Overview
Cardiology is the branch of medicine that focuses on the heart and blood vessels. A cardiologist is a doctor who evaluates symptoms, looks for heart-related causes of illness, and helps manage both short-term and long-term cardiovascular conditions. Cardiology includes prevention as well as treatment.
Key Symptoms
People may be referred to cardiology for chest discomfort, shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, leg swelling, or a feeling that the heart is racing, fluttering, or beating irregularly. Some people have no symptoms and are evaluated because of high blood pressure, an abnormal test, or strong family history. Symptoms can vary by age, sex, and the specific heart condition.
Causes and Risk Factors
Heart and blood vessel diseases can be linked to atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, inherited conditions, infections, problems with heart valves, or electrical problems affecting heart rhythm. Common risk factors include smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, older age, and family history. Stress, poor sleep, and excess alcohol can also affect heart health.
Who Is Affected
Cardiology care is relevant to adults of all ages and sometimes children, depending on the condition. Cardiovascular disease affects people worldwide and can occur in any population. Risk often rises with age, but some conditions appear earlier because of genetics, congenital heart disease, or long-standing risk factors.
Prevention
Many cardiovascular problems can be partly prevented by not smoking, staying physically active, eating a heart-healthy diet, managing blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar, and attending regular health checkups. Prevention also includes recognizing family history and getting medical advice when warning signs appear. Vaccination and infection prevention can matter for some heart conditions.
Diagnosis and Tests
Cardiologists use a medical history, physical examination, and tests to understand heart function and circulation. Common tests include blood pressure measurement, electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, blood tests, stress testing, heart rhythm monitoring, and imaging studies. The choice of tests depends on the person's symptoms, risk factors, and overall health.
Treatment Categories
Treatment depends on the specific heart condition and may include lifestyle changes, monitoring, medicines, minimally invasive procedures, implanted devices, or surgery. Examples include treatment for blood pressure, cholesterol, abnormal rhythms, blocked arteries, or weakened heart function. Ongoing follow-up is often important because many heart conditions are chronic.
Diet and Lifestyle
Daily habits play a major role in heart health. Helpful steps often include eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes; limiting tobacco exposure; being physically active; getting adequate sleep; and reducing excess salt and highly processed foods. People with known heart disease should ask their healthcare team which activities and dietary changes fit their situation.
When to Seek Medical Care
Seek medical care if you have repeated chest discomfort, unexplained shortness of breath, palpitations, fainting, swelling in the legs, or unusually high blood pressure readings. Prompt assessment is also important if you have a strong family history of early heart disease or if you have risk factors such as diabetes or smoking. New or worsening symptoms should not be ignored.
When It May Be an Emergency
Urgent emergency care is needed for possible heart attack or other serious cardiac events. Warning signs can include chest pain or pressure, pain spreading to the arm, back, neck, or jaw, severe shortness of breath, fainting, sudden weakness, or a fast or irregular heartbeat with feeling unwell. If these symptoms happen, contact local emergency services right away.