Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with cardiovascular system science, diagnosis, and treatment. As there are so many facets of the role of your heart, when determining what could be wrong with your heart, your cardiologist needs to weigh many variables. Your heart, arteries, or blood vessels are among some of these variables. A surgeon is not a cardiologist. A separate doctor who performs the actual physical heart operation is a cardiac surgeon. For monitoring and other treatments, a cardiologist is involved. Some cardiologists specialize in pediatric cardiology or cardiology for children. Others specialize in cardiology for adults. Three key forms of cardiology are available: invasive, non-invasive, and interventional cardiology. 

Invasive cardiology uses open or minimally-invasive surgery to detect or treat structural or electrical defects within the heart system. Interventional cardiology is a non-surgical option to fix damaged or compromised vessels, narrowed arteries, or other affected parts of the heart system using a catheter, a thin, flexible tube.

Invasive cardiology

Common types of invasive cardiology methods are angioplasty – when plague clogs your arteries, a tiny balloon is inserted into your clogged vein and pushes plague against the walls, allowing for increased blood flow. Another type is stenting, it is done in conjunction with angioplasty. A small cardiac stent (small metal coin) helps to permanently hold a clogged vein open. Further, Invasive procedures are often done for coronary angiography, coronary artery bypass grafting, valve replacement operation, electrophysiology and arrhythmia ablation studies, correct heart catheterization, permanent installation of the pacemaker, automated implantable cardiac defibrillators (acids), cardiac defect closure, including acute chest pain treatment. For these procedures, the instruments used are typically laparoscopic and remote controlled.

Interventional cardiology

To ensure that blood is transported to the heart and consequently to other parts of the body, these cardiologists conduct interventional measures/treatment of severe heart ailments. This procedure uses a small catheter that is used to fix arteries or veins or other parts of the surrounding areas of the heart, i.e., to treat structural heart diseases. Coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, and peripheral vascular disease are typical disorders treated by interventional cardiology. Interventional cardiologists are expected to complete an interventional cardiology fellowship, for a period of three years after completion of medical school. It also needs an internal medicine residency. An interventional cardiologist also works on both weekends and weekdays during the evenings or days.