Who is an Interventional Cardiologist?
Interventional cardiologists (انٹرنشنل کارڈیالوجسٹ) are experts who perform catheter-based treatment of the heart diseases. These experts help in diagnosing and treating conditions like coronary heart disease, vascular disease, or any structural issues in the heart, without the need for extensive and invasive surgeries.
They deal with congenital problems as well as chronic ailments.
When should you see an Interventional Cardiologist?
You need to visit an interventional cardiologist when your GP or cardiologist (دل کا ڈاکٹر) refers to one. Moreover, people requiring processes like angiography also need to visit interventional cardiologist.
One also needs to visit the interventional cardiologist when your physician suspects a case of ischemic heart disease, which refers to the narrowing of the arteries. This needs urgent treatment, as when unaddressed, it can lead to angina, heart attack and even stroke as well.
Those already experiencing angina also need to visit the interventional cardiologist.
What are Interventional Cardiologist’s main areas of concern?
Interventional cardiology is a subspeciality of cardiology, so the experts of this field are concerned mainly with the heart and the blood vessels.
As the name suggests, interventional cardiologists (ماہر امراض قلب) perform interventional procedures like balloon angioplasty, stenting, mitral valve repair, PFO repair.
They perform minimally invasive procedures using majorly needles. Thus, they do not have to perform incisions on the patient.
They mainly treat problems like IHD, which entails performing procedures like percutaneous coronary intervention, stent placement, coronary thrombectomy.
Similarly, they also address valve disease by performing procedures like valvuloplasty, percutaneous valve repair, etc.
Moreover, interventional cardiologists (انٹرنشنل کارڈیالوجسٹ) also address congenital heart abnormalities by performing procedures like atrial and ventricular septal defects repairment, closure of patent ductus arteriosus, angioplasty of great vessels etc.
They also carry out investigations of the coronary arteries to assess the heart condition of the patients. They make use of various tools like pressure wires, intravascular ultrasound, optical coherent tomography, etc. to carry out the diagnosis.
Moreover, they also help people in managing their disease by performing processes like ablations, etc. Interventional cardiologists also help in remedying the symptoms of angina in the patient.
What are the most common cardiac problems in Pakistan?
Heart diseases are the leading cause of death globally, and Pakistan is no exception. The challenges facing Pakistan pertaining to heart disease are not just due to lack of access to quality health infrastructure, but other variants also increase the disease burden of the country.
There is a lack of adequate policy with regards to curbing the risk factors. This is compounded by the dearth of quality data with regards to the prevalence of the disease in the public and the risk factors.
There is also the issue of demographics; the population living in rural areas with low literacy rates, poverty, and lack of access to healthcare has a greater risk of heart disease.
Moreover, the general lack of awareness about how to make healthy lifestyle choices also, therefore, increases the prevalence of risk factors like smoking.
According to research conducted by Barolia and Sayani, a significant portion of the adult population faces conditions that increase their risk factors for heart disease. The top 5 risk factors are:
|
Risk factors
|
% Prevalence in adult population
|
|
Hypertension
|
41.0
|
|
Tobacco
|
21.0
|
|
Obesity
|
21.0
|
|
High cholesterol
|
17.3
|
|
Diabetes
|
10.0
|
Moreover, there is also the matter of lack of experts like interventional cardiologists. This then paints a rather bleak picture about the current state of affairs with regards to the field of cardiology in Pakistan.
How to become an Interventional Cardiologist in Pakistan?
People aspiring to become an interventional cardiologist (انٹرنشنل کارڈیالوجسٹ) first need to complete their M.B.B.S, and a year of house-job.
They then have to start their FCPS training, followed by their specialization in the field of interventional cardiology. After successfully completing the training and passing the exams, they are then accredited by CPSP, and can practice in the specialty of Interventional Cardiology.
What are Interventional Cardiologists called in Pakistan?
Interventional cardiologists are also known as:
- Heart specialist
- Heart doctor
- Dil ka doctor
- Mahir amraaz-e-qalb
- انٹرنشنل کارڈیالوجسٹ
- ماہر امراض قلب
- دل کا ڈاکٹر
