What the service does
How to access the service
Location of service
What the service does
The cardiology service deals with a range of heart problems, including:
General cardiology services
We assess, diagnose and treat people who come into our emergency departments with cardiac problems. We provide general cardiology services in both:
- acute cardiology wards
- a coronary care unit
If you have had a heart attack or heart surgery, we also offer cardiac rehabilitation. This is a programme of exercise and information sessions that help you get back on your feet as quickly as possible.
Tertiary cardiology services
We also offer tertiary cardiology services to the population of Northern Ireland. Tertiary cardiology services require a specialist setting called a cardiac catheterisation laboratory.
Tertiary cardiology services are needed when your symptoms cannot be effectively improved or controlled by lifestyle changes or medication.
It may then be necessary to provide other options such as:
- percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) also known as angioplasty, which improves the blood supply to your heart
- electrophysiology studies, which look at your heart’s electrical activity
- ablation, which uses hot or cold energy to treat certain types of arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm)
- a pacemaker, which can treat some people with arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm)
- an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), which can treat people with very serious arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm)
How to access the service
There are two ways to access cardiology services:
- referral by an Emergency Department
- referral by a GP or another clinician
Location of service
General cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation services are delivered at the following hospitals:
Tertiary cardiology services are available at: