Diagnostic Consultation Specialist

What is a diagnostic consultation?

A diagnostic consultation is a meeting with your Comprehensive Internal Medicine & Cardiology Associates of Huntington cardiologist. Its purpose is to see if you have any problems with your heart or risk factors for developing heart disease.

Your heart enriches your blood with oxygen. Large blood vessels called arteries transport this oxygen-filled blood to all the organs and tissues in your body. Veins return the used blood to your heart to begin the cycle again.

Heart problems are common and often serious. A diagnostic consultation gives you a chance to take the steps necessary to keep your heart healthy and functioning as it should.

What symptoms might indicate I need a diagnostic consultation?

Common symptoms that indicate you should have a diagnostic consultation include:

• Chest pain (angina)
• Shortness of breath
• Palpitations
• Dizzy spells
• Fainting (syncope)
• Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)
• Chronic fatigue

You should also schedule a diagnostic consultation if you have a family history of heart problems.

Sometimes heart conditions and disorders like high blood pressure and high cholesterol — common causes of heart disease — cause few if any symptoms until they reach a critical level. Therefore, if you’ve got any risk factors for heart disease, you could benefit from having a diagnostic consultation.

Leading risk factors include:

• Being overweight or obese.
• Leading an inactive lifestyle.
• Smoking or drinking heavily.

Having underlying conditions like Type 2 diabetes also increases your risk of developing cardiac problems.

What happens at my diagnostic consultation?

At the start of your diagnostic consultation at Comprehensive Internal Medicine & Cardiology Associates of Huntington, your provider looks at your medical history and asks you about your current health.

Next, they do routine checks like measuring your blood pressure and listening to your heart through a stethoscope. They also order routine blood tests to measure your cholesterol levels, chemistry blood count, etc., to evaluate how your body is working.

Another test your provider is likely to do at your diagnostic consultation is an electrocardiogram (EKG). This is a painless procedure. Electrodes are attached to your body that record the electrical activity in your heart.

Your provider could recommend further tests depending on the outcome of your initial exam.

What other tests might a diagnostic consultation include?

Possible tests you might need as part of your diagnostic consultation include:

• Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound)
• Stress testing
• Holter or event monitoring
• Ankle brachial index (ABI) test
• Cardiac MRI
• Cardiac CT scan
  
  

Once your provider has the results of your tests, they can discuss any treatments that they feel are necessary.

To arrange your expert diagnostic consultation, call Comprehensive Internal Medicine & Cardiology Associates of Huntington today or book an appointment online.