Patients
Please bring to your initial consultation:
- Referral letter
- Any recent (last 6 months to year) Results - CT / Xray & Pathology etc.
- Hospital discharge summaries or Procedure Reports.
Patients will need to bring gym / comfortable clothing to wear on the treadmill.
Patients need to inform reception staff when booking appointment of any of the above results.
What you can expect at an initial consultation with Dr Kaplan
Dr Kaplan will start by having a consultation with you for around 10-15 minutes
He will then (in most cases) have you perform a stress test. The test will be supervised by two Cardiac Scientists who will monitor your heart rate/rhythm and blood pressure during progressive levels of exercise.
After the exercise you will be monitored while your heart rate returns to rest. You can then dress and see Dr Kaplan for the results. The test will take approximately 1 hour.
After your testing is complete Dr Kaplan will review the results and sit down with you to discuss these results and talk about future management.
The appointment usually takes around an hour and a half.
Price
Price differs per clinic so reception staff will inform you of costs when you call through to book a consultation.
Cardiac Stress Test
Small sticky pads called electrodes are attached to the chest to record the ECG. The electrodes need to have good contact with the skin to record the electrical impulses from the heart. Men with hairy chests will be shaved in spots where the electrodes will be placed.
With the electrodes and leads attached to your chest you will then be required to walk on the treadmill. This can be tricky at first but the speed is very slow for the first 3 minutes to give you time to get used to it. Every 3 minutes the treadmill will get slightly faster and steeper. If you are fit you may get to the stage where you will have to run.
During exercise it is important that you tell the staff if you feel any symptoms. The test will end when you have gone as long as you can, ideally when your heart rate has increased and you are feeling puffed.
Videos
Exercise and Heart Health with Dr Jason Kaplan
Discussing how exercise can have benefits even after exercising has stopped and how it complements healthy dietary and nutrition choices.
Discussing how exercise can have benefits even after exercising has stopped and how it complements healthy dietary and nutrition choices.
Sleep and Sleep Quality with Dr Jason Kaplan
Discussing how sleep and sleep quality have been added to the American Heart Association's risk factors for cardiovascular health.
Discussing how sleep and sleep quality have been added to the American Heart Association's risk factors for cardiovascular health.
Diet and Nutrition with Dr Jason Kaplan
Discussing how the food that we eat and what goes into our body is one of the most important factors in health health and is also something patients are empowered to control.
Discussing how the food that we eat and what goes into our body is one of the most important factors in health health and is also something patients are empowered to control.
Heart Health with Dr Jason Kaplan
Discussing how dietary and lifestyle measures have a far greater result in reducing risk of cardiovascular events than drugs and that optimism is just as powerful as any other factor for longevity.
Discussing how dietary and lifestyle measures have a far greater result in reducing risk of cardiovascular events than drugs and that optimism is just as powerful as any other factor for longevity.
The Functionality of Cholesterol with Dr Jason Kaplan
In this podcast interview Dr Kaplan explains the need to take into account the whole patient. He identifies the key drivers of cardiovascular disease as being inflammation, lifestyle factors and poor dietary choices and discusses the approach he adopts to make the necessary changes in his patients to make a real difference.
In this podcast interview Dr Kaplan explains the need to take into account the whole patient. He identifies the key drivers of cardiovascular disease as being inflammation, lifestyle factors and poor dietary choices and discusses the approach he adopts to make the necessary changes in his patients to make a real difference.
Low Cholesterol Diets with Dr Jason Kaplan
Healthed video: Should coconut be restricted in people on low cholesterol diets? Should eggs be restricted in people on low cholesterol diets?
Healthed video: Should coconut be restricted in people on low cholesterol diets? Should eggs be restricted in people on low cholesterol diets?
Podcasts
- Lifestyle and Supplements in Coronary Artery Disease, Hypertension and Hypercholesterolaemia - Dr Sam Manger
A listener asked me to do an episode on "what do we do if patients refuse their blood pressure and cholesterol medication?". We live in an interesting time where medicine is rapidly evolving for lots of reasons and often discussions around lifestyle, nutrition and supplements are met with ideology and emotional reactivity. But we need to have a mature, calm and open dialogue about these things. We need to accept we all (myself included!) need to continue learning and the only way to do that is to be humble and curious yet sensible and look at the evidence critically. You may agree or you may disagree with some of these points, but appreciate it for what it is.
“Follow the person who seeks the truth; run from the person who says he has found it.” – Václav Havel
I must admit though I failed to raise the Mediterranean diet here and it should be noted (as we discussed in the diabetes episode) that this is a great whole foods way of life that is easy to stick to and enjoyable, and good at reducing CVD risk. Though what we are really discussing in this episode are diet approaches designed to reverse existing coronary artery disease.
Some resources mentioned:
- Nice chart incorporating Calcium scores and traditional CVD risk
- Risk calculator with various factors
Conflicts of Interest: Dr Kaplan is an ambassador for the Sydney Running Festival sponsored by Blackmores and Bioceuticals
For more info: www.facebook.com/thegpshow.podcast
Articles
- Inside the stent: investigating the boom in cardiac surgery - Michael West
by Michael West, 27 Feb 2018
Dr Jason Kaplan, a Sydney based cardiologist from Macquarie University Hospital agrees. “The majority of patients who get a stent for stable angina think, ‘oh, I was lucky they found the blockage before anything [bad] happened’…. but it’s not always the case,” says Dr Kaplan.
Read full article here -
- Five Health Tests for Men Over 40 - Fairfax Media
by Jane Southward
If you are a male over 45, or have a family history of heart disease plus risk factors such as being overweight or having high blood pressure, cardiologist Jason Kaplan advises a CT scan to check the plaque, cholesterol and scar tissue in the arteries around your heart.
"Calcium scoring is the number one best predictor of a future heart attack," Dr Kaplan says.
Read full article here -
- Good cardiac health – without the drugs - The Medical Republic
by Dr Jason Kaplan, 9 Feb 2017
Lifestyle management centred around a healthy diet and exercise remains the most important factor in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
There is no short cut to cardiovascular health and longevity. Despite patients’ interest in the paleo diet, 5:2 diet, that next super supplement, the effect of goji berries, coconut water or whatever else they find on the internet, we know that in reality, there is no easy or quick-fi x solution. Instead, we need to focus on what patients can easily incorporate into their daily lives to maximise their cardiovascular health and ultimately, to live longer.
Download the full article - PDF
Useful Links
- Mayo Clinic: Patient Care and Health Information
The Mayo Clinic is a highly regarded large medical group based in Rochester, Minnesota. The group publishes specialist approved patient educational material that is used world-wide. - Cleveland Clinic: Health Information
The Cleveland Clinic is recognised as one of the top medical centres in the US and the world, particularly in technological and management systems and in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. - Heart Foundation
The National Heart Foundation of Australia was established in 1958 with the aim of reduce suffering and death from heart, stroke and blood vessel disease in Australia. Part of this is achieved through developing health promotion activities, informing and educating the public.