How to Get an Open Heart Surgery Consultation

A consultation is the best place and time for you to ask any questions you may have about open heart surgery. This is an opportunity to have a captive audience with a cardiac surgeon, and to find out about medical options available to you. Read on to learn how to make the most of this resource.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Find a Cardiac Medical Center

1. Call your doctor, if you have a primary care physician. Tell her that you want an open heart surgery consultation. She will refer you to the cardiac unit or will tell you why she doesn't advise a consultation.

2. Even if your doctor doesn't advise a consultation, you can often still get one by calling your health insurance and asking your provider how you can have access to such a consultation.

3. Call a local university research hospital if there is one in your area. Even if you have an open heart surgery consultation at your own hospital, you can benefit by also getting a consultation with a leading research team. There may be alternatives available to you that your doctor doesn't know about.

Make an Appointment

4. Call any of the aforementioned cardiac centers and tell the receptionist you want an open heart surgery consultation.

5. Insist on the appointment if it is something you feel is important to you, even if it is not deemed necessary by the person answering the phone. It's the people who get second and even third opinions who feel very confident about their medical decisions.

6. Make sure to write down the full name of the specialist you will be seeing. Try searching for that doctor online to get an idea of their background and experience.

Know Your Options

7. Understand that every patient is different. Patients who are experiencing heart trouble will have a consultation with their doctor and possibly a cardiac specialist to determine which healing approach is the most promising. The options can include lifestyle changes, medication and open heart surgery.

8. Ask if there are any new or experimental surgical procedures available to you. Better technology is leading to more non-invasive surgeries, and a few questions can broaden your understanding of your options.

9. Make sure your questions all get answered. Don't be shy about asking for clarification of the answers.

Tips & Warnings

• Know that hospitals and clinics often do anything they can to streamline their workdays, and offering consultations is not always at the top of their list of priorities. Remember that it's your health, and you have the right to get the face-to-face time you need to make a good decision about open heart surgery.

Resources

• American Heart Association for Open Heart Surgery Statistics

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