Questions to Ask a Potential Cardiologist
Choosing the right cardiologist is one of the most important decisions you or a loved one may ever face. Whether you are an older adult managing a valve condition or a younger person concerned about your heart health, knowing which questions to ask can help you feel confident, informed, and genuinely cared for throughout your treatment. |
Finding a cardiologist you can trust takes more than a quick internet search. It means thinking carefully about experience, communication style, and whether the person sitting across from you truly listens.
Dr Charis Costopoulos, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist and Clinical Lead for Structural Heart Intervention at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, understands how daunting that process can feel. Having trained at Cambridge, Hammersmith Hospital, and the San Raffaele Institute in Milan, and with over 50 peer-reviewed publications to his name, Dr Costopoulos brings both deep clinical expertise and a firmly patient-centred approach to every consultation.
If you are looking for a cardiologist in London (private or otherwise) or researching where to go for specialist structural heart care, the questions below will help you evaluate any cardiologist. You may also find it useful to read about HCA Healthcare vs. Bupa Cromwell cardiologists’ reputation when comparing private hospital settings.
Why Asking the Right Questions Matters
A good cardiologist will welcome your questions. In fact, how a specialist responds to being questioned tells you a great deal about how they will behave when things are uncertain or difficult. Medicine is rarely black and white, and heart conditions in particular often require nuanced judgement, honest conversation, and a willingness to explain options rather than simply issue instructions.
For elderly patients, the stakes are especially high. Conditions such as aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation, and other forms of valvular heart disease can significantly affect quality of life, and the range of treatment options has expanded considerably in recent years. Procedures such as TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation) and MitraClip now offer less invasive alternatives to open surgery for patients who may not be fit for traditional operations. Younger patients, meanwhile, may be managing conditions such as patent foramen ovale (PFO), arrhythmia, or coronary artery disease, and need a cardiologist who thinks not just about immediate treatment but about long-term cardiovascular health.
The questions below are grouped by theme. Take them to your first appointment, or use them to reflect on whether your current cardiologist is the right fit.
Questions About Experience and Specialisation
Cardiology is a broad specialty. A cardiologist who sees mostly general heart patients may have a very different skill set from one who specialises in structural heart intervention or complex coronary disease. Asking directly about experience is not rude; it is sensible, and any good specialist will respect you for it.
What is your area of specialist focus within cardiology? Some cardiologists concentrate on rhythm problems (electrophysiology), others on heart failure, and others on structural or interventional procedures. Understanding where their expertise lies helps you judge whether they are the right person for your specific condition.
How many procedures like mine have you performed? Volume matters in procedural specialties. A cardiologist who performs TAVI, angioplasty, or MitraClip regularly will have a finer-grained feel for patient selection, technique, and complication management than one who does these procedures rarely.
Are you part of a multidisciplinary heart team? Complex cardiac decisions, particularly around valvular disease, should ideally be made by a team that includes cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, anaesthetists, and imaging specialists. Ask whether your case will be discussed at a formal heart team meeting before a treatment plan is agreed.
Do you hold NHS appointments alongside your private practice? A cardiologist who works at a high-volume NHS centre as well as in private practice tends to maintain broad clinical exposure. Royal Papworth Hospital, for instance, is one of the UK's leading specialist cardiac centres, and clinicians based there are regularly managing some of the most complex cases in the country.
Questions About Your Diagnosis
Understanding your diagnosis is the foundation of everything that follows. A cardiologist should be able to explain what is happening in your heart in plain language, without making you feel rushed or overwhelmed. If you leave a consultation more confused than when you arrived, that is a signal worth paying attention to.
It is entirely reasonable to ask a specialist to explain your condition again, or differently. The following questions can open up that conversation:
Can you explain my diagnosis in straightforward terms? Medical language is precise but often inaccessible. You deserve to understand what is happening in your own heart.
How confident are you in this diagnosis, and are there other conditions it could be? Cardiac symptoms can sometimes be caused by more than one underlying problem, and a thorough cardiologist will acknowledge uncertainty where it exists.
How serious is my condition, and how quickly might it progress? Not all cardiac conditions require immediate intervention. Some, such as mild aortic stenosis, are monitored over time. Knowing the expected trajectory of your condition helps you plan and ask the right follow-up questions at future appointments.
What tests or investigations do you recommend, and why? Echocardiography, CT scanning, cardiac MRI, and coronary angiography all provide different kinds of information. Understanding why a particular test is being recommended helps you engage meaningfully with the results.
Questions About Treatment Options
One of the most important things a cardiologist can offer is a clear and balanced explanation of all available treatment options, including the option of watchful waiting. Patients who understand their choices are better placed to make decisions that reflect their own values, circumstances, and goals.
Treatment Approach | Typically Suited To | Key Questions to Ask |
Medical management (medication) | Early-stage conditions; patients not yet ready for intervention | What are the side effects? How often will I be reviewed? |
TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve implantation) | Older or higher-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis | Am I a suitable candidate? What is the recovery like? |
MitraClip | Patients with significant mitral regurgitation who are not surgical candidates | How will this improve my symptoms? What are the risks? |
Angioplasty / stenting | Patients with coronary artery disease causing angina or heart attack | Will this resolve my symptoms fully? Are there alternatives? |
PFO closure | Younger patients with unexplained stroke linked to a patent foramen ovale | Does my PFO need closing? What does the evidence show? |
Open-heart surgery | Patients fit for surgery with complex valve or coronary disease | Why is surgery preferred over a catheter-based approach in my case? |
When discussing treatment, ask specifically: What happens if I choose not to treat this now? The answer will help you understand how urgent the situation truly is, and whether watchful waiting is a reasonable and safe path for your individual circumstances.
Questions About Risk and Outcomes
No medical procedure is without risk, and a trustworthy cardiologist will tell you this plainly rather than minimising it. At the same time, you deserve to understand not just the risks but the realistic benefits.
What are the most common risks associated with this procedure? Ask for these to be explained in real numbers where possible. Saying "a small chance of stroke" is less useful than knowing whether that risk is 1 in 100 or 1 in 1,000.
What is your personal complication rate, and how does it compare to national benchmarks? Experienced proceduralists should be able to answer this, and NHS centres such as Royal Papworth Hospital publish outcome data publicly.
What does success look like for someone in my situation? For an 80-year-old with TAVI, success might mean returning to daily walks and living independently. For a 45-year-old with a PFO, it might mean preventing a second stroke. The definition of a good outcome is deeply personal.
How will I feel in the weeks after the procedure, and what is a realistic recovery timeline? Honest answers to this question help patients and families plan appropriately and reduce anxiety about the unexpected.
Questions About the Hospital and Care Team
The quality of your care depends not just on your cardiologist but on the entire clinical environment around them. These questions help you understand what you are walking into.
For Patients Considering Private Treatment
Private cardiology care in the UK is delivered across a range of hospital settings, from large independent hospitals to private wings within NHS specialist centres. The environment matters because it affects access to imaging equipment, surgical back-up, intensive care support, and the breadth of the multidisciplinary team available to you.
Is this hospital equipped to handle complications if they arise during my procedure?
Will the same cardiologist who consults with me perform my procedure?
How is continuity of care managed if I need follow-up outside of normal hours?
Are your private and NHS practices genuinely integrated, or are they entirely separate?
For Older Patients With Complex Needs
Older patients with valvular heart disease often have other conditions alongside their cardiac diagnosis, including kidney disease, diabetes, frailty, or respiratory problems. It is worth asking whether the cardiology team works closely with geriatricians, renal physicians, or other specialists who may need to be involved in your care. Frailty assessment before a procedure such as TAVI, for example, can meaningfully improve planning and outcomes.
Questions About Communication and Follow-Up
Good cardiology care does not end when you leave the consulting room or the hospital. How well your cardiologist communicates, both with you and with your GP, is a practical marker of quality that patients sometimes overlook.
How quickly will I receive the results of any tests?
Who should I contact if I develop new symptoms between appointments?
Will you write to my GP after each consultation?
How often will I need follow-up appointments, and what will you be monitoring?
Is there a specialist nurse or coordinator I can contact with questions?
These questions may feel practical rather than clinical, but they matter enormously. A cardiologist who communicates clearly with your primary care team, responds promptly to concerns, and ensures you know exactly who to call in an emergency is providing a much higher standard of care than one whose clinical skills are excellent but whose systems for patient communication are poor.
Questions Specifically for Younger Patients
If you are under 60 and have been referred to a cardiologist, you are likely processing a degree of shock alongside your medical concerns. Younger patients with conditions such as PFO, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or premature coronary artery disease often want to understand not just the immediate treatment but what life looks like in the years and decades ahead.
How will this condition affect my ability to exercise, work, and have a family? These are legitimate and important questions. A cardiologist who dismisses them is not the right fit for you.
Are there lifestyle changes that would meaningfully reduce my risk? For many younger patients, the period after diagnosis is an opportunity to reduce long-term cardiovascular risk through changes to diet, physical activity, and smoking status.
Does my condition have any implications for my children or other family members? Some cardiac conditions have a genetic component. Your cardiologist should be willing to discuss this openly and, where appropriate, refer family members for assessment.
What is the latest evidence on my condition? Cardiology moves quickly. A specialist who is actively involved in research, publishing peer-reviewed papers, or participating in clinical trials will be better placed to offer you the most current thinking on your diagnosis and its management.
Final Thoughts
All the clinical credentials in the world mean very little if you do not feel heard. A good cardiologist will make time to answer your questions without looking at the clock, will acknowledge what they do not know, and will treat you as the expert on your own life and values. If you leave a consultation feeling more anxious, more confused, or less respected than when you arrived, it is entirely reasonable to seek a second opinion.
Second opinions are a sign of good decision-making. Any specialist who discourages you from seeking one is telling you something important about how they practise.
Dr Charis Costopoulos practises at One Welbeck in London, bringing to his private consultations the same standards he applies as Clinical Lead for Structural Heart Intervention at Royal Papworth Hospital. Whether you are an older adult exploring options for valvular heart disease or a younger patient wanting answers about a recent diagnosis, Dr Costopoulos welcomes the kind of thoughtful, open conversation that leads to better decisions and better care. If you have questions about your heart and want to speak with a specialist who will take the time to answer them properly, reaching out for a consultation is a good place to start.
About Dr Charis Costopoulos
Dr Charis Costopoulos is a highly regarded Consultant Interventional Cardiologist based in the UK, currently serving as the Clinical Lead for Structural Heart Intervention at the world-renowned Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge.
Clinical Expertise & Services
Dr Costopoulos specialises in both general and interventional cardiology, focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of complex heart conditions.
Conditions Treated: Coronary artery disease, chest pain (angina), heart failure, valvular heart disease, palpitations, breathlessness, and hypertension.
Procedures Performed:
Coronary Interventions: Angioplasty and stent insertion to treat blocked arteries.
Structural Heart Procedures: Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI), MitraClip (for leaky mitral valves), and Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) closure.
Diagnostic Tests: Echocardiography, coronary angiography, and 24-hour blood pressure monitoring.
Professional Background & Education
Education: He graduated with distinction from the University of Cambridge (MB BChir) in 2006 and later completed a PhD there (2017) focusing on biomechanical forces in coronary atherosclerosis.
Specialist Training: He underwent extensive training in North West London, including Hammersmith Hospital, and completed a prestigious fellowship in coronary and structural intervention at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy.
Research: An active researcher, he has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals like the European Heart Journal and was awarded the Young Investigator of the Year award in 2017 for his work on vascular biology.
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