For Patients (and Parents)

When You Arrive...

Registration differs at the individual hospitals. At PCMC, you will need to register with outpatient admitting at the south entrance and also need to check in at the front desk of the cardiology outpatient area, which is on the first floor towards the south end of the main passage. Registration is different at each outreach clinic

Your Clinic Visit

A clinic visit may be simple or complex depending on the problem. A visit for a patient with a heart murmur might involve only the cardiologist taking a history and conducting an examination, whereas a more complicated problem might require a lot of tests to determine the diagnosis and treatment.

You may first see a nurse practitioner, medical student or resident in pediatrics, but all patients are examined by a cardiologist who also reviews the history and will discuss what is wrong with you or your child. If it is a simple problem such as an innocent murmur then no follow-up visit will be needed; if the problem is more complex then one or more of the following tests may be required:

• Chest X-ray
• Echocardiogram
• Oxygen saturation
• Electrocardiogram (EKG)
• Event recorder
• Holter monitor
• Exercise Stress Test
• Cardiac Catheterization
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scan
• Computerized Tomography (CT) Scan
• Blood tests: Hemoglobin, electrolytes, albumen, INR

Diagnosis and Treatment

Treatment depends upon the diagnosis and may involve medications, interventional catheterization, or surgery. Follow-up will depend on the actual problem or disease.