What to Expect at Your First Appointment at the Cardiorespiratory Sports Clinic

Every athlete who comes to the Cardiorespiratory Sports Clinic is unique. While there isn’t a single approach to treatment, every patient's case is evaluated by a cardiologist (heart specialist) and a pulmonologist (lung specialist). Our multidisciplinary team works together, discussing your child’s medical history and test results to bring the full perspective of the Cardiorespiratory Sports Clinic team.

This clinic combines what is often two different doctor’s visits into one. For your convenience, and for optimal patient care, our clinic allows you to receive the expert input of both heart and lung specialists at one time.

Making an Appointment at the Cardiorespiratory Sports Clinic

Patients do not need a physician referral to schedule an appointment at the clinic. Contact us to schedule your appointment. 

Preparing for Your Visit

Your child will be scheduled to see one of our specialists depending on the main complaint (chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, performance decline or pre-participation physical clearance failure). 

Before the initial visit, you may receive a call from one of our clinic coordinators to go over your child’s medical history. If you’d like, you can provide a video of your child’s symptoms for our team to review prior to the clinic visit. The information will be used to better coordinate care, including ordering testing before your visit to our clinic.

Please let our clinic coordinator know if you are traveling from outside the Greater Cincinnati area so that we can minimize the number of visits needed.

On the Day of Your Visit to the Cardiorespiratory Sports Clinic

Arriving at Your Appointment

Your initial visit will be either at our Burnet Campus, location C on the fourth floor, or Liberty Campus, location C on the third floor. Please arrive 30 minutes before the appointment time to locate parking, check in with desk staff or the kiosk, and meet with registration staff for demographic and insurance updates. You may be given an electronic tablet for other needed questionnaires.

During Your Appointment

On the day of the visit, your child will see a physician from the Cardiorespiratory Sports Clinic team. The visit will be similar to other pediatric visits your child may have had in the past. Your child will complete pre-visit questionnaires about their health and fitness. Once complete, the doctor will ask questions about their symptoms and perform a physical exam.

As part of the visit, your child may have certain medical tests performed to help the team better understand the functioning of their heart and lungs. These tests may include:

• Pulmonary function testing testing to assess lung function
• Electrocardiogram to measure the electrical activity of the heart
• Noninvasive hemoglobin test to measure the amount of hemoglobin in the blood (does not require a blood sample)
• Body composition analysis to measure muscle mass 
• Echocardiogram/cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate the structure of the heart

After Your Visit at the Cardiorespiratory Sports Clinic

Following your child’s visit, their doctor may order additional testing based on the exam and initial tests. These tests may include:

• Cardiopulmonary exercise testing to help us get a better understanding of your child’s heart and lung function during exercise
• Echocardiogram/cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate the structure of the heart

The care team will then provide recommendations, including follow-up plans and exercise prescriptions for returning to play. Your child’s plan will be developed based on our experience with colleagues in ear, nose and throat (ENT); speech therapy; physical therapy; exercise physiology; sports medicine and psychology.