Cardiology - Clinic Information
PVSEC's cardiology department provides specialty care, diagnostics, and management of all cardiac diseases in dogs and cats. In addition, the cardiology department works side by side with all the other specialty departments in helping to manage any cardiac complications that may arise as a result of non-cardiac diseases.
We strongly encourage that all clinical information, such as recent radiographs, blood work, and recent medical history - including current medications and doses - be provided at or prior to the time of the appointment to expedite the diagnostic process. When complete referral information is provided, echocardiograms may be performed by the cardiologist during the appointment to allow clients to wait for completion of diagnostics. Because echocardiography is a dynamic study and image quality is operator dependent, the cardiology service is not able to interpret studies performed by other clinicians. With the exception of echocardiography, diagnostic tests are not repeated unless the patient's condition has recently changed or repeat tests are otherwise necessary to provide the best medical care possible.
Appointments
The cardiology department sees patients by referral only from primary care veterinarians, our emergency service, and the other specialty services at PVSEC.
New Patient appointments are available Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9 am - 5 pm. A limited number of drop-off appointment slots are also offered for evaluation of previous patients. Initial appointments will generally take 45-60 minutes. Most non-invasive diagnostic tests can be completed during that time. Additional testing or invasive procedures will require that patients stay for the day or, in some cases, be hospitalized overnight or dropped off on a subsequent day.
Cardiology patients should receive no food after midnight prior to the appointment unless the patient is very young or diabetic. WATER should be provided AT ALL TIMES.
OFA/ARCH Examination Information
OFA/ARCH Exams are cardiac screenings for purebred dogs to identify hereditary cardiac diseases through the presence of a heart murmur (i.e. subaortic stenosis, pulmonic stenosis, valvular dysplasia, patent ductus arteriosus, etc). OFA/ARCH Exams do not require a referral, and are appropriate for show or field trial dogs, or in preparation for breeding. We discourage OFA/ARCH exams in female dogs that are in heat, pregnant, or nursing, since transient murmurs can develop during this time. Appointments are available as part of periodic Saturday OFA Clinics, offered every 3-4 months from 8:00AM - 11:30AM, which are ideal for dogs and litters in a breeding program. We recommend you fill out all appropriate forms prior to the breed screening appointment to expedite evaluations. Due to the large number of dogs evaluated during OFA/ARCH clinics, echocardiograms will not be performed during these clinics and will require a regular, scheduled appointment. Weekday OFA/ARCH Exams are also available in limited quantities for an additional fee. The cardiology department participates with both the OFA registry and the ARCH (ACVIM Registry of Cardiac Health) registry.
The next OFA Clinic at PVSEC will be held on November 6, 2010 from 8:00 - 11:30 AM. Please call 412-366-3400, option 2 to schedule an appointment.
After Hours Emergencies
After hours and weekend emergencies will be handled by PVSEC's emergency service (412-366-3400), which is located in the same building. The emergency department is open 24-hours, 7-days a week, including all holidays. If the emergency doctor feels the cardiac condition(s) merits the attention of a specialist, they will attempt to contact the PVSEC cardiologist on-call.
Updates
A doctor will call with a medical update once, at the end of each day, unless arranged otherwise. Calls may be made as late as 8:00 or 9:00 PM to allow our doctors to place priority on patient care. We realize it is difficult to wait for information regarding your pet, rest assured that we will call immediately in the event of an emergency or change in medical status requiring significant decisions. A technician is available to provide inpatient updates to owners calling between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Communication is greatly expedited and simplified by the designation of one family member as a contact person. Owners are asked to leave all appropriate phone numbers with the receptionists.
Follow-up
Due to the complexity of cardiac cases and potential progression of disease, re-evaluation will be an important part of your pet's ongoing care. Many initial follow-ups will be done directly with the cardiologist. When possible, patients are returned to their primary care veterinarian for long-term follow-up care. Referring veterinarians are welcome to consult with the cardiology department regarding follow-up care; however, concerns regarding prompt care and patient safety dictate that we cannot provide owners or referring veterinarians with treatment recommendations for patients that are not directly under our care or patients that have not been seen in over 6 months. If your veterinarian is not comfortable managing your pet's follow-up care this should be performed through PVSEC Cardiology. A small consultation fee will be charged for review of rDVM diagnostic testing such as ECGs and/or radiographs.
Fees
Consultations and appointments with PVSEC Cardiology require a deposit at the time of admission for treatment. Full payment will be due at the time of your pet's discharge. We welcome cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover or Care Credit.
