Your First Appointment

Your first office visit will take approximately 1 ½ hours.

We require a 24 hour notice for any cancellations. Otherwise you may be charged a cancellation fee which is not covered by insurance. If you need to cancel or change your appointment, please contact our Scheduling Department and please let us know as soon as possible. You may call our Scheduling Department directly at 469-326-3440.

Be Sure We Have Your Medical Records

If your personal physician has referred you to Legacy Heart Center, he/she will either contact us by phone or send your records to our office. It is very important that we receive your medical records. Otherwise, your cardiologist will be unable to adequately evaluate you and it may be necessary to reschedule your appointment until those records are received. If you have referred yourself, you should contact your physician and arrange for your records to be sent to our office before your scheduled visit. A few days prior to your appointment, please check with your personal physician or our office to ensure that your records have been sent to us.

Bring All of Your Insurance Information and Your Driver’s License

When you make an appointment with us, you will be asked for your insurance information that will then be verified by us prior to your appointment. You should bring your insurance card and your driver’s license to your first appointment. You can find out more about our financial policies by clicking here.

Bring All of Your Medications

Please bring all of your medications with you in their original containers when you come to the office. Just put them into a plastic bag and bring them along so that your cardiologist will know everything that you are currently taking. Make sure your doctor knows about every drug you are taking, including over-the-counter drugs and herbal medications as well. One drug may interact with another, in some cases creating serious medical problems.

Fill out the New Patient Information Forms

This information is very important and will expedite the process on your arrival to the office. Click here to access the forms. To expedite your visit, please fill out and submit the New Patient Questionnaire online.

Please print out, initial and sign the Authorization for Disclosure of Medical Information and bring it with you to your appointment.

Please call our office at 469-326-3440, if you have any problems or questions about the forms.

Your Examination: What to Expect

After you have filled out your registration and the check-in person has confirmed that your medical records have arrived, a nurse will take you back to an exam room where he or she will take your blood pressure and pulse and do a 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG) on you. Please do not use any body lotions or oils prior to your office visit as this makes it difficult to perform an EKG. This test is not painful and takes approximately 5-10 minutes to perform.

The nurse will also take your medical history to find out not only what medications you’re taking but what, if any, allergies you might have; what kind of prior illnesses or injuries you may have suffered; and any operations hospital stays you might have had.

You’ll also be asked about the health of your family including any hereditary conditions that might be related to your cardiac health. Finally, you’ll be asked about your marital status, employment and whether or not you use tobacco, alcohol or any drugs. It may help to write down all of your medical events and dates and bring this with you to your visit.

Once the nurse is finished, the cardiologist will meet with you to review your medical history and perform a physical examination. Following the exam, he or she will discuss his findings with you and your family and recommend any further testing or treatment plans. Please feel free to ask the cardiologist any questions you may have at this time. Our physicians utilize Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners who are specially trained in cardiovascular management to see patients on occasion. If that is the case, your visit will then be reviewed by your physician.

What Happens after the First Visit?

After your visit with the cardiologist, our office will forward all cardiac records, test results, and suggestions for treatment to your referring physician. In some cases, we may schedule additional tests that you will need to come back for. We have an array of tests and procedures—many of them non-invasive—at our fingertips that we didn’t have even 10 years ago to help us pinpoint problems and act on them quickly, well in advance of any cardiac incident.

If you have questions, please call your cardiologist’s nurse. Due to our volume of daily calls, every attempt will be made to return your call in a timely manner. Any call received after 4:00 p.m. will normally be returned the following business day.