Cardiology
What is Cardiology?
The medical speciality Cardiology is known as one part of internal medicine focused on diseases and disorders related to the heart.
The diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions like heart defects, artery diseases connected to the heart, heart failures and much more summarizes the scope of the Cardiology.
Cardiology includes several subspecialties such as the echocardiography , nuclear cardiology and interventional Cardiology.
Subspecialties of the cardiology field include cardiac electrophysiology, echocardiography, interventional Cardiology and nuclear Cardiology.
There are a range of disorders of the cardiovascular system that are treated and studied under the field of Cardiology. Among them are acute coronary syndrome, Angina pectoris, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and restenosis.
In the field of Cardiology a range of devices are typically used such as various types of balloons and defibrillators, a pacemaker, and a stethoscope. Artificial hearts also are used and studied in the field of Cardiology.
Information about Cardiologists and the work in the Cardiology
Cardiologists diagnose and treat patients with diseases of the cardiovascular system, so the heart and blood vessels.
What is the work of a Cardiologist
The patients, Cardiologists treat and diagnose, are mostly adult patients with a number of possible different conditions such as:
- angina (chest pain caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries)
- arrhythmias, eg atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat)
- cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle) with heart failure including pulmonary
- oedema (accumulation of fluid)
- coronary artery thrombosis or myocardial infarction (heart attack) often associated with high blood pressure and high cholesterol
- diseases of the arteries (atherosclerosis, arteritis, atheroma)
The common believe is that Cardiology and Cardiologists focus on improving survival rates and gaining back life quality after heart diseases, disorders or failures but it includes a much more diverse scope.
Prevention and the process of the disease play a similar role and have a very high significance for the scope of work of a Cardiologist, too.
Sub-specialties of Cardiology and Cardiologists
The nature of the work requires often the development of a sub specialty for Cardiologists. There are several areas and as the field is a very complex one, a wide number of specifications. Examples would be:
- interventional cardiology
- adult congenital heart disease
- cardiac imaging
- heart failure including cardiac transplantation and support devices
Cardiology is one of the medical areas which are constantly developing the most, which means a lot of specialties and sub-specializations are always developing. Those include inherited cardiac conditions, cardio-oncology and interventional valve therapy.
Treating Heart Diseases at the Wiener Privatklinik: Discover Cardiology in Vienna at our Competence Centre for Cardiovascular Medicine
The complexity of the heart as a system is just incredible, which means the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, which can come here in so many ways and for such a diversity of reasons, is a very complex and difficult task.
At the Competence Centre for Cardiovascular Medicine at the Wiener Privatklinik, we treat several very common heart defects and diseases.
Some of the most common ones are listed below:
Treatment of the CORONARY HEART DISEASE
The Coronary Heart Disease is the heart disease, which is most common, especially in industrial nations. The treatment is very complex and diverse including besides medicinal treatment also several surgical procedures, like the well known bypass operation and minimally invasive balloon dilatation, nowadays connected to a stent implementation.
Treatment of Acute and Chronic HEART FAILURES
Heart failure is the pathological inability of the heart to pump the volume of blood required by the body in the atria without any increase in pressure.
It should be referred to as a heart defect rather than a weakness of the heart. A difference is made between chronic and acute heart failure.
Acute heart failure develops within hours due to heart rate disturbances or arrhythmia, mechanical obstruction to the filling of the ventricles, heart valve failure, acute heart muscle inflammations or pulmonary embolisms.
In comparison develops Chronic heart failure over months or years. This combined with the often lack of noticeable symptoms, because the organism compensates for the under-supply by quickening the heartbeat, thickening the heart muscle, contracting the blood vessels or increasing the volume of blood.
The described and mentioned reasons for the disease are very complex; such as the diversity of treatments. The keyword is here the interdisciplinarity which exists at the Wiener Privatklinik, whereby the collaboration of specialists in various fields represents a great competitive advantage.
Treatment of CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA at the Wiener Privatklinik
The third most common problem in modern cardiology is cardiac arrhythmia, most often occurring as atrial fibrillation or ventricular fibrillation.
These are disturbances of the normal heart rate caused by irregular excitation-conduction processes in the heart muscle. Causes for this issue might be both: congenital or acquired.
ECG (electrocardiogram), and particularly long-term ECG, is especially helpful for detecting the different types and forms of cardiac arrhythmia. In cases of doubt, a so-called electrophysiological examination may be necessary. Not all cardiac arrhythmia requires therapy. If treatment is indicated, it is carried out with heart rate regulating and stabilizing medication, by implanting a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator (AICD), by cardiac catheter or bypass operations.
The Wiener Privatklinik is specialized on Cardiology as one of our main medical services and core competencies! Contact us today!