These doctors treat circulatory disorders
Circulatory disorders are a very complex clinical picture. They can affect virtually all organs. Since the organs lack vital oxygen, a circulatory disorder often leads to malfunctions.
One can roughly note that the doctor responsible for the organ is also responsible for a circulatory disorder. Cardiology, for example, is responsible for circulatory disorders of the heart. The neurologist treats circulatory disorders in the area of the brain and spinal cord.
An internist can treat circulatory disorders in the area of the internal organs. The ophthalmologist treats circulatory disorders in the area of the eyes. Angiologists are specialists in blood vessels.
They usually treat circulatory disorders in the legs, or even in the carotid artery. If a stent implantation is necessary, interventional radiologists may also be involved. Surgical treatment of circulatory disorders is performed by vascular surgeons or, in the case of the heart, by cardiac surgeons. Therefore, the question of which physicians treat circulatory disorders cannot be answered so generally.
What does the internist treat?
Internists treat circulatory disorders in the area of the internal organs. This concerns circulatory disorders of the heart, but also circulatory disorders in the abdomen, or in the area of the liver and kidneys. It is not always a matter of circulatory disorders of the arterial system.
Venous drainage disorders in the abdominal cavity are also treated by the internist. In most cases, this is a drug therapy. The internist is well able to set risk factors for circulatory disorders. These include high blood pressure, diabetes and a lipometabolic disorder. These diseases are treated by the internist.
What does a cardiologist treat?
Circulatory disorders in the heart area are the supreme discipline of cardiology. If circulatory disorders are present in the heart, one speaks of coronary heart disease. The coronary arteries are usually narrowed by arteriosclerotic plaques.
This disease is treated by a cardiologist. On the one hand, there is a drug therapy with platelet aggregation inhibitors (e.g. ASS). This must be taken for life.
On the other hand, risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and a lipometabolic disorder should be treated. The cardiologist also has interventional options for the treatment of coronary heart disease. During a cardiac catheter examination, the narrowing of the coronary vessels (stenoses) can be visualized.
If necessary, small metal tubes (stents) can be inserted into the vessel to keep the blood vessel open at this point. This improves the blood flow situation in the heart again. To keep the stent open, another blood-thinning medication (e.g. clopidogrel, prasugrel, ticagrelor) must be taken for a period of about 6 months. If the catheter shows a long-distance vessel occlusion that cannot be treated with a stent, the cardiologist will refer the patient to a cardiac surgeon to check the possibility of a bypass system.
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