Cardiology is the branch of internal medicine that studies and treats diseases of the heart (heart disease) and blood vessels.
The cardiologist, therefore, is an internal doctor specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the cardiovascular system (where "cardio" refers to the heart and "vascular" to the blood vessels).
THE UNDERSPECIALIZATION OF A CARDIOLOGIST
Following the progress of medicine, the modern cardiologist is, almost always, under-specialized in a particular sector of his discipline.
In other words, in addition to being a connoisseur of cardiac and vascular disorders in general, he has additional, even more specific, skills.
Going into more detail, the areas of sub-specialization of today's cardiology include:
- Clinical cardiology for adults . Its experts focus mainly on diagnosis, medical therapy and the prevention of heart disease in the adult individual.
- Pediatric cardiology . Its experts deal with heart disease in children.
- Interventional cardiology . Interventional cardiologists have a particular preparation, which allows them to juggle highly sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, such as balloon angioplasty or coronary angiography.
- Advanced cardiology diagnostics . Its experts are dedicated above all to the interpretation of diagnostic imaging tests, related to the heart and blood vessels.
