PATIENT INFORMATION

Appointments

To make an appointment, contact our office on 1300 122 888.

Please arrive 10 - 15 minutes early for your appointment to complete any paperwork or ECG if required.

Please bring your medicare card, referral letter, medication list, and any other relevant information or papers.

Automated SMS reminders are sent 48 hours prior to the appointment for confirmation. Please advise us if you wish not to receive any text messages.

Cancelling an appointment

Please contact us at 24 to 48 hours ahead if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment so that the slot can be offered to another patient. An alternative appointment would be organised at a more convenient time if required.

Results and Doctor Communication

Results and letters to the referring doctors are sent electronically within 24-48 hours. Most communication including stress test results are available on the same day and hard copies can be provided on request.

Patient Fees

We endeavour to keep out of pocket charges to minimum, and discount pensioners and healthcare cardholders.

When you make an appointment, the reception staff will inform you about any expected fees and charges if applicable.

For consultation fees, the reception staff would process the payments after the appointment, and advise on medicare rebates.

Please contact us if any questions.

What is covered by my health fund?

You do not need to have private health insurance for outpatient appointments.

Depending on your chosen level of cover with your private health insurer, you may be covered for your inpatient services and/or procedure private hospitals. Sometimes, your health fund and Medicare may not cover all the fees and you might need to make a gap payment or there may be an excess applied. We recommend you speak with your private health insurer to check to see if you’re covered for your cardiac care or procedure and what out-of-pocket costs you may receive.

At Heart of Melbourne our trained staff can help with questions about fees.

PROCEDURES AND PREPARATION

ECG

Records the electrical activity of the heart. This may be required before the clinical consultation.

The skin is prepared by rubbing or shaving so that the recording dots stick to the skin.

Duration: 5 minutes

Echocardiography

This is an ultrasound to take pictures of your heart. It is also called "Transthoracic Echocardiogram"

This assess your heart's function and structure, including the valves.

No specific preparation is needed.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stress Echocardiography

This test involves exercising on a treadmill for a short duration of time while monitoring your heart rhythm and blood pressure. Ultrasound images of heart are taken before and after exercise.

Please stop these medicines 48 hours before the stress test, after consulting with your doctor:

Atenolol, Sotalol, Metoprolol, Nebivolol, Bisoprolol, Carvedilol, Cardizem, Verapamil, Digoxin.

Duration: 40 minutes

Holter Monitoring

Records your heart rate and rhythm for 24 hours.

You wear a small recorder with three short wires from the recorder attached to your chest.

You can continue your normal activities during the 24 hours of Holter monitoring. The only restriction is no showering.

Duration: 10 minutes to fit the recorder

24 Hours Blood Pressure Monitoring

Records frequent blood pressure readings over a 24 hours period of time.

You wear a small recorder and a blood pressure cuff.

You can continue your normal activities during the 24 hours of monitoring. The only restriction is no showering.

Duration: 10 minutes to fit the recorder

Invasive Procedures

These include:

Coronary angiogram and angioplasty
Intracoronary imaging
Permanent pacemaker insertion
EP studies
Loop recorder insertion
AICD/device insertion
Ablation for cardiac arrhythmias

If you require any of these procedures, specific written information would be provided at the time of booking. This would include details of hospital admission, medications, procedure details, duration of procedure and hospital stay etc.

Here are some general things you can do:

Have important information ready, including your Medicare number, private health insurance/DVA details, emergency contact person details, your referral, a list of current medications, and results of any tests you’ve had since your last visit.
If you have an implanted pacemaker or defibrillator, bring its identification card.
Wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing that’s easy to get on and off.
If you’ll be staying in hospital, pack a bag with comfortable clothes, underwear, toiletries, phone charger and any other personal items you might want (like reading material).

Please contact our staff if any queries.