Is there a big difference between cardiologists and electrophysiologists?
As some of you know I’ve been having heart palpitations for over a year and can’t really afford a bunch of visits to the doctor. I’ve been diagnosed with benign PVC but it is so annoying because it’s ALL day and affects me causing dizzy spells accompanied with nausea and short breath sometimes. I even had blood work done yesterday and everything was FINE.
I finally found out about HCAP where I could apply for government assistance and they’re willing to assist me 100% for any health issues for a few months. I’m so excited and happy that I can finally see doctors for other issues. I’m long over due for a visit for a woman’s exam, I have back issues from a car accident, and now I can get to the bottom of my heart “issue”! I’m going to find an electrophysiologist ASAP.
Anyways, what can an electrophysiologist do that a cardiologist can’t? I’ve been on beta blockers to help the palpitations but no use and they made me feel like a zombie and always wanting to pass out. I don’t know what else to do or what else is causing my dizzy spells and my PVC but I assume they are related because on the forums many people have these symptoms!
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Cardiologists are the experts when it comes to diagnosing and treating heart disease. In fact, studies have shown that cardiologists are at the forefront in applying the latest research and following practice guidelines in treating patients with heart disease. And if you have another medical condition, such as diabetes or kidney disease, your cardiologist will know how to plan your care in a way that takes into account all of your health needs.
If you have an arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), cardiologists can use an electrophysiologic study (EPS) to find out what part of the heart is causing this change in rhythm and what medicines will work best to bring that rhythm back to normal. Sometimes doctors will recommend a treatment called ablation that can be done during EPS testing. Ablation uses electricity to kill the cells in the heart muscle that seem to cause the abnormal rhythm.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/diagnostic-tests/electrophysiological-testing-of-the-heart.htm
Electrophysiology is a subset of cardiology
@KNOWITALL, very informative, thanks. I’ll read. Anyone had experiences with electrophysiologists?
@chelle21689 You CAN do it!! :) It’s natural to be apprehensive, and you have to have answers.
I’m just so sick of feeling nauseous and feeling like I’m going to pass out. I really hope it works.
“Cardiac electrophysiology is the science of elucidating, diagnosing, and treating the electrical activities of the heart. The term is usually used to describe studies of such phenomena by invasive (intracardiac) catheter recording of spontaneous activity as well as of cardiac responses to programmed electrical stimulation (PES). These studies are performed to assess complex arrhythmias, elucidate symptoms, evaluate abnormal electrocardiograms, assess risk of developing arrhythmias in the future, and design treatment. These procedures increasingly include therapeutic methods (typically radiofrequency ablation) in addition to diagnostic and prognostic procedures. Other therapeutic modalities employed in this field include antiarrhythmic drug therapy and implantation of pacemakers and automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (AICD).”
Wikipedia
Not only am I trained in Echocardiography and EKG, but I am a heart patient as well. I have both a cardiologist and an electrophysiologist. The primary difference is that the cardiologist focuses on the mechanical function of the heart, (ie: ejection fraction, fuction of the valves as well as the endocardium itself) vs the electrophysiologist focuses on the electrical function of the heart (ie: rhythms/arrhythmias, etc). I have a condition called atrial fibrillation, better known as A-fib. My a-fib is a complication due to a congenital heart defect that I have. I was given a CRT (Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy) pacemaker to correct this condition. This condition is represented by an irregularly irregular heartbeat. Essentially what this means is that my heart does not beat at consistent intervals. It is graphically represented on an EKG strip by the absence of a P-wave (P-wave graphically represents atrial depolarization) in each heartbeat. The second tell tale sign of a-fib is the uneven spacing between QRS complexes (graphically represents ventricular depolarization) on each heartbeat. A-fib is caused by ectopic foci in the heart’s atrial muscle, becoming irritated and sending out impulses strong enough to overwhelm the heart’s SA (sinoatrial) node, also known as “the pacemaker” (the heart’s natural pacemaker), thus resulting in the irregular heartbeat.
An electrophysiologist has the expertise and training to diagnose and treat conduction abnormalities, using medication such as Ticosyn, and/or Multaq, ablations and cardioversions (shocking the heart), or the implant of mechanical devices such as a pacemaker, whether it is for CRT, or an ICD (usually used to treat ventricular arrhythmias).
Bottom line…I highly recommend you find yourself a good EP. If you live in the south Florida Area, I can recommend mine to you. Good luck, and keep us posted.
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