While many technology developments have advanced heart care in recent years, cost will likely remain a barrier to patients benefiting from the advancements, said David Hsi, MD, chief of cardiology and co-director of the heart and vascular institute at Stamford (Conn.) Hospital.
Dr. Hsi recently joined Becker's Healthcare cardiology podcast to discuss both advancements and points of concern in the field of cardiology.
Here is an excerpt from the podcast. Click here to download the full episode.
Editor's note: This response was lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: Within the cardiology field, what are you most excited about today, and what makes you nervous?
Dr. David Hsi: Cardiology in the last 50 years has been driven by innovations in cardiovascular imaging technology, new pharmaceuticals, and very high professional standards in delivering care to our patients. We do provide world class care in the United States and I'll give a few examples.
We now have a handheld cardiac echo probe that can connect to cell phones and we can obtain cardiac images in a patient's examination room. Our patients now have access to many wearable digital devices for vital signs, monitoring, EKG and much more.
Now what concerns me is that our medical system is also the most expensive in the world, which may limit the access to some populations who cannot afford the care they desire. Medicine, including cardiology, is also heavily regulated these days which may impede patients seeking care delivery in certain areas.