As medicine has improved and new conditions have been discovered, there's been a great demand for doctors who specialize in these conditions. The field with perhaps the greatest demand is the field of cardiology. Gone are the days of being diagnosed and treated by one doctor. If you suffer from a heart condition, a number of doctors, from cardiologists to vascular surgeons, may be on your treatment team.
Cardiologist
A cardiologist is the heart specialist your family doctor may send you to when he feels you have a heart problem or a condition related to your heart. With more than 10 years of schooling, a cardiologist is trained to detect, treat and prevent various diseases of the heart and blood vessels. While unable to perform cardiac surgeries, a cardiologist serves as a consultant to the surgeons who do. She provides them with necessary information about your condition that she has obtained through various tests such as echocardiograms and cardiac catheterizations.
Interventional Cardiologist
According to Brigham and Women's Hospital, interventional cardiologists perform minor non-surgical procedures to treat cardiovascular disease. They frequently use thin, flexible tubes called catheters to repair damaged blood vessels, or perform diagnostic tests in an attempt to prevent surgery. Angioplasty and stenting is one type of procedure an interventional cardiologist performs; it is done to open a blocked artery, allowing for increased blood flow to the heart. Another procedure this type of heart specialist performs is carotid stenting. This is used to open the carotid arteries, the main blood vessels to the brain. In doing so, blood flow is increased to the brain, reducing the risk of stroke.
Cardiovascular Surgeon
There are two types of cardiovascular surgeons: vascular surgeons and cardiac surgeons. Both specialize in more complex cardiac surgeries, but cardiac surgeons perform a wider variety of surgeries.
Vascular surgeons perform bypass surgeries and a procedure known as an endarterectomy which helps clear a blocked artery. They also repair brain aneurysms, which are blood vessels that are weak or have burst.
Cardiac surgeons perform bypass surgeries as well, but they also repair and replace defective heart valves, perform heart transplants and repair atrial septal defects (tiny holes in the heart). The difference between these doctors is the education and training they have obtained, as well as the field of expertise they have chosen to pursue.
