Frequently Asked Questions
Since we are partners in care, St. Paul Heart Clinic offers introductory answers to frequently asked questions about how we provide heart care and services. Should you have any further questions, please consult our Contact Us page.
How do I schedule my “first visit” with a cardiologist at the St. Paul Heart Clinic?
Generally, most patients see us at the request of their primary care physician. Either your primary care physician or their care coordinators can help facilitate an appointment with our scheduling staff at our St. Paul office, Maplewood office or one of nine outreach locations. Prior to your appointment, our scheduling staff will contact you to pre-register and obtain medical history information necessary for your visit. At that time you will be assigned to your “primary cardiologist.” Your primary cardiologist will coordinate all aspects of your cardiovascular care and work closely with your primary care physician to maintain heart health.
You can also schedule an appointment directly with St. Paul Heart Clinic by calling 651-726-7000.
How will my primary care physician and my primary cardiologist coordinate my care?
Prior to your first visit to St. Paul Heart Clinic, our scheduling staff will contact your primary care physician’s office to obtain medical records pertinent to your upcoming visit. Often times, your primary care physician may send a letter or speak directly to your primary cardiologist regarding the reason for your visit.
After each subsequent clinic visit or hospitalization, your primary care physician will receive a letter from your cardiologist summarizing your visit (current cardiac health status, their assessment and recommendations for maintaining heart health). It is important that you discuss the cardiologist’s recommendations with your primary care physician at your next visit. Your primary care physician can help implement and monitor many aspects of the care plan recommended by your cardiologist.
How will I get the results of my tests and from whom?
Our nurse clinicians work closely with your primary cardiologist and can assist you in a variety of ways. The nurse clinician will facilitate getting the results of tests ordered by primary cardiologist to their attention for review. Your primary cardiologist must first review tests before you are notified of the results. There could be some delay in reporting results if your primary cardiologist is out of the office.
Abnormal results will be reviewed promptly even if your primary cardiologist is unavailable. The nurse clinician will call and review with you these test results and the cardiologist’s recommendations. If your results are normal or stable you will receive a follow up letter stating the results in the mail within two weeks.
If you call the St. Paul Heart Clinic for the results of tests that your primary care physician ordered, you would be advised to call your primary care physician’s office instead for the results.
Who should I call if I have problems or questions?
For medical problems not related to your heart, it is more appropriate to contact your primary care physician who has had the most recent opportunity to evaluate you and has your current records. Please call the St. Paul Heart Clinic and ask to speak with your primary cardiologist’s nurse clinician if you have medical problems or questions regarding your heart. The nurse clinician will review your problem or question, obtain your record, and update your primary cardiologist. Our team endeavors to provide prompt feedback to our patients. At times during the day the nurse clinicians may be away from their phones either working at the hospital or seeing patients in the office so you may choose to leave a message on the nurse clinician’s voicemail. If your condition requires immediate assistance your call will be transferred to our triage nurse. If your call is in regard to a potentially serious or life threatening emergency you should call 911.
Who refills my prescriptions?
The St. Paul Heart Clinic only refills medications that we prescribe and actively manage. Patients must have been seen within the past year by a St. Paul Heart Clinic physician or nurse practitioner to allow us to refill your medications. If you require an appointment to qualify for a refill, our staff will assist you in scheduling an appointment. The St. Paul Heart Clinic only accepts refills directly from your pharmacy. We cannot accept patient phone calls for refill requests. Please allow one week for your refill request to be approved and processed.
Your primary physician should refill all other medications. Your cardiologist may initiate a new prescription, but ask that your primary physician refill it. Some medications require special refill consideration such as warfarin (Coumadin) and amiodarone. These medications require that patients have appropriate surveillance lab work on file prior to authorizing the refill.
Why am I seeing a nurse or nurse practitioner instead of my cardiologist?
Not all cardiac visits or questions require personal primary cardiologist involvement. In some instances, your primary cardiologist will arrange for you to meet with other members of the St. Paul Heart Clinic cardiovascular care team such as nurse practitioners, nurse clinicians or specialty clinics. The entire care team and all the staff at the St. Paul Heart Clinic work in a collaborative fashion to provide you the highest level of professional, patient-centered heart care.
Our nurse practitioners and nurse clinicians specialize in cardiovascular disease. All have extensive training and experience in cardiovascular disease treatment and management. Nurse practitioners have additional training enabling them to provide even more sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic support for you and your primary cardiologist. Most importantly, our nurse practitioners and nurse clinicians work directly with your primary cardiologist in managing your care.
By using all the resources at the St. Paul Heart Clinic in the appropriate manner, we are able to respond promptly to provide heart care to you and address the needs of all of our patients.
Why isn’t “my cardiologist” doing my stress test or angiogram?
All the St. Paul Heart Clinic cardiologists are well versed in diagnosing and treating heart disease. Some, however, specialize in certain aspects of cardiology - for example, imaging techniques to create detailed pictures of the heart, or the use of catheters, balloons and stents to open blocked coronary arteries.
At the St. Paul Heart Clinic, we have different cardiologists for different problems. Imaging specialists are highly trained in the interpretation of images from technology such as nuclear cameras, ultrasound machines (echocardiograms and carotid ultrasounds) and CT scanners. Interventional cardiologists are the experts in the use of catheters, angioplasty and stent insertion to open clogged coronary arteries. Electrophysiologists focus on the electrical activity of the heart to diagnose problems that cause the heart to beat too quickly, too slowly or with an irregular pattern. They may implant pacemakers or defibrillators to treat these conditions, or use medications, or in some special cases, perform a curative procedure known as radiofrequency ablation.
The breadth and depth of care and services available at St. Paul Heart Clinic allows your primary cardiologist to send you (if needed) to the experts specific to your problem.
Why isn’t “my cardiologist” seeing me in the hospital?
As a part of the St. Paul Heart Clinic inpatient service, cardiologists are assigned for a week at a time to visit inpatients that require cardiovascular care. This helps provide continuity in care and better case management. If needed, your attending cardiologist will be in contact with your primary cardiologist and primary care physician during your hospitalization. When discharged from the hospital, your primary cardiologist will again assume responsibility for coordinating your heart care. Medical records from your hospitalization will also be available and reviewed by your primary cardiologist when you return for an office visit. Patients and their families, hospital nursing staff and referring physicians report higher levels of satisfaction with this team management approach.
