Heart health

• Can I talk to a doctor on Gotodoctor.ca about my heart conditions?

Yes, Gotodoctor.ca provides virtual care services for cardiac conditions. A doctor will take a comprehensive in-depth history and provide you with prescriptions. Depending on the symptoms further recommendations will be provided. If a patient is suffering from a heart condition, the doctor will direct him/her to clinic treatment.

• What are cardiovascular diseases?

Cardiovascular diseases are a collection of disorders in heart and blood vessels. The etiology of cardiovascular diseases include congenital heart defects, uncontrolled cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, emotional distress and other co-morbidities^{[1, 2]}. Heart health and associated conditions should be thoroughly investigated to exclude life-threatening conditions such as angina and myocardial infarctions^[3].

• What are the symptoms of cardiovascular diseases?

Symptoms of cardiac diseases are chest pain with tightness, shortness of breath, peripheral swelling in feet and leg and pain radiating to the left side of neck, jaw, upper throat, left arm and often to the back^[4-6]. A doctor will be able to diagnose heart conditions by identifying characteristic symptoms^{[7, 8]}. If these symptoms are left untreated, it may ultimately lead to heart failure, blockage in the valves of the heart and rupturing of blood vessels^[9]. Heart conditions are considered as an emergency that require immediate contact with the doctor or virtual care services, clinic health evaluation visits and treatment^{[10, 11]}.

• How is a cardiovascular diseases treated?

A doctor decides on treatment after taking a comprehensive history of the patient. Treatment of heart conditions depends on the underlying cause and investigations should be done to find out the root cause. First of all, life-threatening conditions are excluded by the doctor. Potent pain relievers medications may be prescribed to make the patient free of pain^[12]. Prescriptions for Beta-blockers medications may be provided to the patients with hypertension and prescriptions for statins drugs may be provided to control cholesterol levels^{[13, 14]}. In general, the patient may be guided manage healthy lifestyle behaviors, dietary modifications and medications^[15].

• How can an online doctor on Gotodoctor.ca treat heart health?

Online doctor on Gotodoctor.ca treat heart diseases through virtual care services. An appointment can be easily made with an online doctor. Heart health conditions can be diagnosed and treated via virtual care methods^{[10, 13, 14, 16-21]}. But a doctor should be cautious, as symptoms may be an indication of a more sinister condition such as myocardial infarction (heart attack)^[22]. An online doctor will take a comprehensive history of your signs and symptoms and may provide you with prescriptions. Prescriptions can be obtained by online doctors. Virtual care services provided by Gotodoctor.ca assure comfort, convenience and a higher level of care for the patient.

References

1. Bourassa, M.G., et al., Natural history and patterns of current practice in heart failure. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 1993. 22(4): p. A14-A19.
2. Azad, N., et al., Gender differences in the etiology of heart failure: a systematic review. Journal of geriatric cardiology: JGC, 2011. 8(1): p. 15.
3. Tresch, D.D., Clinical manifestations, diagnostic assessment, and etiology of heart failure in elderly patients. Clinics in geriatric medicine, 2000. 16(3): p. 445-456.
4. Remes, J., et al., Validity of clinical diagnosis of heart failure in primary health care. European heart journal, 1991. 12(3): p. 315-321.
5. Gleason-Comstock, J.A., et al., Consumer health information technology in an adult public health primary care clinic: A heart health education feasibility study. Patient Education and Counseling, 2013. 93(3): p. 464-471.
6. Coats, A.J., What causes the symptoms of heart failure? Heart, 2001. 86(5): p. 574-578.
7. Turvey, C.L., et al., Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms in a community sample of people suffering from heart failure. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2002. 50(12): p. 2003-2008.
8. Greenlund, K.J., et al., Public recognition of major signs and symptoms of heart attack: seventeen states and the US Virgin Islands, 2001. American heart journal, 2004. 147(6): p. 1010-1016.
9. Ekman, I., et al., Exploring symptoms in chronic heart failure. 2005, Wiley Online Library.
10. Eaton, L.H., et al., Development and implementation of a telehealth-enhanced intervention for pain and symptom management. Contemporary clinical trials, 2014. 38(2): p. 213-220.
11. Goodlin, S.J., et al., Investigating pain in heart failure patients: the pain assessment, incidence, and nature in heart failure (PAIN-HF) study. Journal of cardiac failure, 2012. 18(10): p. 776-783.
12. Almathami, H.K.Y., K.T. Win, and E. Vlahu-Gjorgievska, Barriers and Facilitators That Influence Telemedicine-Based, Real-Time, Online Consultation at Patients’ Homes: Systematic Literature Review. J Med Internet Res, 2020. 22(2): p. e16407.
13. Deldar, K., K. Bahaadinbeigy, and S.M. Tara, Teleconsultation and Clinical Decision Making: a Systematic Review. Acta informatica medica : AIM : journal of the Society for Medical Informatics of Bosnia & Herzegovina : casopis Drustva za medicinsku informatiku BiH, 2016. 24(4): p. 286-292.
14. Cockerham, W.C., New directions in health lifestyle research. International Journal of Public Health, 2007. 52(6): p. 327-328.
16. Gunasekeran, D.V., et al., Evaluating Safety and Efficacy of Follow-up for Patients With Abdominal Pain Using Video Consultation (SAVED Study): Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of medical Internet research, 2020. 22(6): p. e17417-e17417.
15. Myers, D.R., et al., Towards remote assessment and screening of acute abdominal pain using only a smartphone with native accelerometers. Scientific Reports, 2017. 7(1): p. 12750.
16. Staub, G., J. Overbeck, and E. Blozik, Teleconsultation in children with abdominal pain: A comparison of physician triage recommendations and an established paediatric telephone triage protocol. BMC medical informatics and decision making, 2013. 13: p. 110.
17. Bokolo Anthony, J., Use of Telemedicine and Virtual Care for Remote Treatment in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Medical Systems, 2020. 44(7): p. 132.
18. Wang, X., et al., Impact of Telemedicine on Healthcare Service System Considering Patients’ Choice. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, 2019. 2019: p. 7642176.
19. Williams, O.E., et al., The use of telemedicine to enhance secondary care: some lessons from the front line. Future healthcare journal, 2017. 4(2): p. 109-114.
20. Vaghef-Davari, F., et al., Approach to Acute Abdominal Pain: Practical Algorithms. Advanced journal of emergency medicine, 2019. 4(2): p. e29-e29.