TeleCardiology

A typical appointment is about 1 hour long. This allows us to get your pet checked in, take a blood pressure reading, and capture a series of high-quality echocardiogram images of your pet for detailed evaluation by our cardiologist.

An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart. It is considered the “Gold Standard” of diagnostics and is how our cardiologist obtains the best information regarding your pet’s heart. It is a painless procedure to your pet and gives a clear understanding of your pet’s heart function.

Yes. You will get a treatment plan through your primary care veterinarian. Our cardiologist will share a comprehensive report that provides thorough diagnostics, prognosis and treatment plan recommendations to your primary care within 48 business hours of your appointment. Your primary care will contact you and share this information as part of your pet’s holistic care plan.

Your primary care doctor will contact you with the findings and care plan for your pet. If there are any medications, additional tests or therapies needed, your primary care veterinarian will help you get the information, any medications or additional tests to provide follow up care from the appointment.

No. The TeleCardiology Imaging team is here to provide diagnostic testing (imaging and related information) to the CVCA Cardiologist to complete a full evaluation and assessment. The team providing the imaging onsite are available to help make your pet comfortable and to collect the information for the doctor. The team is not trained and qualified to provide medical assessments.

Think of this appointment as being similar to if you need to get an X-Ray image for a potential bone fracture, which is sent to your doctor for professional medical assessment and treatment care.

No. If your pet is symptomatic and/or in great distress, you should seek immediate care at your local veterinary emergency clinic. This is a diagnostic service to provide insights and recommendations for care of cardiac issues, or to provide cardiac clearances for other procedures.

If your pet has mild anxiety that can be easily managed with sedatives, discuss options with your primary care veterinarian prior to the imaging appointment.

If your pet is very anxious and there is a risk that we cannot get the imaging successfully captured without full sedation, we cannot perform an echocardiogram. We do not have a doctor on premise who can provide that higher level of sedation management support to capture images.

No. The cardiologist is not on premise at our TeleCardiology by CVCA imaging center.

No. This is simply a diagnostic imaging appointment to capture high-quality images for diagnostic and care recommendations. Our team is highly-trained to provide exceptional care to your pet and capture clear images efficiently. We will keep you apprised of progress and bring your pet to you as soon as we get the images the cardiologist will need.

TeleCardiology by CVCA is a referral-based service. That means, we only accept patients who were referred to us by a primary care veterinarian.

If you think you need an appointment for a pet, please contact your primary care veterinarian for a potential referral to TeleCardiology by CVCA and we’ll get you set for an appointment.

You and your veterinarian will receive detailed information in your email within 48 hours of the appointment.  We provide you with all the information you need for your pet's cardiac care so you can work with your primary care veterinarian and begin treatment if needed. We do not provide a treatment plan or prescribe medication.  

We send them a detailed report and keep them completely in the loop regarding cardiac care -- often the same day of your appointment. CVCA works with our partners in primary care through a co-managed care philosophy: as expert specialists in cardiac care, we provide all the information you and your primary care need on your pet's cardiology care.  Your primary care is still the hub of your pet's healthcare and factors in this cardiology information with all the other healthcare your pet receives.