Have questions about your visit, treatment options, or what to expect at the Heart & Vascular Clinic? Explore our frequently asked questions to get the clarity and guidance you need.
What are your office hours?
Monday – Friday: 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Saturday – Sunday: Closed
We are closed on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Where can I find reliable information about heart health?
We recommend the following trusted resources for learning more about cardiovascular health, symptoms, prevention, and treatment:
These sites are excellent for learning more in between visits and preparing questions for your next appointment.
What is cardiovascular disease?
Cardiovascular disease includes a range of heart-related conditions such as coronary artery disease, stroke, heart attack, arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, and cardiac arrest.
What causes cardiovascular disease?
It can result from genetics, smoking, poor diet, lack of physical activity, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.
Who is at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease?
Individuals with high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, poor diet, smoking habits, family history, or older age are at greater risk.
Are there ways to prevent cardiovascular disease?
Yes. Prevention includes avoiding smoking, maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, limiting alcohol intake, and managing stress and chronic conditions.
What are my treatment options if I’m diagnosed with heart or vascular disease?
Treatment depends on the condition but may include medications, non-surgical procedures (like angioplasty or stents), lifestyle changes, and surgery. Your cardiologist will recommend a personalized treatment plan.
What can I do to stay heart-healthy and reduce my risk?
Follow a balanced diet low in saturated fats and sodium, exercise regularly, take prescribed medications, quit smoking, manage stress, get enough sleep, and attend regular checkups.
What are the symptoms of a heart attack?
Common symptoms include chest pain or pressure, pain radiating to the neck, jaw, arms, or back, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, sweating, and fatigue.
How do I know if I’m having a heart attack?
Chest discomfort, referred pain, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, or cold sweats are common. If you experience these symptoms, call 911 immediately.
What should I do in case of a heart emergency?
Call 911 immediately. Emergency responders can provide lifesaving care en route to the hospital. Do not delay.
What types of tests are used to diagnose a heart attack?
Your doctor may order an EKG, blood tests (like troponin), echocardiogram, chest X-ray, cardiac catheterization, CT scan, MRI, nuclear stress test, or PET scan.
What causes high blood pressure and how can I reduce it?
High blood pressure may develop due to diet, genetics, obesity, inactivity, or chronic conditions. Lifestyle changes and medications help manage it.
What can I do to avoid heart disease?
You can reduce your risk by not smoking, eating healthily, staying active, limiting alcohol, managing stress, and following your doctor’s advice for controlling blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes.
What is hypertension?
A very common disease, also known as high blood pressure, that affects millions worldwide. It is a disease characterized by high blood pressure pumped from the heart into the arteries that over time leads to heart disease, stroke, kidney, eye damage, and many other illnesses.
How to diagnose it: When your doctor takes your blood pressure, the levels should reflect the normal amount, as listed below.
Treatment:
There are various methods in treating this condition. Prehypertension may be treated conservatively at first with weight loss and diet changes – by decreasing salt intake and adhering to a DASH diet, one can see modest results. There are several classes of medications that may be used alone or together to help with blood pressure control that your provider will discuss with you.
For more information:
www.DASHDIET.org – information about diet choices with hypertension
What is peripheral vascular disease?
PVD is a blockage of the vessels that supply your body with blood flow. Your vessels consist of arteries (supply blood to organs from the heart) and veins (return blood to heart from the rest of your body). These vessels are blocked by atherosclerotic plaques and can cause decreased blood flow. This can lead to lack of blood flow to essential organs and even be life threatening. This disease will be diagnosed using ultrasound to assess blood flow in the essential vessels. Patients with coronary artery disease, diabetes, hypertension and smokers are at increased risk and must be monitored closely.
How do you treat it:
Depending on severity and location of PVD there are several options. Initial treatment consists of lifestyle modifications such as healthy eating, smoking cessation and supervised exercise. Medications such as blood thinners (anti-platelet medications and even anticoagulants) may also play a large role in conjunction with -statins (to lower cholesterol). If the blockage is very severe, angioplasty or intravascular stents are performed to improve blood flow.
For more information:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/peripheral-vascular-disease – AHA website about PVD
What is hyperlipidemia?
Also known as high cholesterol. Your cholesterol is made up of several parts but essentially is broken down into triglycerides (fats), LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol). LDL and high cholesterol leads to an increase of atherosclerotic disease (blocking of vessels) where high HDL levels decrease this risk. The main factors contributing to cholesterol levels are diet, exercise and genetics.
How do you treat it:
Depends on level of cholesterol and comorbidities. Decreasing red meat consumption and high fat foods while increasing aerobic exercise may modestly affect levels. Several classes of medications, most notably -statins, can also greatly help. -Statins in select patient populations has shown to have great benefit in reducing cardiovascular risk in patients.
For more information:
https://www.healthline.com/health/hyperlipidemia – More about Hyperlipidemia
What is venous insufficiency?
Venous insufficiency is a common disease state defined by leaky valves in the venous system of the lower extremities. The veins are responsible for blood return from the body to the heart. Over time, with age and other conditions such as obesity and pregnancy, the valves become incompetent and blood return becomes inefficient. Throughout the day, blood continues to pool slowly in the legs and they start to swell. Dark pigmentation in the legs from the blood may also be seen in some patients. Swelling tends to abate at night as the legs are elevated. Symptoms associated with venous insufficiency include swelling, leg pains, cramps, and restless legs, among others. The diagnosis is made clinically and confirmed by ultrasound to check the veins in the legs.
How is it treated:
Initial treatment is focused on prescription compression stockings. These should be worn all day and taken off at night. Compression stockings will help increase venous return and decrease the pooling of blood and associated symptoms in the majority of patients. It is important to remove stockings at night when patients are off their feet to give the legs a chance to breathe. Ultimate treatment may also include venous ablation. The principle is to create clot burden in the superficial venous system to promote more efficient deep vein drainage of blood throughout the day. Your doctor will discuss your options based on symptomatology and duration of disease.
For more information:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000203.htm – Information on venous insufficiency
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