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Cardiologists

Cardiologists
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   9.24

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    affecting, angina, angioplasty, arteriosclerosis, artery, Atherectomy, atherosclerosis, balloon-like, blockage, bypass, cardiology, cardiovascular, carotid, catheterization, certification, cholesterol
     content words:    American Board, Internal Medicine

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Cardiologists
By Jennifer Kenny 		  
1     Renee was a very overweight woman who began experiencing chest pains. She was nervous and went to her regular doctor. He referred her to a special doctor. What kind of doctor was that? A cardiologist.
 
2     Matthew was a 75-year-old man. He suffered from cardiovascular disease and his doctor wanted to perform a catheterization to determine the level of plaque buildup. Who performed the catheterization? His cardiologist did.
 
3     Russell suffered from high blood pressure. Who discussed with him diet changes and exercise routines? A cardiologist did.
 
4     A cardiologist is a special kind of doctor. This type of doctor knows all about the heart. He or she specializes in cardiovascular disease which is a big word for heart disease, or any problems affecting the heart and blood vessels.
 
5     Cardiologists require a great deal of education in order to practice. They need a degree from a four year college just to start. Then they need to attend a medical school. After that they need to finish at least a three year internal medicine residency and take a board certification exam. The education doesn't end there. They need to continue in a three year program specifically for cardiology to learn practices, testing procedures, postop care, etc. as well as knowledge of acute and chronic problems. Finally, they need to take the cardiology exam from the American Board of Internal Medicine.
 
6     Once qualified, certain cardiologists will go on for another year or two to focus on a specialty within cardiology. Subspecialties include interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, nuclear cardiology, and echocardiography. Interventional cardiology focuses on intervention for heart disease. Electrophysiology focuses on pacemakers and defibrillators. Nuclear cardiology includes special knowledge about assessing pumping problems and blockages. Echocardiography focuses on the echocardiogram and other echo procedures.
 
7     The education of a cardiologist never truly ends. Why not? The field is constantly changing. There are always new treatments, new drugs, and new high tech devices. The field is challenging and exciting. The field saves lives!
 
8     Cardiologists work in private practices. They also work at the hospital. They see patients at the hospital. They see patients in the office. They have regular appointments, make rounds, and handle emergencies. They handle the big and the small. They see patients for high blood pressure, but they also see patients having life threatening heart attacks.
 
9     Cardiologists focus on the heart and the blood vessels. When these aren't working well, there will be problems! In fact, 61 million Americans have some kind of cardiovascular disease.

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