Cesia Gallegos, MD, is a cardiologist who specializes in taking care of patients with a specific group of heart diseases called infiltrated cardiomyopathies, such as cardiac amyloid and sarcoid, which can cause arrhythmias, heart failure, and other cardiac dysfunctions. She also specializes in advanced cardiac imaging.
The intersection of advanced cardiovascular imaging as it pertains to treating a variety of cardiac conditions is her main passion. She says she chose this field after seeing the tremendous advances in the understanding of the function of the heart without any surgeries or invasive operations.
When patients have a heart condition they don’t understand, they can be very anxious at their first visit with a cardiologist, Dr. Gallegos explains. “Some patients really just need to hear that they aren’t dying,” she says. “First, I tell them we’re going to figure out why they are not feeling well and take it from there.”
Before she begins to address patients’ diseases, Dr. Gallegos asks questions to get to know them as individuals. “I ask about their friends or how they spend their weekends. I want them to leave knowing that someone cares about them as a whole and not just about their condition,” she says. “It’s rewarding when they leave with a smile, even though they’re sick.”
Outside of the clinic, Dr. Gallegos conducts clinical research in the use of nuclear cardiology modalities as they apply to coronary artery disease and cardiac sarcoidosis and amyloidosis. Specifically, her current research focuses in a unique type of stress test that allows doctors to non-invasively study blood flow through coronary arteries to detect blockages. Typically, these blockages are only found using a special invasive test called an angiogram. Additionally, she is an active part of multiple studies and clinical trials focused on advancing the knowledge and treatment of infiltrative cardiomyopathies.
