The clinical cardiology services are the backbone of any cardiology group. These physicians are the first to see patients either in the emergency department or the office and make the determination after careful assessment as to what a likely diagnosis is, how most effectively to confirm the diagnosis and then how best to treat the problem. At Strong Memorial Hospital, the clinical cardiology service provides expert consultation to referring physicians from all specialities. Pre-operative cardiac surgical evaluations, cardiac arrhythmias, chest pain, shortness of breath, congenital cardiac abnormalites, valvular heart disease are all diagnosed and treated by this group of highly trained physicians. Dr. James Eichelberger, Dr. Gerald Murphy, Dr. Leway Chen, Dr. Chang seng Liang, Dr. Joseph Delehanty, Dr. Bradford Berk, Dr. Henry Richter, Dr. Frank Richeson, Dr. Gladys Velarde, and Dr. Ronald Schwartz, provide state of the art clinical care to patients inside and outside the hospital.

In addition to providing clinical care to patients, the group has clinical research interests in the field of prevention of heart disease. Dr. Eichelberger and Dr. Schwartz collaborate extensively with Dr. Thomas Pearson, Director of the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine and a internationally renowned researcher in the prevention of heart disease. A number of ongoing clinical trials of cholesterol lowering agents and their effect on the prevention and regression of coronary heart disease are currently under way within the group. Drs. Liang and Delehanty provide specialized outpatient and inpatient care in the treatment of patients with heart failure as part of the left ventricular function service. Dr. Liang has been a principal investigator on many of the major clinical trials in the treatment of heart failure as well as maintaining an active research laboratory into the basic mechaisms of heart failure.

The group strives to make lasting relationships with patients and their primary physicians. "The best patient care comes from forming long-term relationships with patients and their referring physicians," says Dr. Eichelberger. "Because of this, the clinical cardiologist is the physician in the cardiology group that the patient and the referring doctor come to know best." He or she is also the person who decides on and coordinates all the tests, cardiac subspecialist referrals and treatments which the patient is to undergo. "Ultimately it is the clinical cardiologist, in consultation with the patient and the referring physician who will make the decision on the way a particular cardiac problem is diagnosed and treated, " he says. This is quite a responsibility, but Dr. Eichelberger but this highly experienced team is well up to the task.