It is easy to zero in to a heart specialist in Coimbatore. Coimbatore city has served as a medical hub for the region of western Tamil nadu and adjoining areas in the state of Kerala (Palghat and Trichur districts) as well due to the presence of many top medical facilities that rank amongst the best in the state and even the country. Every speciality of medicine has a presence in the city.
A Heart Specialist in Coimbatore is not difficult to find.
Cardiology related services in Coimbatore have not lagged behind and are highly rated. Finding a good heart specialist in Coimbatore is not difficult. The city serves as a sought after medical services destination for not only itself, but also its suburbs such as RS Puram, Ramanathapuram, Peelamedu, Sai Baba Colony and Race Course and also for the towns around it such as Erode, Tirupur, Salem, Trichy, Karur, Avinashi, Gobichettipalayam, Palghat, Trichur, etc.
Dr. S.K. Varma, Heart specialist in Coimbatore
Dr. S.K. Varma, senior consultant heart specialist in Coimbatore, at the heart and lung clinic (3A Swagat Charu Building, 123 Cowley Brown Road, RS Puram, Coimbatore 641002) and is amongst the top / best / famous heart specialists (heart surgeon / cardiothoracic surgeons) in the city with over 27 years of post qualification experience in the field of cardiac (heart) surgical care. He is available for consultation at the aforementioned address.
Interview with Dr SK Varma
Heart specialist Hospital in Coimbatore.
Numerous heart specialist hospital choices exist in the city of Coimbatore. Finding a good / best heart doctor or heart specialist in Coimbatore city is not difficult. All of these centres have busy interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery practices. All the major cardiac centres follow the “heart team” concept for decision making. A heart specialist in Coimbatore does not lag behind those in other cities regarding qualifications, competence and experience.
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Heart Hospitals in Coimbatore.
Heart hospitals in Coimbatore have been in existence for well over three decades in the city. A Google search for heart specialist in Coimbatore / heart doctor “near me” throws up many choices. In a heart related emergency, proximity is important. Every minute delayed leads to more and more heart muscle death during a heart attack. Any heart specialist in Coimbatore (and anywhere else in the world) will vouch for this.
The Heart and its function.
A heart specialist in Coimbatore, as is the case anywhere else in the world has a through understanding about the structure and function of the heart. The human heart is located in the chest slightly to left of centre and serves as the central pump for the circulatory system bringing oxygen rich blood from the heart to all parts of the body and taking back oxygen depleted blood from various organs back to the heart for onward circulation to the lungs.
In the lungs, de-oxygenated blood is re-oxygenated and flows back to the heart from where it is pumped to all parts of the body to ensure adequate oxygen supply and carbon dioxide removal which is the very basis of life itself.
The circulation between the heart and the lungs is called “pulmonary circulation” and that between the heart and other organs is called the “systemic circulation”. The pressures in the systemic circulation are about 2.5 to 3 times the pressures in the pulmonary circulation. The heart is composed primarily of four chambers – two atria and two ventricles.
The atria receive blood into the heart and the ventricles pump blood out of the heart. The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood from various parts of the body. It then flows into the right ventricle across the Tricuspid Valve and then to the lungs through the pulmonary arteries.
The blood is oxygenated in the lungs from where it is received into the left atrium. The oxygen rich blood then flows across the Mitral valve into the Left Ventricle from where it is pumped to all parts of the body through the aorta and its branches.
Symptoms of Heart Disease:
The heart is probably the only organ in the body that functions nonstop from birth until death (except when it may be temporarily stopped by a cardiac surgeon during a surgical procedure!). The heart may be afflicted by diseases from birth or by diseases that may be acquired during a life time.
Chest pain (angina), breathlessness, palpitation (feeling that the heart is beating very rapidly), easy fatigability, swelling of the feet, a bluish discoloration of the lips and nails (common in the pediatric age group) , failure of children to grow and gain weight as per expectations according to their age are all well known symptoms that may point to an underlying heart condition in both the pediatric and adult age groups. As is the case anywhere in the world, a heart specialist in Coimbatore will always look into the above symptoms during a consultation.
How does the doctor check your heart:
As is the case anywhere in the world a heart specialist in Coimbatore will first of all, look at your eyes, finger nails, tongue and conduct a general survey of the body before he gets to the chest. Secondly, after the general survey, he will “look” at the chest to look for the position of the normal impulse and also look for other visible abnormal impulses etc. He will then feel the chest with the palm of the hand to detect any abnormal impulses, he may then look at the right side of your neck to look for the venous pressure in the right heart.
Finally, he will then use a stethoscope to listen to the sounds of the heart. The heart normally has two sounds called the first and second heart sounds. Any additional sounds or murmurs may be a variant of normal or be abnormal themselves. Your doctor is the best judge to decide about this. He may then listen to your lungs and feel the size of your liver (in the abdomen) to complete the physical examination.
Further Tests for the Heart:
As is the case anywhere, sometimes, it is possible for the heart specialist in Coimbatore to make a diagnosis based on the history and physical examination as described above. So, he / she may order additional confirmatory tests. The common tests used in the diagnosis of heart disease are:
Blood tests:
Troponin T:
Cells in the heart muscle are called cardiac myocytes. When cardiac myocytes die due to a lack of blood supply (heart attack), the cells rupture and release intracellular contents into the blood stream. These include a group of substances called troponins. Among Troponins, elevated blood levels of Troponin I and Troponin T signify heart muscle damage secondary to a heart attack
BNP:
Brain Natriuretic Polypeptide is a polypeptide that is present in large amounts in the myocardial cells of the atria (the upper two chambers of the heart). Heart failure leads to increased stretching of the myocardial cells, including those of the atria. Atrial stretch causes a release of BNP into the blood stream. The more the atrial stretch the more BNP that is released into the blood stream. The blood level of BNP is thus a direct reflection of the severity of the underlying heart failure.
Highly Sensitive C Reactive Protein:
The levels of C Reactive Protein in the blood is an indirect indicator of the amount of inflammation in the body. The highly sensitive CRP levels are more cardio specific and their high levels indicate a high risk for heart attacks.
The ECG:
The contraction and relaxation of the “normal” heart produces “normal” electrical signals around the heart which can be picked up by electrodes placed at predefined locations on the chest wall and limbs. The normal electrical signals are converted into a tracing on paper. The tracing has a “normal” appearance. Variations from the normal may indicate presence the presence of underlying heart disease. It is important to note however that the ECG is not a fool proof test. Significant heart disease may exist even when the ECG is normal.
X ray of the chest:
An image of the heart can be captured on a xray sensitive film when the chest is placed between the source of X rays and the x ray sensitive film. The picture can be taken back to front, side to side or from other angles as well. The image can identify enlargement of the heart as a whole or specific chambers of the heart depending on the underlying heart condition. An X ray of the chest is also an accurate reflection of the patterns of blood flow in the lungs which also vary depending on tthe underlying heart condition.
ECHO:
The echocardiogram uses ultrasound waves (waves that are outside the hearing capacity of the human ear) to quantify movement of blood inside the heart. The sound waves are converted into images and they can be displayed on a computer monitor to evaluate abnormalities in the blood flow patterns inside the heart.
Angiogram:
An angiogram is a test used to diagnose and quantify any blockages in the coronary circulation of the heart. The coronary arteries bring oxygen rich blood to the heart. Any blocks in these arteries can deprive parts of the heart of oxygen rich blood which can result in a heart attack.
A catheter (fine tube) is introduced into the aorta via the radial artery (in the wrist) or the femoral artery (in the groin). It is guided into position at the origins of the left and right coronary arteries. A radio-opaque dye is then injected and the flow of the dye in the coronary arteries is then captured as a cine film. Any blocks in the coronary arteries can thus be identified and quantified. If blocks are mild, medications may suffice. If they are more severe, angioplasty or bypass surgery may be needed.
A heart specialist in Coimbatore may request other more sophisticated tests to evaluate the function of the heart include cardiac CT, cardiac MRI and SPECT scanning. The choice of these tests is best left to your treating physician.
The Heart Doctor (Physician):
A heart specialist in Coimbatore may be a Physician. He is called a Cardiologist in medical parlance. He/she specializes in the diagnosis and nonoperative (non surgical) treatment of various heart diseases. He may also perform “interventions”, which are catheter based procedures. A Pulmonologist on the other hand is a doctor who deals with the non surgical treatment of lung diseases.
The Heart Doctor (Surgeon):
A heart specialist in Coimbatore may be a surgeon. He is then known as a Cardiac Surgeon in medical parlance. He/she specializes in diagnosis and operative (surgical) treatment of various heart diseases. Heart surgery involving the use of the heart lung machine is called “open heart surgery”.
A “heart team” consisting of a Cardiologist and a Cardiac Surgeon best serves a patients interest especially when the need for an operation is unclear.
Heart Specialist in Coimbatore.
Dr. S.K. Varma, senior heart specialist in Coimbatore (surgical) at the heart and lung clinic (3A Swagat Charu Building, 123 Cowley Brown Road, RS Puram) is amongst the top / best / famous heart specialists in the city with over two and a half decades of post qualification experience in the field of cardiac (heart) surgical care. He is one of the best cardiothoracic surgeon specialists in the city. He is available for consultation at the clinic on all week days (with prior appointment).