What preventive cardiology involves

Preventive cardiology focuses on identifying and managing cardiovascular risk before it causes a cardiac event. Rather than waiting for symptoms to appear, it looks at the factors that raise risk over time — blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, weight, smoking, physical activity and family history — establishes which of them apply to a particular person, and works out what can be done about each one.

For some people that means lifestyle change alone. For others it means medication, closer monitoring, or further testing to establish whether disease is already present. There is more detail on the preventive cardiology programme, including how cardiac risk is assessed.

When to see a cardiologist in Singapore

Cardiology in Singapore is provided in both the public and private sectors. Public heart services are concentrated at the National Heart Centre Singapore and the cardiology departments of the restructured hospitals, while private cardiologists practise from medical centres attached to private hospitals. A GP or polyclinic can arrange a referral, and a private clinic can also be approached directly — a referral is not required to book a private appointment.

People are commonly referred for chest discomfort on exertion, breathlessness that is new or getting worse, palpitations, blackouts or near‑blackouts, a murmur picked up during an examination, or an abnormal result from a routine health screen. A family history of heart disease at a young age is another common reason to be assessed, even when there are no symptoms.

If symptoms are severe or come on suddenly — chest pain, difficulty breathing, or loss of consciousness — that is an emergency. Call 995 or go to the nearest emergency department rather than booking an outpatient appointment.

Assessments and tests available

Which tests are appropriate depends on symptoms, risk factors and history rather than on choosing the most extensive option available. The assessments offered include:

• Cardiac screening and general health screening
• Electrocardiogram (ECG) and 24‑hour Holter ECG monitoring
• Echocardiogram and treadmill stress testing
• Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and cardiac blood tests
• CT calcium scoring and CT coronary angiography
• Coronary angiography, angioplasty and stenting

The full list is on the cardiac services page, and the health screening packages page sets out what each package covers.

Three clinic locations

Dr Tan Jian Jing practises at The Cardio Clinic, which has consulting rooms at three medical centres in Singapore: Farrer Park Medical Centre, Parkway East Medical Centre and Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre. Each page lists that location’s address, phone number and booking link. Appointments and enquiries can also go through the contact page.