Cardiologist Dr. Juan Carlos Portugal in his office in Barcelona
At Carrer Tuset in central Barcelona, Dr. Juan Carlos PORTUGAL has placed his fully equipped office. He is an English speaking cardiologist that is also fluent in french and spanish. Many native and non native english speaking patients are seen in his practice on a daily basis. Dr. Portugal offers both consultation and non diagnostic tests like cardiac ultrasound, stress test or holters that he will perform himself at the same visit.
Why consulting an English speaking cardiologist?
It’s already hard for patients to go to a doctor and explain their symptoms, but it’s even harder to do it in a language that you are not proficient enough. An experienced English speaking cardiologist that will handle of your patient care from consultation to testing and prescription in your language will make it an easier process.
What’s your patient approach as a cardiologist?
The patient process to relieve their symptoms should be as easy an effective as possible. When possible, a patient should be diagnosed and treated at the first consultation. I believe that the classic approach where a patients need to attend several times for consulting, testing and diagnosis is outdated. Having most of the diagnostic test at hand in the office and being both the performing and reporting physician allows me to try to give diagnosis and relief at the first medical contact. Obviously, this is not true for some cases since some diseases are more complex and require specific tests.
What kind of test can you perform in your office?
I am able to perform an electrocardiogram (ECG), a cardiac doppler ultrasound (a.k.a echocardiogram) or a stress test at the same visit. As a result, this turns out to be extremely handy when needed and help me guide diagnosis or rule out disease. I also offer some check ups where we can perform both tests at the same visit for medical or sportive purposes. In the first case, a consultation is granted to discuss findings and provide treatment if needed . In the second case, sports aptitude check-up is designed for patients needing a certificate to participate in competition or willing to know if they have any risk while exercising.
Not mentioned before, I am a clinical and sports cardiologist and I can also perform the VO2 Max test for exercise capacity assessment that can be added to any check-up. Some other test that I perform, although, they are not reported at the same visit are the 24 hours (or more) Rhythm ECG Holter and Blood pressure holter.
What is the role of a cardiologist? What diseases do you treat?
Preventive cardiology is a necessary topic to discuss since cardiovascular deaths remains the lead cause of mortality worldwide. Probably this is the main topic role of a cardiologist. The most common symptoms we assess are:
- Chest pain
- Palpitations, fast or slow heart rhythm
- Shortness of breath
- Exercise intolerance
- Swollen legs
- Heart Murmurs
Other common diseases cardiologist treat are:
- Arrhyhtmias (extra beats, atrial fibrilation, pauses, blocks…)
- Heart Failure
- Chest pain assessment
- Coronary Heart Disease (Ischemic heart disease or obstruction of blood flow to the heart that may trigger heart atacks or angina pectoris).
- Valvular heart disease
- Pericardial diseases
- Myocardial diseases (Myocarditis, hyperthrophic cardiomyopathy, amyloidosis, dilated cardiomyopathy…)
A patient performing a Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test (CPET) or the most complete version of a cardiac stress test.
How do you understand Cardiology?
As any doctor, I believe that our mission is to provide relief. As a cardiologist my passion is preventive cardiology being able to act before the disease arrives. And when disease has arrived, acting before disease will progress. I truly, and sincerely, believe that most of the pills we take are the consequence of the excess we take. I am not saying that they are not necessary, otherwise they wouldn’t even been prescribed. However, I believe that by educating patients and making them acknowledge bad habits they chose we can make pills eventually unnecessary.
Unfortunately, this is only true for primary prevention patients where disease has not yet arrived. In secondary prevention, the need for medication is going to be mandatory most of the time.
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Juan Carlos Portugal del Pino – Doctoralia.es