Ask A Cardiology Nurse Practitioner

cardiology chronic care clinical topics Jan 24, 2023

As a nurse practitioner in primary care, there are SO many things I’ve wanted to ask a cardiology nurse practitioner. Cardiology is one of the top referrals from primary care, and for good reason— hypertension is one of the top diagnoses in primary care, which can be responsible for so many other cardiovascular comorbidity (heart failure, myocardial infarction, to name a few). Frequently, I get to read the notes from cardiologists that they send back after seeing a patient, which helps me learn more about what it’s really like behind the scenes after they leave my office and end up there. But sometimes, we have a hard time obtaining those records, or patients end up not going in the first place! And truly, reading a specialist note is no substitute for talking to a real, live person.

I haven’t had the opportunity to shadow in a cardiology practice before, so I’ve wondered about things like: what do stress tests actually look like? How do cardiologists decide which ones to order? What are the things they wish primary care providers knew or did before sending their referrals over?

We Got to Ask a Cardiology Nurse Practitioner

I had the lovely pleasure of having Scott Pasquale, FNP on the podcast and YouTube channel and JUST THOSE QUESTIONS and more— not only that I wanted to ask, but also the RWNP community wanted to ask as well. (PS. if you want the opportunity to ask submit questions for specialist interviews, join us on the email list over at www.realworldnp.com/guide.

In this episode, we covered:

What cardiologists wish primary care providers knew
A breakdown of common cardiovascular tests, how to explain them to patients, and how to choose between each one!
Review of how to order holter monitors the right way!
Common cardiovascular topics like atrial fibrillation, anticoagulation, and heart failure
Resources for nurse practitioners interested into going into cardiovascular medicine

And more! Tune in here by watching the video or listening to the podcast, and be sure to grab your copy of the (free) Ultimate Resource Guide — you’ll get our favorite resources to use in primary care, and you’ll also get these episodes sent straight to your inbox each week!