Heart health providers span a variety of specialties, which means it can be difficult to know what kind of specialist fits your health needs. Here are some of the common heart providers and the services they offer:
Preventive cardiologist
A preventative cardiologist is the first line of defense in heart health beyond general internists, primary care providers (and often gynecologists for women). In an office visit, these physicians will screen for risk factors for heart disease, including: weight, blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, and smoking history. A physical exam, during which the physician will listen to your heart and carotid arteries in your neck, will also offer important information about your heart health.
People experiencing chest pain (angina) or symptoms of heart failure may undergo advanced tests in the office, like ECGs (a test of the heart’s electrical system), stress testing (a test of the heart’s strength) or echocardiograms (an ultrasound of the heart).
Interventional cardiologist
The interventional cardiologist is a specialist who often deals with cardiac emergencies, like heart attacks. During a heart attack, the cause is most often due to a blockage in the coronary arteries—blood vessels that supply oxygen to the heart. Interventional cardiologist are trained to do catheterizations. In these non-surgical procedures, a guided wire is inserted into the circulatory system, often through an artery in the groin, and threaded up into the heart to check for the location of the blockage. Using the catheter, an interventional cardiologist can insert a stent--a small tube--that opens up the blocked artery, restoring blood flow to the heart and saving a life in the process.
Interventional cardiologist can also use catheter-based techniques to help treat valve disease and congenital heart disorders.
Electrophysiologist
An electrophysiologist is a cardiologist that primarily deals with disorders of heart rate and rhythm, known as arrhythmias. During an electrophysiology (EP) study, the physician will guide a wire or catheter through the groin into the heart and assess the electrical activity in the heart. Certain medications might be given during an EP study to bring on the abnormal rhythms in a controlled environment, to determine the likely cause of the abnormality. These studies are useful in guiding treatment, to see if a pacemaker, ablation, or surgery is required to treat the arrhythmia.
Cardiac surgeon
A cardiac surgeon (sometimes called a cardiothoracic, or CT surgeon) is a specialist who performs heart surgery, such as for severe valve disease or coronary artery disease. For a diseased valve, like in severe aortic stenosis, the cardiac surgeon can replace the valve, restoring proper function. In severe coronary artery disease, surgery can restore blood flow to the heart by creating alternate pathways to “bypass” the clogged arteries in the heart. A cardiac surgeon also performs many other procedures, depending on the needs of the patient—like pacemaker implantation for people with rate and rhythm disorders, and ventricular assist devices placement and transplant surgery for those with severe heart failure.
Vascular surgeon
Whereas cardiac surgeons primarily deal with the heart structure, the vascular surgeon is a specialist who treats diseases of the blood vessels, which are connected to the heart. Diseases of the aorta—the major artery branching off of the heart--, may be treated by vascular surgeons, cardiac surgeons, or both, depending on where the aorta issue is located in relation to the heart.
Vascular surgeons are also experts in helping manage peripheral arterial disease, where cholesterol plaques impede blood flow in the arteries of the extremities, commonly in the foot or legs; venous disease of the extremities, like varicose veins, can also be treated through vascular surgery.