Maintaining Cardiovascular Health - How to Choose a Heart Doctor
If you need a heart procedure or heart surgery performed, you will need to choose a heart specialist. Choose a physician with care. Even simple procedures should be researched and discussed with family before deciding to move forward.
Typically, your family doctor will be able to establish your general level of heart health and any need for a heart specialist. Start with a referral from him or her and use these tips to make your final decision.
Ask for referrals from friends and family. In addition to a referral from your family doctor, ask friends and family members for physician referrals. Someone in your circle may have had the same procedure or know someone who has. It’s always a good idea to hear about the experiences of a physician’s past patients.
Ask for a referral from a trusted doctor other than your family doctor. If you’ve worked with a specialist in the past whom you feel comfortable with and trust, even if they work outside the area of heart health, ask for his or her honest opinion on heart specialists that you are considering.
Meet each physician in person. Before making a decision about which heart specialist to use for treatment, meet him or her in person. You will not be able to gauge your comfort level with a doctor unless you meet face to face. Look for honesty, ability to listen and ability to describe what he or she will do to help you. As with any profession, you may enjoy the company of one doctor more than another. But it is important to balance professional expertise and track record with favorable personality.
Research the physician. Important information to ask is how much experience the physician has performing the procedure, the physician’s track record of successful outcomes, and whether the procedure is a specialty area for the physician. Realize that some procedures are quite new and so it is not possible for a physician to have many years of experience performing it. Also, it’s important to be sure the physician and hospital will honor your insurance plan.
Enlist the help of a trusted friend or family member to be your partner in selecting a doctor. Take the partner to your doctor’s visits to help record the conversation and so you can share opinions. The partner can also help by informing other close friends and family members who may want to be involved in the process of selecting the best physician.
Consider location. You might find out that the most highly recommended physician is not close to your home. You may or may not feel comfortable spending time in a facility that requires a long drive or even a flight. In addition, find out which hospital each physician is affiliated with and the reputation of that facility for performing the procedure you need.
Ask about the entire team. More than one health professional will be involved in your heart procedure. Ask about other physicians who will be in the operating room during the procedure and about health professionals who will be involved in follow up care.
Research the heart procedure. You may find out that there are alternative methods available for the procedure you need. For instance, if you have an abdominal aortic aneurysm that needs to be repaired, new intravascular procedures are available that have a much easier recovery than open chest surgery. Take your knowledge of the procedure to your meetings with physicians to be sure you are covering all of your options.
Follow these tips to ensure that you receive the best possible medical help. Heart procedures, such as cardiac catheterization and angioplasty, are quite complicated so you don’t want to take chances. Because you’re likely to spend many hours with your heart specialist it’s worthwhile to enlist someone you like and trust.
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