Patient getting checked for high blood pressure

A primary care provider can diagnose and treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol for most people. They often recommend lifestyle changes and can prescribe blood pressure and cholesterol lowering medications which, in many cases, can bring them under control.

When that doesn’t help, or if the patient experiences chest pain or shortness of breath, the primary care provider will usually refer the patient to a cardiologist.

A cardiologist is a heart specialist who diagnoses and treats heart disease. They offer a more thorough range of diagnostic testing, usually in the office, to determine the nature and extent of any heart disease. 

Our cardiologists will help you through your heart disease diagnosis, helping you develop lifestyle changes to reverse your disease, or connecting you with a heart surgeon when necessary.

Diagnostics & Imaging

In office diagnostic testing includes:

  • Heart Scans and Ultrasounds
  • Echocardiography
  • Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
  • Exercise Stress Test
  • Nuclear Heart Scan
  • Vascular Ultrasound

These testing procedures are also available at UM Capital Region Medical Center. 

If more testing is needed, cardiologists may send the patient for a Chest CT and can work with interventional cardiologists who perform more detailed testing such as cardiac catheterizations or electrophysiology testing.

Inpatient Consultations

Should patients in UM Capital Region Health's emergency departments need a cardiology consultation, our team is on-call ready to help.

Your consultation doesn't end in our office - we'll have follow-up appointments if necessary, and can also refer you to specialists.

Locations and Scheduling

UM Capital Region Health Medical Group at Largo
9333 Healthcare Way
Largo, MD 20774
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Phone: 240-677-3000

Nader A. Dakak, MD

Nader A. Dakak, MD

Chief of Cardiology, UM Capital Region Medical Center