Overview

Overview

Cyclists | Cleveland Clinic

Athletes with heart or vascular disease or those at risk have specific goals and objectives in mind.

  • They want to continue to play their sport
  • They want to be safe

The sports cardiology team works with all athletes along the spectrum - high school and college age athletes, professional and masters athletes, recreational exercisers, to weekend warriors to help them achieve their goals.

Cleveland Clinic’s sports medicine team is the official healthcare provider for:

The Center provides

  • Timely and comprehensive individual and sport specific cardiovascular assessment
  • Patient-centered counseling on lifestyle, prevention, nutrition and training
  • Advanced imaging techniques to insure accurate diagnosis and treatment plans
  • The highest quality of cardiovascular medical or surgical care at the top ranked heart center in the United States

Learn more about Sports Cardiology

Listen to learn more about the benefits of having a specialized team evaluate cardiac symptoms in an athletic patient and how they can help you stay active while caring for your heart.

 

    What We Treat

    What We Treat

    Patients come to the Sports Cardiology Center for a variety of reasons such as:

    • Established cardiac disease but wish to remain active or compete
    • Abnormal sports screening pre-participation questionnaire
    • Return to play guidance
    • Abnormal findings on EKG, echocardiogram, exercise stress test
    • Signs of heart disease found during a routine exam (such as a murmur)
    • New onset symptoms with training or during competition (such as dizziness/syncope, chest discomfort, shortness of breath or palpitations)
    • Unexplained decline in sports performance
    • Congenital heart or vascular disease
    • Established cardiac disease but wish to continue to remain active or compete
    • Risk factors or family history of cardiovascular disease or sudden cardiac death
    • Advice on regaining athletic performance after a medical or surgical treatment
    • Clearance to return to athletic participation after an event or treatment
    • Older or untrained individuals who wish to return to athletic activity or play a sport

    No referral is necessary unless your insurance requires you to have one.

    Our Doctors

    Our Doctors

    The Cleveland Clinic Sports Cardiology Center offers a multi-disciplinary team of specialists in cardiology, vascular medicine, heart and vascular surgery, pulmonary medicine, genetics, orthopedics, psychology, nutrition and athletic performance, who have expertise in caring for athletes.

    Director

    Cardiovascular Medicine, Section of Clinical Cardiology

    • Steven Blake Walton, CNP

    Congenital Heart Disease Center

    Section of Electrophysiology & Pacing

    Section of Imaging

    Section of Interventional Cardiology

    Section of Vascular Medicine

    Section of Pediatric Cardiology

    Cardiothoracic Surgery

    Vascular Surgery

    Genetic Counseling

    Center for Emergency Medicine

    Sports Health

    A unique center within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and part of the Sports Cardiology team.

    Orthopedic Surgery

    Athletic Trainers & Physical Therapy

    • Monica Betchker, DPT, PT, AT

    Exercise Physiology

    Sports Nutrition

    • Kate Patton, RD
    • Chris Travers, MS
    • Julia Zumpano, RD

    Sports Psychology

    Appointments

    Appointments

    By phone

    To make an appointment by phone:

    New Patients: Please call 216.249.6291 to speak to our Sports Cardiology Center team.

    Questions? We are here to answer your questions. Give us a call at 216.249.6291 or email sportscardiology@ccf.org to speak to our Sports Cardiology Center team.

    Or Request an Appointment online.

    Directions

    Go to Desk J1 - 5, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

    Online

    Use our secure online form to submit an appointment request 24/7. We will receive it and follow-up with you as soon as possible.

    Physician referrals

    Mon. - Fri., 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (ET):
    toll-free 800.223.2273, ext. 49162

    Also, can use 216.249.6291 or sportscardiology@ccf.org

    More information

    If you need more information, contact us or call the Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute Resource & Information Nurse at 216.445.9288 or toll-free at 866.289.6911. We would be happy to help you.

    Appointment Information

    Before your appointment

    If you are scheduled at least one week away, you will be asked to send in your records, including medical history, test results and films (such as echocardiogram, chest x-ray, MRI or CT as applicable). You may also be asked to submit your training logs. All information should be sent in the same package (clearly marked with your name and address) via Airborne Express, Federal Express, or certified U.S. mail (make sure you have a tracking number) to the physician with which you have an appointment. You may be offered or can request a virtual visit before your appointment. This will be with one of the physicians who can gather more information about the purpose of your visit and arrange appropriate testing to ensure your visit is as efficient and effective as possible. This is particularly useful for those traveling long distances to ensure all necessary testing has been arranged and approved prior to the appointment. These visits do have a small fee (check with your insurance company for coverage of virtual visits).

    The address is:

    Physician Name
    Sport’s Cardiology Center,
    Cleveland Clinic
    9500 Euclid Avenue – Desk J1-5
    Cleveland, OH 44195

    If you are scheduled less than one week out, please bring your records to your appointment.

    During your appointment

    You will meet with a nurse who will collect your information, and begin the documentation process. You may be asked to complete a questionnaire related to your sporting activity and cardiac history.

    You will generally receive these tests: basic blood test, electrocardiogram, and a specialized echocardiogram. Further testing will be tailored to your presenting complaint and findings at the time of your evaluation. These may include: cardiac MRI or CT, exercise stress test/cardiopulmonary testing, tilt table, arrhythmia monitoring, EP studies or cardiac catheterization.

    You will meet with a sports cardiologist who will review your records and medical history, do a physical examination, discuss your test results with you and provide you with an assessment as well as an individualized care plan and recommendations.

    If you need to meet with one of the other multi-disciplinary specialists, they will be consulted in one to two days.

    After your appointment

    Follow-up

    This will be tailored to your specific cardiovascular condition, treatment strategies and competitive needs. You may receive a follow-up questionnaire via your email, mail or MyChart. Most follow-ups will be done in six months to one year or as needed. There is an opportunity for telephone and virtual visits follow-up as well. If you require treatment interventions, devices or drug therapy titration the follow-up may be more frequent.

    Traveling to Cleveland Clinic

    When you make your appointment, we would like to make traveling to Cleveland Clinic as easy as possible.

    Resources

    Resources

    Podcasts

    Cardiac Consult

    Love Your Heart