she recommends the patients for heart testing procedures like- ECG, Stress test, Holter monitoring, Cardiac computerized tomography, Cardiac magnetic Resonance imaging or Cardia Catherization as required to diagnose the condition of the heart. Based on the diagonalized reports, further treatments are recommended.
3. Treatment
If the issues are minor, the cardiologists prefer giving medicine, diet plans, lifestyle changes, and exercises. But, if the concern is serious, installation of a pacemaker, thrombolytic therapy, Defibrillation, Angioplasty, placing stints, and surgeries are performed to save the life of the heart patients. Heart surgeries mainly involve Aortic valve Surgery, heart transplant, Congenital Heart surgery, Bypass surgery, Valvular surgery, Arrhythmia surgery and many more.
4. Follow Up
After successful treatment or surgeries, the doctors take follow up from patients. They might give regular appointment schedules based on the patient’s condition or at intervals to track the improvement.
source: medstarheartinstitute.org
Qualification required for a Heart Doctor
To be a successful heart specialist, you need to take more than 10 years of rigorous medical study and training.
Premedical education for the first four years.
Core medical training with M.D. degree for another 4 years.
A high score in medical exams to obtain the license of practicing
Residency Training programs in internal medicine for another 3 years
Completing an in-depth Cardiology fellowship program for the next 3 years.
Final Words
Heart Specialists are one of the most required medical professionals for people nowadays. In a developed country like Singapore, you can find plenty of medical agencies and hospitals with a pool of top-notch cardiologists and heart surgeons to help you with the best medical assistance.