General Cardiology & Preventive Heart Care

Your cardiologist may:

• Review your symptoms and health history
• Discuss your family history of heart disease
• Perform a physical examination
• Evaluate your cardiovascular risk factors
• Review previous testing or imaging
• Recommend additional diagnostic tests if needed

Please bring:

• A current list of medications
• Previous heart test results, if available
• Insurance information
• A list of questions or symptoms you’d like to discuss

Depending on your evaluation, your care plan may include:

• Additional heart testing
• Medication adjustments
• Lifestyle recommendations
• Follow-up appointments
• Referral to specialized heart care services when appropriate

• Heart-healthy nutrition
• Physical activity recommendations
• Weight management
• Smoking cessation
• Stress management / reduction

• Blood pressure medications
• Cholesterol management
• Heart rhythm medications
• Heart failure medications
• Ongoing medication monitoring

Many heart conditions can be successfully managed with medications, lifestyle changes, and ongoing monitoring. If additional treatment is needed, your general cardiologist will coordinate your care with the appropriate specialists across Bassett’s heart care program.

Depending on your condition, your cardiologist may refer you for advanced procedures and treatments within our network, including interventional cardiology, electrophysiology procedures to treat heart rhythm disorders, minimally invasive heart procedures, or cardiac surgery. Working together as a team, our specialists provide seamless, coordinated care to ensure you receive the treatment that’s right for you.

A general cardiologist diagnoses, treats, and helps prevent heart and blood vessel conditions. They evaluate symptoms, manage chronic heart disease, prescribe medications, recommend lifestyle changes, monitor your heart health over time, and coordinate specialized care when needed.

Medical cardiology focuses on diagnosing and managing heart conditions using medications, lifestyle changes, and ongoing monitoring rather than surgery. Medical cardiologists help patients manage chronic heart disease, reduce cardiovascular risk, and improve long-term heart health.

Preventive cardiology focuses on reducing your risk of developing heart disease or preventing existing heart conditions from worsening. This may include managing blood pressure and cholesterol, maintaining a healthy weight, improving nutrition, increasing physical activity, and addressing other cardiovascular risk factors.

You may benefit from seeing a cardiologist if you have chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, dizziness, swelling in your legs, a heart murmur, a family history of heart disease, or other cardiovascular risk factors.

Referral requirements vary depending on your insurance plan. Some plans allow you to schedule directly with a cardiologist, while others require a referral from your primary care practitioner. Contact your insurance company or our office if you’re unsure about your coverage.

Yes, many patients see a cardiologist to evaluate symptoms, assess their risk for heart disease, or develop a personalized prevention plan before serious heart problems occur.

Yes, a family history of heart disease can increase your risk of developing cardiovascular conditions. A cardiologist can evaluate your risk factors and recommend screening, lifestyle changes, or treatment to help protect your heart.

Yes, managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol is an important part of general and preventive cardiology. Your cardiologist can recommend medications, lifestyle changes, and ongoing monitoring to help reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.

One of the best ways to prevent heart disease is by managing your cardiovascular risk factors before problems develop. This includes controlling high blood pressure and cholesterol, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a heart-healthy foods, staying physically active, avoiding tobacco, managing stress, and getting regular preventive care.

Our preventive cardiology team can help you create a personalized plan based on your health and family history.

Keeping your heart healthy starts with making healthy lifestyle choices and staying on top of your preventive care. Eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough sleep, managing stress, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, and seeing your healthcare practitioner for regular checkups can all support lifelong heart health.

You can strengthen your heart by staying physically active, following a heart-healthy eating plan, maintaining a healthy weight, managing chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, avoiding smoking, and limiting alcohol. If you have existing heart disease or risk factors, your cardiologist can recommend a safe exercise and treatment plan that’s right for you.

High blood pressure prevention begins with healthy lifestyle habits. Maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet that’s low in sodium, exercising regularly, limiting alcohol, avoiding tobacco, managing stress, and getting enough sleep can all help reduce your risk. Regular blood pressure screenings can also help identify problems early, when they’re often easier to manage.

Yes, losing excess weight may help lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, reduce strain on the heart, and decrease your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Yes, Bassett offers cholesterol testing as part of our preventive heart care services. Your provider may recommend a cholesterol test or full lipid profile to evaluate your cardiovascular risk, monitor existing conditions, or guide treatment decisions. If your cholesterol is elevated, our cardiology team can recommend personalized lifestyle changes, medications, and ongoing management to help protect your heart.

Yes, we provide cardiovascular risk assessments and may recommend screening tests based on your age, symptoms, medical history, and personal risk factors.

If you have heart disease, cardiovascular risk factors, concerning symptoms, or have been inactive for a long time, your cardiologist may recommend a heart evaluation before beginning a new exercise program.

Your cardiologist will review your symptoms, medical history, family history, medications and cardiovascular risk factors. Depending on your needs, they may perform an examination, order additional testing, or develop a personalized treatment plan.

Depending on your symptoms and medical history, your cardiologist may recommend tests such as an electrocardiogram (EKG / ECG), echocardiogram, stress test, heart monitor, or other diagnostic imaging to better evaluate your heart.

Our cardiologists diagnose and manage a wide range of cardiovascular conditions, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart valve disease, atrial fibrillation, and other heart rhythm disorders.

Yes, our cardiologists provide ongoing monitoring, medication management, and preventive care to help patients successfully manage chronic heart conditions and maintain long-term heart health.

To schedule an appointment with a Bassett cardiologist, call (607) 547-3180. Our team will help determine the right practitioner and location based on your needs.