The Early Stages of Becoming a Cardiologist At myheart.net we've helped millions of people through our articles and answers. Now our authors are keeping readers up to date with cutting edge heart disease information through twitter. Follow Dr Ahmed on Twitter @MustafaAhmedMD Follow @MustafaAhmedMD If you are reading this article on how to become a cardiologist,…
Leaky Heart Valve – When The Mitral Valve Fails
A leaky heart valve, when the mitral valve is the valve involved is known as mitral regurgitation. The most common cause of this leaky heart valve is mitral valve prolapse and it is the most common valve related disease in the US. Other causes include an enlarged heart and coronary artery disease. See some of…
Do I Need A Stress Test ? – Why It’s Not That Simple
I frequently perform emergency procedures to open up blocked heart arteries. At the end of the case, I’m often asked by the patient “how could this happen, I only just had a normal stress test a few months ago!” They think they have either been mismanaged by their cardiologist, or that the test was read…
What Is A Stress Test?
Unless otherwise stated, any stress test referenced on a MyHeart related blog post will refer specifically to cardiac stress tests. Other heart related stress tests like cardiopulmonary exercise tests can be discussed at a later date. In generic terms, a stress test is a procedure to indirectly determine whether there are significant blockages in your…
Echocardiography – Part 1 – What is an echocardiogram
An echocardiogram or echo for short, is a powerful tool used primarily by cardiologists to evaluate the heart’s structure and function. An echocardiogram is a type of sonogram which means that it uses sound waves to take pictures of your heart and related structures. The system is very similar to sonar on a submarine. The…
Diastolic Heart Failure
Diastolic heart failure, is when you have heart failure with a near normal (preserved) ejection fraction. This type of heart failure is related more to the heart’s inability to relax. Diastolic Heart Failure sounds like a really scary thing, but don’t write your will yet. Learn the facts from a world renowned cardiologist.
Mitral Valve Prolapse – Part 6 – Getting To The Bottom Of It
By Mustafa Ahmed MD MVP - Controversy and Frustration There are very few conditions that have drawn as much controversy and as much frustration for patients and physicians over the years as mitral valve prolapse. On one hand, if anyone with MVP asks a physician what the significance of their mitral valve prolapse is, they…
Aortic stenosis – What Is It?
By Julian Booker MD Our body’s primary artery, the aorta, supplies blood to the entire body. The aortic valve allows blood to flow from the heart into the aorta but prevents blood from leaking back into the heart. In aortic stenosis, sometimes called aortic valve stenosis, the aortic valve does not open normally. This…
PFO anyone?
By Julian Booker MD Help!! It’s an emergency!! I have a hole in my heart!! My last doctor performed an echocardiogram and told me I have a patent foramen ovale (PFO). What does this mean? More importantly, what does this mean for me? The foramen ovale is a shunt that is a necessary component of…
Mitral Valve Prolapse – Part 5 – How Common is it?
Before reading this, if you haven’t read the first few posts, go ahead and read them so you have a good understanding of what mitral valve prolapse is, and how the valve is affected. Mitral valve prolapse has had several names over the years, including floppy valve syndrome, click syndrome, and click murmur syndrome. Up…
