Your heart is made up of four chambers, which are responsible for pumping blood to your lungs and then the rest of your body. Cardiologists study the heart muscle (the myocardium), the valves between the heart chambers, the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart muscle, and the electrical system that controls the heart rate.
Our cardiology team provide care to patients in hospital and also run outpatient clinics at Wellington Regional and Kenepuru Community Hospitals.
When you come in for an appointment, we’ll assess your symptoms. This usually takes 60-90 minutes. We’ll also:
- do some tests to determine how your heart condition is affecting you
- discuss your goals with you and a create a treatment plan.
Pacemaker and Defibrillator Clinics
If you have a pacemaker or defibrillator implanted, you will need to attend regular appointments so that our specially trained technologists can make sure your device is working correctly. You can also discuss any issues relating to your device at these appointments. You will see us approximately every six months or up to a year. Each visit will take approximately 30 minutes.
The visit will involve the technologist placing some electrodes onto your wrists and ankles, and then placing a telemetry header over where your implant was inserted. The technologists will then run various tests and record the findings.
A letter will be sent to your GP and or Cardiac Consultant to inform them of your visit and the results of the tests.
Cardiac Inherited Diseases
A small team based in Wellington focuses on investigating and treating inherited cardiac disease. Part of a national service, the team advise from pathologists, cardiologists, GPs, paediatricians, and patients themselves. The Wellington branch of the CIDG works very closely with Genetic Health Service New Zealand.
Find out more about inherited cardiac disease in New Zealand
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