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When you have or think you have a heart condition, you may worry about exercising or playing sports safely. Additionally, symptoms of a heart condition, like shortness of breath or chest pain, can make physical activity more difficult.

At Rush, our sports cardiologists offer you guidance to start, continue or return to the physical activities you love — safely.

We start by doing a thorough evaluation to get to the root cause of your symptoms. Then we make a shared decision with you on how to treat the problems holding you back from peak performance.

When to Seek Sports Cardiology Care

If you’re experiencing symptoms that make physical activity difficult, we can get to the bottom of what’s causing them. And we can help relieve your symptoms so you can perform at your best. These symptoms could include the following:

• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Feeling lightheaded
• Irregular heartbeat, like palpitations (fast heart rate)

If you are active with risk factors, we’ll help reduce your risk of heart attack or other cardiac events. These cardiac risk factors could include the following:

• Family history of heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• History of smoking

A Diagnosis You Can Count On

The first step in sports cardiology treatment is getting a full understanding of your heart health. Our sports cardiologists start with guiding you through a questionnaire. They’ll then order the appropriate tests.

Health Questionnaire

At your first appointment, you can expect to discuss your overall health history with your sports cardiologist. The questions may cover some of the following information:

• Your history with playing sports
• Any known heart and valve conditions
• Your overall diet and current or past nutritional plans you’ve followed
• Any supplements you take, whether currently or previously

Heart and Lung Tests

Your sports cardiologist may schedule follow-up tests to detect what’s causing your symptoms. Depending on your symptoms, goals or health history, this may include the following tests:

• Cardiopulmonary exercise stress test: A specialized stress test that involves exercise with a treadmill or weights. This test pinpoints how and when your symptoms occur by monitoring your heart and lung activity during peak performance.
• Echocardiogram: An ultrasound test that uses sound waves to generate images of your heart. This test shows if there are any problems with your heart valves.
• Angiogram: A procedure involving dye that is injected through a catheter into your blood vessels. This test shows how blood flows through your heart and can reveal any blockages.
• Electrophysiology study: A procedure involving small wire electrodes threaded through a vein to reach your heart. This study can detect arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat).

A Treatment Plan for Your Physical Activity Goals

At Rush, your performance goals are our performance goals — first and foremost. Our sports cardiologists work with you to help you reach them safely.

Depending on your physical activity goals and evaluation, your treatment plan may include the following:

• Recommendations for avoiding heart or lung problems
• Medications
• Procedures to open blockages in heart arteries
• Procedures to correct heart arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation (AFib)