Cardiac Specialists in the Tampa Bay Area

As a leader in heart and vascular medicine, BayCare has hundreds of cardiac specialists focused on the more than 30,000 hearts we treat each year throughout Tampa Bay. From arrhythmias to advanced structural heart and valve disorders to pediatric cardiology, congenital heart disease and open-heart surgery, BayCare’s heart specialists manage a wide-range of simple to complex heart and vascular diagnoses.

Since the heart is such a vital and complex organ, physicians specialize in different areas related to the heart. If your doctor refers you or a loved one to a heart doctor, it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the different specialties. Below are a few of the most common types of cardiac specialists you may encounter.

Cardiologist

If your primary care physician suspects a heart condition, they will typically refer you to a cardiologist. A cardiologist specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of heart disease. If your condition requires surgery, the cardiologist may refer you to a cardiac surgeon; however, the cardiologist will remain involved in your care. Within the field of cardiology, there are a number of specialty subgroups including pediatric cardiologists, adult cardiologist, electrophysiologist (rhythm cardiologist) and interventional cardiology.

Find a cardiologist or a pediatric cardiologist near you.

Interventional Cardiologist

Interventional cardiologists focus on diagnosing and treating the problems with the heart’s structure through catheter-based procedures. A catheter is a thin, flexible tube inserted through an artery or vein and guided to the heart. Common conditions treated with cardiac catheterization include angioplasty, valve repair and replacement and balloon valvuloplasty.

Find an interventional cardiologist near you.

Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiologist

Cardiac electrophysiology (EP) is the branch of cardiovascular medicine that focuses on the heart’s electrical activity (often referred to as the heart’s rhythm). In some people, the heart rhythm can go too fast or too slow and cardiac electrophysiologists work to fix this problem. They typically treat the fast heart rhythm problem by ablation and slow heart rhythm by putting in a pacemaker. They also implant defibrillators to prevent sudden death. One of the most common heart rhythm problems is atrial fibrillation (AFib).

Find a cardiac electrophysiologist near you.

Cardiovascular and Cardiothoracic Surgeon

Cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgeons specialize in the treatment of heart, chest and blood vessel conditions such as aortic aneurysm, aortic stenosis, mitral valve disease, coronary artery disease and cancers of the esophagus and lung. These surgeons perform a variety of advanced surgical procedures including coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG), aortic aneurysm repair, open-heart surgery to repair and replace valves including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Find a thoracic cardiovascular surgeon near you.

Within this field, surgeons further specialize based on their area of focus within the heart and chest cavity. While cardiothoracic surgeons specialize in surgical procedures of the heart and chest, including cancers of the lungs and esophagus, cardiovascular surgeons specialize in the heart (cardio) and blood vessels (vascular).

Pediatric Congenital Cardiac Surgeon

Congenital cardiac surgery is a branch of cardiac surgery specializing in cardiac surgical procedures on infants and children. Pediatric congenital cardiac surgeons are trained to handle all the heart conditions related to congenital (birth) defects of the heart including abnormal heart valves and vessels, holes in the heart, chest trauma and acquired heart defects.

Find a pediatric cardiologist or a congenital cardiac surgeon near you.

Heart Specialists in the Tampa Bay Area

BayCare has heart specialists throughout the Tampa Bay area including Tampa, Clearwater, Winter Haven, St. Petersburg, Safety Harbor, Lutz, Riverview, New Port Richey, Bartow and Plant City.

For more information or a physician referral, call (855) 233-0888 or request a referral to a cardiac specialist near you by filling out our form on this page.