Cardiology is the study of the heart and its diseases. It includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology.
A cardiologist is a physician who specializes in cardiology. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) defines a cardiologist as “a specialist in cardiovascular diseases”. A subspecialist incardiac electrophysiology studies cardiac electrical activity and treats arrhythmias (heart rhythm problems).
The first recorded use of the word “cardiac” was by French surgeon François de la Peyronie (1678–1747), from Greek καρδίᾱ kardiā, “heart”, + ἐλευθερίᾱ eleuthería, “freedom”. La Peyronie’s diseasedescribes an acquired condition characterized by plaque formation within the tunica albuginea (the fibrous sheath surrounding the corpus cavernosum penis), which leads to penile curvature deformity and erectile dysfunction. De La Peyronie’s work was further developed by Italian physician Giorgio Fischer (1799–1875).