What is the cardiovascular system?
The cardiovascular system, called the circulatory system, comprises the heart, veins, arteries, and capillaries that transport blood. The heart pumps blood to tissues and organs, while the veins return blood from the body to the heart.
The cardiovascular system has three main functions: transportation, regulation, and protection. The transportation function refers to the supply of nutrients, oxygen, and hormones to the body's cells and the draining of carbon dioxide and waste products from the cells. The cardiovascular system maintains the body's blood pressure and regulates blood flow to the body's organs. This system also protects the body from infection and helps heal wounds.
The heart is a muscular pump with four chambers: the left and right atria and ventricles. The atria comprise the heart's upper chambers, and the ventricles form the heart's lower chambers.
Circulatory system problems often arise from blockages or slowdowns in blood vessels. This disrupts oxygen supply to the body. Common heart-related conditions include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). More serious complications involve heart attacks, faulty heart valves, and heart failure (weakened heart muscle). Aneurysms—typically in the aorta or brain—and strokes occur due to weakened or blocked vessels. Atherosclerosis (artery plaque buildup) leads to heart disease, while vascular diseases like deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) impair blood flow. Without proper treatment, these conditions can severely impact health and longevity. This is where healthcare specialists like cardiologists play a crucial role.
Who is a cardiologist?
A cardiologist is a healthcare professional who treats heart conditions. They undergo training in both heart surgery and internal medicine and treat various heart conditions, from congenital heart defects to heart failure.
Cardiologists use various diagnostic tools to assess a patient's heart health, including CT scans, MRIs, and echocardiograms. They also often perform cardiac catheterization, inserting a small tube into the heart to measure its function.
Treatment options for heart conditions vary depending on the situation but may include medications, lifestyle changes, surgery, or a combination. Cardiologists work closely with other patient healthcare team members to create a treatment plan tailored to the individual.
Cardiologists keep up with the latest research and developments to provide the best possible care for their patients. They also have an essential role in educating patients and their families about maintaining heart health and the importance of lifestyle changes and preventive care.
Education and training of a cardiologist
A cardiologist completes four years in medical school, three years in internal medicine residency training, and three years in cardiology fellowship training.
Cardiologists undergo training to perform various diagnostic tests such as echocardiograms, cardiac catheterization, and angiograms. They also work closely with other medical specialists, such as cardiac surgeons, to provide comprehensive patient care.
What are the different types of heart specialists?
After the usual medical training, cardiologists opt for specializations to treat specific conditions. Some of the standard ones include the following:
- Interventional cardiologists: They use invasive but nonsurgical methods to treat conditions like carotid artery disease, peripheral artery disease, valve disease, and coronary artery disease. They use a thin, flexible tube through a tiny incision in the skin to repair or replace damaged heart valves, place a stent to open a blocked artery, or perform other procedures.
- Electrophysiologists: Untreated irregular heart rhythms can be life-threatening or increase the chances of having a stroke. Electrophysiologists treat this condition by performing catheter ablation or implanting electrical devices like cardioverter-defibrillators and pacemakers.
- Cardiac imaging specialists: They use various imaging techniques to ascertain the root cause of issues like heart device infections, cardiac tumors, and valvular heart disease. These include cardiac MRI and CT scans, echocardiography, and stress tests with imaging.
- Heart failure specialists: These experts focus on managing symptoms of heart failure and slowing its advancement. Accordingly, they devise a long-term treatment plan to help patients manage and improve their health. Some treatment options include a heart transplantation or a left ventricular assist device.
- Cardio-oncologists: They detect and treat heart conditions in cancer patients. Due to their toxicity, some forms of radiation therapy and chemotherapy agents can affect the heart. Hence, cardio-oncologists focus on increasing the chances of cancer treatment while minimizing cardiac risk. They may also adjust the cancer treatment, prescribe cardiac medications, or recommend close monitoring if the patient shows signs of heart issues.
Types of cardiology
There are three broad categories of cardiology: invasive, non-invasive, and interventional.
Invasive cardiology involves open surgery or minimally invasive procedures that treat problems with the heart structure. Some examples of invasive cardiology include angioplasty and stenting.
With non-invasive cardiology, diagnosing heart problems without inserting foreign objects such as fluids, needles, and other instruments into the body is possible. Echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, heart monitors, stress tests, CT scans, and cardiac electrophysiology are examples of non-invasive techniques for cardiologists. The test results can help them diagnose disorders and determine treatment.
Interventional cardiology is a nonsurgical method where a catheter repairs parts of the heart structure, such as narrowed arteries and damaged or weakened blood vessels. This technique can treat peripheral, heart valve, and coronary artery disease.
Apart from these three types of cardiology, heart doctors can specialize in clinical cardiology, cardio-oncology, preventive cardiology, geriatric cardiology, and cardiac surgery.
Signs of an unhealthy heart
An unhealthy heart can lead to several symptoms, such as chest pain, irregular heartbeat, and shortness of breath. These symptoms can result from various heart conditions and often worsen with activity or stress.
Other less common signs of an unhealthy heart include dizziness, light-headedness, fainting, and swelling in the legs or feet. Heart problems can also affect health parameters such as blood pressure and cholesterol, leading to chronic diseases such as diabetes.
You can practice some things to maintain your heart's health. Eating a nutritious diet (heart-healthy foods, like those high in fiber and low in saturated fats), exercising regularly (at least 150 minutes every week), getting enough sleep, maintaining a healthy BMI and normal blood sugar levels, finding healthy ways to ease stress, managing high blood pressure and cholesterol, and avoiding tobacco are critical. If you have been diagnosed with heart problems, you may require medication to prevent heart disease. Seeing a doctor frequently for checkups and monitoring your BP/blood pressure and cholesterol levels are also essential. These steps can help keep your heart healthy and minimize your risk of heart disease.
When to see a cardiologist?
Consider consulting a cardiologist near you for a variety of reasons. While regular health checkups are always helpful, you must not hesitate to visit a specialist if needed. For instance, you should consider consulting a cardiologist if you experience any or all of the symptoms listed below:
- A history of heart disease in the family
- High blood pressure
- Elevated cholesterol levels
- Diabetes
- A heart attack in the past
- A heart transplant
- A heart surgery in the past
- Irregular heartbeat
- Chest pain
- Difficulty in breathing
- Swelling in your legs or feet
- Fainting spells or dizziness
- Leg ulcers or pain resulting from blood vessel diseases
- Nausea, indigestion, heartburn, or stomach pain
- A cough that won’t subside
Preparing for your first appointment with a heart doctor near you
Being prepared will help you make the most of your visit to a cardiac specialist. Leave early on the day of your appointment so you have enough time to get there and complete the paperwork before you see a cardiologist. You should dress in loose, comfortable clothing, as you may have to remove your shirt, shoes, and socks at the doctor's office or wear a gown.
Try not to use any body lotion or cream before your appointment. It can cause problems if your doctor wants to run an echocardiogram test that involves sticking sensors to your skin. It would also be advantageous to bring a family member or friend to the appointment. They could assist you in taking notes and reminding you of symptoms or episodes to describe to your doctor.
Find an experienced cardiologist near you in Brooklyn, New York
If you're looking for a cardiologist in Brooklyn, New York, Zocdoc can help you find the right one. With over 2,000 doctors in its network, Zocdoc will offer you a list of top cardiologists in your region based on your preferences. When you search for a cardiologist on Zocdoc, you can filter the results by insurance, location, gender, spoken languages, and more.
To find cardiologists near you who accept your insurance, you can choose your plan from the search filters or update your Zocdoc account's insurance information. Alternatively, you can take a picture of your insurance card and upload it if you're searching from a smartphone or tablet. It will help you find providers within your insurance network to help save on medical costs. Check out Zocdoc's insurance FAQs to learn more.
Each doctor's profile on Zocdoc will have valuable information about their experience, qualifications, certification, and so on. Moreover, you can also read reviews from other patients to make an informed decision.
Once you've found the right cardiologist near you, you can book a visit online with just a few clicks. Zocdoc even sends you reminders so you don't forget your visit. You can choose an in-person or virtual consultation.
Zocdoc makes booking an appointment safe, quick, and easy!
Statistics on cardiologists and cardiovascular health in New York
Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 15,190 cardiologists practiced nationwide. Industries that had the highest levels of employment in cardiologists included offices of physicians with about 10,110 practitioners, general medical and surgical hospitals with 4,060, outpatient care centers with 360, colleges, universities, and professional schools with 260, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals with 40. About 1,890 cardiologists were employed in New York State as of May 2023. The state has the highest employment rate for cardiologists in the U.S.
According to the New York State Department of Health, cardiovascular disease accounted for nearly 27% of deaths in 2021. About 7.4% of the adults in the state reported experiencing stroke, angina, and heart attacks in 2021. Among senior citizens, about 17.7% of people 65 or older reported having coronary disease in 2021.
America's Health Rankings highlight that in New York, almost 8.0% of adults have been diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases, ranking the state 18th in the U.S. (2023 data). The rate is higher in men (9.6%) than in women (6.5%). By age group, prevalence rises from almost 2.4% (ages 18-44) to 8.1% (45-64) and 18.9% (65+). These conditions include angina, heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.
Sources
New York State Department of Health
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Cleveland Clinic[1]
Cleveland Clinic[2]
WebMD
Mayo Clinic Health System
Florida Medical Clinic
Mass General Brigham
Cleveland Clinic[3]
Yale Medicine
America’s Health Rankings
