It Pays to Get a Second Opinion

Most people don’t like going to the doctor and patients diagnosed with a heart condition are no exception. But getting a second opinion from an experienced physician at a high-volume center like Penn Medicine can benefit most patients.

“One of the biggest mistakes patients make is not getting a second opinion,” said William J. Untereker, MD, associate director of cardiology at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. “People’s life goals are different and treatments are different. If there is any serious risk to a recommended treatment, the patient should seek a second opinion.”

As a leading center for heart care in the region, physicians at Penn Medicine are often asked to provide second opinions on patient care. Medicine is not an exact science. Physicians often have different opinions about how to diagnose or treat heart disorders and those differences can sometimes be based on how familiar a doctor is with a test or treatment or how willing he or she is to use them, and whether they have had time to think through other options.

Dr. Untereker describes the case of an 80-year-old patient with two leaking heart valves who was referred to Penn Medicine for valve surgery.

“The patient also had high blood pressure,” Dr. Untereker said. “By managing the patient’s blood pressure we were able to reduce the amount of leak through the diseased valves. This improved the patient’s condition so that surgery with high risk and a long recovery was not needed.”

Dr. Untereker recommends patients make sure their risky procedure is done by a high volume, experienced provider. A physician with this expertise has the best chance of getting a good outcome. He also recommends that patients get a full, written explanation of any procedure that is recommended, including the risks and benefits. If there are serious risks, that is the time to get a second opinion.

“Patients should remember that there are only two reasons to have a procedure that is associated with risk,” Dr. Untereker said. “The first is you want it because of your symptoms; the second is because your doctor thinks you will live longer or statistically benefit from it. Make sure you know to which category you belong.”