TelecardiologyIndia Posts

Who is a telecardiologist or online heart specialist?

Online heart specialist or telecardiologist is an online doctor who helps you in understanding heart diseases.  How can you get maximum information and best utilize the services of such an online doctor.

What a telecardiologist can do?

Online heart specialist can read all your heart related investigations. These includes electrocardiogram (ECG), cardiac ultrasound or echocardiogram (ECHO), Coronary angiogram (angiography), Holter monitor report, Lipid profile (Cholesterol profile), treadmill test (TMT) or exercise ECG, Stress ECHO, Dobutamine stress ECHO, Paediatric ECHO, External loop recorder (ELR) etc. He can elaborate upon your symptoms. He can explain the disease process. He can discuss various treatment options and their outcomes.

How can you get best out of online cardiology consultation?

Whenever you consult a telecardiologist, please mention following things:-

1. Your major symptoms or problems. Detail of each of them including duration, change in intensity over a period of time, effect of exercise, definite or probable precipitants and relieving factors. If you feel a medication has surely affected your symptoms, do mention that.
2. Any preexisting medical conditions especially diabetes, high blood pressure, angina heart disease, heart attack, thyroid disorders, kidney diseases, liver diseases or diseases of lungs.
3. All current medications. These should include medicines, ointments and drops.
4. If you suffer from high blood pressure, do mention your usual (average) blood pressure. Do not forget to write your current medications and side effects of any previous medication.
5. If you have undergone a heart surgery or angioplasty (PTCA or stenting), please provide detailed notes of your procedure as supplied by hospital.
6. If you wish your online doctor to review your tests, do provide pictures, graphs or videos of procedure. This is especially true for TMT, ECG, ECHO and angiogram. If you do not want the actual review of investigation, then just provide the reports of these investigations.
7. Try to summarize your queries in form of definite questions. It is best to ask 3-5 questions in order of priority.

Telecardiologist gives you another perspective (Second opinion) on your heart disease. Moreover, he provides you much more time than your clinic doctor.

What is 24 hours ambulatory ECG (Holter) monitoring?

Holter monitoring or 24 Hours Ambulatory ECG monitoring is a test which is often advised by physicians or internal medicine specialist or cardiologists. The aim of the test is to record the heart rhythm of subject for continuous 24 hours. A simple recording device with variable number of leads (usually five) is attached to chest of patient. The electrodes or small sticking round patches of modified plastic are placed on chest of subject. The ECG leads are attached to these electrodes. These leads go to the recording device, which the subject wears around his/her neck with help of a strap. The device continuously records the ECG (electrocardiogram) of the subject for 24 hours. Although a standard 12 lead ECG cannot be obtained with this device but it is sufficient to study the heart rhythm.

  Patients with episodic palpitation, episodes of blackouts, transient passing off, unexplained fall, and transient loss of consciousness can be helped by this test. This test is also used for looking at average heart rate of patients with atrial fibrillation. This is specially true for those who get anxious during clinic visits.

Patients with suspected heart rhythm disorders whose symptoms are as frequent as at least one episode per 24 hour are best candidates for Holter monitoring. Subjects who have frequency lesser than one episode per day are obviously not ideal candidates. As their episode of illness may not occur during the period of monitoring. This will not benefit such a patient in any way. Patients with lesser frequency may be benefitted by 48 hours rather than 24 hours monitoring. Such patients may also be benefitted by External loop recorder (ELR) which can be worn for up to two weeks.

Our mission is to provide true picture of heart disease related issues. To empower our patients with true understanding of their disease process, disease status, possible treatment options and possible outcomes. We Welcome you all to interact with us to get answers to all your queries pertaining to heart diseases, risk factors and healthy heart living.

Thanks and Regards

Sukhvinder Singh