High or fluctuating blood pressure
Blood pressure is the force with which blood pushes against the walls of your arteries as it travels from the heart to the rest of the body. It rises and falls during the day. If it goes up too far and stays high for a long time, it can damage various organs.
High blood pressure often goes unnoticed for years while it strains the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, brain and other target organs. That’s why it’s worth seeing a cardiologist, who will check whether your pressure is really high (sometimes with 24-hour outpatient monitoring), find the causes and choose treatment. If you already take medicines and your pressure stays high, that’s a reason to see a cardiologist too.
Heart rhythm problems: a fast or slow heartbeat, skipped beats, an irregular pulse
A feeling that your heart “stops”, thumps, or a fast, slow or irregular heartbeat are signs of an arrhythmia. To find out what is happening — what type of arrhythmia it is, what caused it and how to treat it — you need to see a cardiologist. You’ll need an ECG (electrocardiogram), sometimes a recording of your rhythm over 24 hours or longer (a Holter monitor), the relevant lab tests and, if needed, more advanced tests, including high-tech ones.
Chest pain, pressure or discomfort
Chest pain isn’t always the heart — bones and joints, muscles, the stomach and gut, other organs or emotional stress can cause it too. A cardiologist’s job is to find any heart-related causes, tell them apart from problems in other organ systems, order tests if needed and treat accordingly. If the pain is severe, lasts more than a few minutes, spreads to the arm, jaw or back, or comes with breathlessness or a cold sweat — call 112.
Breathlessness on everyday exertion, swollen ankles
Getting breathless on exertion that used to be easy, tiring quickly, feeling short of air, swollen ankles, needing extra pillows to sleep — these are reasons to see a cardiologist, as they can be signs of heart failure and/or valve disease. A simple test often gives the answer: an echocardiogram, a heart ultrasound.
High cholesterol or blood sugar, heart attacks or strokes in the family
High cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, excess weight, and heart attacks or strokes in close relatives at a young age all raise the risk of heart and vascular disease. A cardiologist will assess your risk and explain what is worth changing — lifestyle, treatment or both.
Dizziness and fainting
Fainting, or feeling you’re about to faint (syncope or presyncope), can be linked to heart rhythm problems or blood pressure. So if you have these symptoms, it’s important to see a cardiologist.
Several medicines at once — how they work together (polypharmacy)
When you take several medicines, it matters how they combine with each other (drug interactions) and with other drugs and supplements. This can be reviewed at a visit — bring a list of everything you take, with doses.
A heart check before surgery or sport
Before planned surgery, a surgeon or anaesthetist may refer you to a cardiologist — especially older people and those with heart conditions. A heart check is also worth it before starting intense training if you have symptoms or risk factors.
It’s also recommended to have a cardiology check at least once before starting sport, including gym training.