Shared Decison Making

Each patient and each journey is different. It is important that you understand the entirety of the care that you receive. Be a proactive advocate for your health and be a part of the shared decision making process with your healthcare provider.

Each patient and each journey is different. It is important that you understand the entirety of the care that you receive. Be a proactive advocate for your health and be the central part of the shared decision making process with your healthcare provider.

Create a Plan

It is important to plan before you see your doctor. There are many available tools and resources for you to better understand shared decision making.

A website with resources on shared decision making tools:

CardioSmart: Shared Decisions Aid
This decision aid can help you and your clinician discuss how to manage the risk of stroke.

Anticoagulation Choice Decision Aid
The goal of Afib 2gether is to help you have an informed discussion with your health care provider and to help build your understanding of stroke risk due to a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.

Terms & Resources

A definition of shared decision making is:

  • Sharing of information (knowledge) about care options, and their risks/benefits
  • Formal elicitation of patient goals and values of care
  • Negotiation of a patient-centered decision that balances medical indications with patient goals and values

Keep Exploring

Heart Rhythm Disorders
Millions of people experience irregular or abnormal heartbeats, called arrhythmias, at some point in their lives. Most of the time, they are harmless and happen in healthy people free of heart disease. However, some abnormal heart rhythms can be serious or even deadly. Having other types of heart disease can also increase the risk of arrhythmias.
Pediatrics and Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)
This section is for pediatric patients and families living with heart rhythm disorders and heart rhythm disorders related to congenital heart disease (CHD).
Early Warning Signs
If you are experiencing a racing, pounding, rumbling or flopping feeling in your chest or if you have been fainting, having repeated dizzy spells, feeling lightheaded or you are extremely fatigued, it's time to see a doctor to discuss your heart health.
Common Treatments
Learning about the underlying cause of any heart rhythm disorder provides the basis for selecting the best treatment plan. Information and knowledge about care options, and their risks and benefits help you work with your health care provider to make the best choices.
Lifestyle
Since other heart disorders increase the risk of developing abnormal heart rhythms, lifestyle changes often are recommended. Living a “heart healthy” lifestyle can ease the symptoms experienced with heart rhythm disorders and other heart disorders, and can be beneficial to overall patient health.
The Normal Heart
The heart is a fist-sized muscle that pumps blood through the body 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without rest. The normal heart is made up of four parts: two atria on the top of the heart (right atrium and left atrium), and two ventricles (right ventricle and left ventricle) which are the muscular chambers on the bottom of the heart that provide the major power to pump blood.