Reasons for referral by primary care physicians and cardiologists
| Possible diagnosis/question | Proportion |
|---|---|
| The preoperative patient group had either symptoms or a history of cardiac disease. | |
| Referral to outpatient cardiology clinic by primary care physician (300 patients) | |
| LV dysfunction | 31% |
| Preoperative cardiac evaluation | 15% |
| Rhythm abnormalities | 14% |
| Cardiac source of embolism | 8% |
| Family history | 7% |
| LV hypertrophy | 5% |
| Murmur evaluation | 5% |
| Dyspnoea, fatigue, dizziness | 4% |
| Congenital abnormality | 4% |
| Miscellaneous | 6% |
| Referral to the echocardiographic laboratory by the cardiologist (203 patients) | |
| LV dysfunction | 59% |
| Valve evaluation | 27% |
| LV hypertrophy | 11% |
| Congenital abnormality | 7% |
| Mitral valve prolapse | 4% |
| Prosthetic valve evaluation | 2% |
| Endocarditis | 2% |
| RV dysfunction | 1.5% |
| Thrombus | 1% |