Dedicated to Achieving the Best Patient Outcomes, Shore Cardiology’s Dr. Ferris Touma and Associate Professor Andrew Roy are the Dynamic Duo Championing Heart Health at Northern Beaches Hospital
Shore Cardiology at Northern Beaches Hospital offers a full range of cardiology services, led by Founder and Director, Dr. Ferris Touma, Cardiologist and Advanced Cardiac Imaging Specialist.
Dr. Touma was the first accredited cardiac MRI cardiologist in the Northern Beaches and leads a team of seven cardiologists, covering all aspects of cardiac care, with every subspecialty offered within the practice and the hospital.
With a passion for preventing and detecting heart disease early, Dr. Touma’s subspecialty expertise lies in advanced cardiac imaging. He personally reports his own patients’ CT coronary angiograms and cardiac MRIs. “I believe it’s important for patients to have continuity of care from diagnosis through to treatment,” he explains.
Dr. Touma tells North Shore Living that local residents are proactive about their health, saying, “Many of my patients are interested in heart disease prevention and early detection, often due to family history or friends who’ve had heart disease at a young age.”
“I believe it’s important for patients to have continuity of care from diagnosis through to treatment.”
“They’re often curious about their calcium score and increasingly ask about special lipoprotein testing, which helps stratify their risk of future cardiovascular events.”
Dr Ferris Touma MBBS.Hons, B.Pharm.Hons, FRACP Adult Cardiologist & Advanced Cardiac Imaging Specialist
Dr. Touma evaluates patients’ baseline metabolic profiles and performs echocardiograms at rest to examine heart structure, function, valvular function, and other clinically appropriate investigations.
“Depending on their symptoms, we might also do a stress test, which involves walking or light jogging on a treadmill, followed by an evaluation of heart function after exercise,” he adds.
“This sometimes leads to a CT coronary angiogram, which includes a calcium score.”
Dr. Touma is also committed to medical research, with numerous peer-reviewed publications in national and international journals. He extends this dedication to educating his patients.
“I like showing patients what their arteries actually look like,” says Dr. Touma. “This is especially helpful when patients have cardiovascular risk factors, so they can see the direct impact on their arteries.”
“This isn’t meant to alarm them but to motivate them to address their risk factors, reduce future risk, and improve both the quality and duration of their lives.”
Shore Cardiology Phone: 02 8488 8900 Fax: 02 8806 0133 info@shorecardiology.com.au shorecardiology.com.au
Associate Professor Andrew Roy, Interventional Cardiologist
A/Prof Roy is an interventional cardiologist at Shore Cardiology in Northern Beaches Hospital with a subspecialty interest in structural valve intervention plus stroke prevention.
A/Prof Roy says there are different options and techniques when it comes to stroke prevention in younger and older patients and he performs keyhole surgery including left atrial appendage devices.
A/Prof Andrew Roy MD FESC FRCPI FRACP Interventional Cardiologist Coronary and Structural Interventions
“This type of stroke prevention surgery is for people who have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation,” explains A/Prof Roy. “We insert these devices through a keyhole in the leg and up into the heart to stop blood clots forming in the heart for people who can’t take blood thinners.”
Shore Cardiology uses a myriad of advanced imaging techniques, including CT scanning for pre-planning to map out and measure the heart chambers, and even takes its expertise to regional areas across Australia, including Indigenous areas where heart health issues might be linked to diabetes and rheumatic heart disease.
A/Prof Roy is also a familiar face in the Emergency Department, and says, “I do a lot of afterhours work, so if someone presents with a heart attack, I’m one of the cardiologists from the team that could be operating on them to open a blocked artery.”
He says Shore Cardiology and the interventional cardiologists that run the heart attack service is a huge step forward for the Northern Beaches, explaining, “One of the things we’re proud of is that we’ve helped an enormous number of local residents since the 24-hour heart attack services have been available.
“We’ve had plenty of people arriving with heart attacks who are critically unwell, and thanks to the wonderful paramedics and our emergency medical teams at Northern Beaches Hospital, we’ve been able to successfully treat them and probably save their lives, which is a great thing.”
Worrying heart symptoms to investigate
- Chest discomfort such as pressure or tightness around the heart, the central chest or in the arms, neck or jaw
- Unusual shortness of breath, including during or after activities which have been easier before, i.e going up a flight of stairs, or having to stop halfway to catch your breath
- Unusual new fatigue. These can be typical symptoms of ischemia or blocked arteries