While it's never advisable to withhold any kind of information from a medical professional, when it comes to your cardiologist, keeping secrets can actually be fatal.
If you are not as forthcoming as possible with your heart doctor, he or she will not be able to plan the most effective course of treatment.
These are just some of the things you need to make sure you discuss the next time you have an appointment.
Whether or Not You're Taking Supplements or Vitamins Many people take herbal remedies and alternative forms of medicine in order to address chronic health issues.
However, you need to let your heart specialist know everything that you're taking because certain supplements can pose a serious threat if you're on certain cardiovascular medications.
If You're Being Tested By Other Doctors You may not want to admit that you've received a second opinion for a heart issue, but your goal is to get the best care possible, not worry about your doctor's feelings.
It is essential that you bring any sort of recent test results to your next cardiologist appointment, whether that means an EKG, an angiogram, a blood test, an echocardiogram, or anything else.
If your doctor does not have all the available information, there's no way he or she will be able to truly understand the seriousness of your condition.
If You Aren't Taking All of Your Medications Many people skip medications every once in a while but don't want to tell their doctor.
If you fall into this category, please be upfront and let him or her know you haven't been taking your cholesterol or blood pressure medication as regularly as you should.
If your cholesterol and blood pressure levels haven't changed and your heart specialist doesn't know you've skipped your meds, he or she may unnecessarily prescribe you a higher dose of medicine.
This could eventually have detrimental effects on your health.
If You're Experiencing Undue Stress It's a fact of life that many of us have to endure financial difficulties from time to time.
Some people hold in this and other types of stress to the point that it makes them physically ill.
Stress can increase your heart rate or even lead to skipped beats and palpitations.
You need to speak with your doctor about what's going on because that could be elevating your blood pressure.
You Haven't Been Sticking to Your Diet A lot of us cheat a little bit when a doctor puts us on a certain type of diet.
There's no reason for you to feel ashamed if you've done the same thing.
If you don't tell your cardiologist that you haven't been eating exactly right or exercising, then he or she won't have the most accurate picture possible of what's going on with your heart.
You may wind up having to take a stress test as a result.
The bottom line is that you need to be comfortable speaking with your doctor.
The more you open up, the easier it will be for your medical professional to devise the most effective plan of treatment.