Symptoms, Treatment & Procedures

General Cardiology

Symptoms, Treatment & Procedures

General Cardiology

General Cardiology

A/Prof Peter Fahmy is a Cardiologist with advanced training in Interventional Cardiology. A/Prof Peter Fahmy is a consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Norwest Private Hospital, and he consults patients on a range of cardiology (Cardiac & heart) services for people who are experience disorders affecting the heart muscle and for people who have concerns about what is happening with their heart. As a General Cardiologist, A/Prof Fahmy manages and treats cardiology (heart) conditions such as; congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and valvular heart disease. A/Prof Peter Fahmy is highly experienced in diagnosing and treating abnormal conditions which may affect the heart and blood vessels.

A/Prof Peter Fahmy expertise includes treating people who have heart defects in people who were born with heart disease.

Cardiology Treatments

A/Prof Fahmy will provide his expert advice to patients’ on a range of cardiovascular conditions, such as:

  • Structural Heart Disease
  • Heart Valve Disorders
  • Irregular Heart Rhythms (known as arrhythmias)
  • Congestive Heart Failure
  • Coronary Artery Disease

Attending a Cardiology Appointment

When your GP asks you to see a General Cardiologist, it is normal to feel concerned about the appointment. The purpose of this meeting is to learn more about your condition. The next step is to meet with a general cardiologist such as A/Prof Peter Fahmy. At your first appointment, a general cardiologist will run some non-invasive diagnostic tests – to understand what is occurring with your heart. It is a good idea to ask how much time you need to allocate at this appointment, as it does take some time to run the tests.

Communication with your General Cardiologist and your GP

When your General Practitioner (GP) refers you to a General Cardiologist, your GP will remain an integral part of your cardiovascular team. Your GP is the doctor responsible for the coordination of your care, which may or may not include other specialists’. After your first visit and final diagnosis with A/Prof Peter Fahmy, it is your GP who will help you manage your condition long term. It is normal for your GP and General Cardiologist to communicate to discuss your treatment plan, and from time to time your GP may contact A/Prof Fahmy about changes in your condition.

He will run some tests and confirm a diagnosis.  Once you and your doctors understand what’s going on with your heart, a personalised treatment plan will be developed to treat your heart condition, and your General Cardiologist and GP will coordinate your care based on your medical history.

The tests may involve:

  • Electrocardiogram (ECG)
  • Chest X-rays
  • Echocardiogram (Echo)
  • Holter Monitor
  • Exercise Stress Testing
  • CT of the Heart
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
  • Cardiac Catheterisation and Angiogram
  • Electrophysiology Study

When you meet with A/Prof Peter Fahmy, he will give you a medical diagnosis and talk to you about the best treatment option for your condition.  He will provide you with expert advice and follow up with your general practitioner (GP) to ensure they are kept up to date about your health and changes to your treatment.

What to expect

A/Prof Fahmy is a General Cardiologist who will study your overall health and look at your heart’s structure. He will discuss if any further investigations are needed and explain why more tests are required.

Your general cardiology appointment

To see A/Prof Fahmy for a General Cardiology appointment, you must have a valid (in date) referral letter from your GP or a medical specialist.

Please bring your referral with you on the day of your first appointment. We will advise you when you need to bring in a new referral letter.

 

Please bring your completed referral form with you to your first appointment.

 

 A/Prof Peter Fahmy's Cardiology Treatments

TAVI (Tranascatheter Aortic Valve Insertion)

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a procedure that allows an aortic valve to be implanted using a long narrow tube called a catheter. Usually, the catheter is inserted into a large blood vessel in your groin or through a small incision in your chest.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) is sometimes called, an angioplasty with stent. PCI is a non-surgical procedure that uses a catheter to place a stent in the blood vessel of the heart that has been narrowed by plaque build-up.

Adjunctive imaging can also be used to further assist in coronary intervention such as IVUS and OCT.

Diagnostic imaging such as Intravascular Ultrasound (or IVUS) lets cardiologists see inside a coronary artery in real time, yielding information beyond routine imaging methods such as coronary angiography or non-invasive Multislice CT scans.

Intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) can add value to angiography as a diagnostic and/or intervention tool for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) guidance.

Rotablation

This is a procedure which attempts to “bore out” a narrowing in a coronary artery which might not otherwise respond to stenting.

Intravascular Ultrasound

Intravascular Ultrasound (or IVUS) lets cardiologists see inside a coronary artery in real time, yielding information beyond routine imaging methods such as coronary angiography or non-invasive multislice CT scans.

Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO)

The heart is divided into four chambers. The upper chambers are called the right and left atria. The lower chambers are the right and left ventricles. In fetal circulation, the foramen ovale is an opening that allows blood to bypass the lungs and go directly from the right atria to the left atria. Shortly after birth, the higher pressure in the left atria and the lower pressure in the right atria causes permanent closure of the foramen ovale in the majority of people. A PFO occurs when the opening does not close. This opening can allow blood to pass from the right atria to the left atria. Many times a PFO is not discovered until adulthood.

PFO’s are suspected to be a cause of cryptogenic stroke (a stroke that cannot be linked to a specific cause). Some research suggests there may be a link between PFO’s and migraine headaches.

Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)

An ASD is a hole in the part of the septum that separates the atria—the upper chambers of the heart. This heart defect allows oxygen-rich blood from the left atrium to flow into the right atrium instead of flowing to the left ventricle as it should. Many children who have ASDs have few if any, symptoms.

Ischemic Heart Disease

Ischemic heart disease occurs when there is reduced blood supply to the heart.

Structural Heart Disease (SHD)

People with structural heart disease fall into two categories:

  1. People are born with the disease – i.e. a hole within the chambers of the heart
  2. They acquire  SHD through wear and tear – i.e. a tight or leaky heart valve.
Heart Failure

Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle has become too weak or too stiff to pump blood through the body as effectively as normal.

Arrhythmias

Heart arrhythmia refers to a group of symptoms where the heartbeat is irregular, too slow, or too fast. Arrhythmias are broken down into:

  • Slow heartbeat (bradycardia).
  • Fast heartbeat (tachycardia).
  • Irregular heartbeat (flutter or fibrillation).
  • Early heartbeat (premature contraction).