Upon walking in you’ll be greeted and checked-in by our client services coordinator team.
At the time of your appointment (or earlier if you arrive ahead of time), your pet’s veterinary technician will then escort you from the waiting room into an examination room. While the veterinary technician converses with you about how your pet has been doing, the assistant will escort your pet into the treatment area for a blood pressure evaluation and physical examination with the cardiologist.
After finishing your conversation with the veterinary technician, the treatment plan for your pet will be reviewed with you. The diagnostic tests recommended and agreed upon will then be completed over the next 35-45 minutes. During this time, you are free to remain in the exam room, wait back out in the waiting room, or even leave the office for a brief errand while we finish all the testing. The testing does not require anesthesia, and less than 5% of the time requires light sedation. You are welcome to utilize any anxiolytic medications (gabapentin, trazodone, etc) that you would administer for any other veterinary visits prior to the appointment.
You do NOT need to fast your pet prior to the appointment, but you should make sure to give ALL medications your pet has been prescribed prior to the appointment.
Usually, shaving a small area of fur over the heart is needed for accurate diagnostics, this small shaved patch often goes unnoticed after the appointment. You will then be reunited with your pet in the examination room following the completion of all the diagnostic tests.
The cardiologist will then come in and go over all the results and provide a thorough explanation of any and all diagnoses. The treatment regimen for your pet will be discussed and elected together. All conversations, recommendations, and test results will be detailed and transcribed in your pet’s discharge instructions. The discharge instructions will be provided to you in a print out as well as an electronic copy emailed to you before you leave the office. All of your pet’s medical records from the appointment will also be forwarded to all veterinary offices with which you would like us to share the information.
The entire appointment can take anywhere from 45-90 minutes depending on the diagnostics required for your pet. Recheck examinations are often shorter.
If you have further questions or concerns after the appointment, you will be able to contact our full staff via email or phone.
