Best Cardiologists Near Me in Redmond, OR | WebMD (2024)

FAQs

What kind of doctor is best for heart problems? ›

If you have a heart problem—or your personal or family history puts you at risk for one—you'll likely need to see a cardiologist at some point in your life. This doctor should be intimately familiar with your condition, and be able to provide the most up-to-date treatments for it.

A cardiologist is a physician who's an expert in the care of your heart and blood vessels. They can treat or help you prevent a number of cardiovascular problems. They can also specialize in specific areas, such as abnormal heart rhythms, heart failure or heart problems you've had since birth.

These doctors who specialize in diagnosing and treating problems within the heart and surrounding arteries can answer all your questions and concerns about the three branches of cardiology: invasive, noninvasive, and interventional.

While both terms deal with the heart and its function, they have different scopes and applications. Cardiology focuses specifically on heart diseases and abnormalities, while cardiovascular encompasses the entire circulatory system.

Look for board certification in cardiology and interventional cardiology, as well as additional certifications or specialized training. Consider their years of experience, the number of procedures they have performed, and their expertise in treating your specific condition.

Heart bypass surgery is a complicated procedure that involves a significant amount of preparation and recovery time.

A general cardiologist is an expert in the non-invasive evaluation and treatment of heart issues, meaning they do not perform invasive procedures on the heart.

What does a cardiologist check for? ›

Your cardiologist might complete a medical examination. This includes checking your weight and testing for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other risk factors for heart disease.

Cardiology is a very diverse field, with many different subspecialty types or classifications of cardiologists such as invasive, non-invasive, interventional, general, electrophysiologic and others. Cardiology has the greatest number of subcategories and subspecialties in all of medicine.

Over the course of a typical physical or annual exam, primary care physicians consider matters of the heart. They'll check blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and ask about other heart disease risk factors like smoking, exercise levels, diet and family history.

Coronary angiogram

A special dye is injected into your coronary arteries and an X-ray is taken. The X-ray shows your doctor where and how much your coronary arteries are clogged or blocked. It also shows how well your heart is pumping.

Angiography. This test uses X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans or computerized tomography (CT) scans to look for blockages in the arteries. Before the images are taken, dye (contrast) is injected into a blood vessel. The dye helps the arteries show up more clearly on the test images.

Get to your doctor. You may have trouble breathing, an irregular heartbeat, swollen legs, neck veins that stick out, and sounds from fluid built up in your lungs. Your doctor will check for these and other signs of heart failure. A test called an echocardiogram is often the best test to diagnose your heart failure.