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Cardiology consultation: your initial cardiovascular assessment

A cardiology consultation is the first step in assessment. It reviews symptoms, medical history, treatments and risk factors to select the investigations that are actually useful.

Why see a cardiologist?

Common reasons include chest pain, breathlessness, palpitations, faintness, high blood pressure, a heart murmur, an abnormal ECG, follow-up of known heart disease, a preoperative assessment or cardiovascular risk assessment.

What happens during the consultation?

The cardiologist reviews your medical history, symptoms, personal and family history, lifestyle and medication. The examination includes blood pressure measurement, listening to the heart and lungs, and checking for vascular signs or fluid retention.

First-line tests

Depending on the situation, the consultation may include an ECG, transthoracic echocardiography, Holter ECG or ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. These tests are not automatic and answer different questions.

What to bring

Bring an exact list of your medicines and doses, recent laboratory results, previous ECGs and imaging reports, medical letters and, if possible, home blood pressure measurements.

After the consultation

The cardiologist explains the findings, proposes changes to follow-up or treatment when necessary and organises further investigations. Cardiac CT, MRI, coronary angiography or an electrophysiology opinion may be requested as second-line assessments.

Emergency

For persistent chest pain, sudden breathlessness, prolonged loss of consciousness or neurological symptoms, call 15 in France.

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