Dr. Shea has been a cardiologist in Cincinnati since 1989. He has been dedicated to Bethesda North Hospital which is now a part of TriHealth, during his entire practice in Cincinnati. He was the Director of Cardiology at Bethesda Hospitals for 12 years.  

Dr. Shea is a clinical cardiologist. "In laymen's terms, I'm a diagnostician and clinician, in charge of all the diagnostic testing to confirm a diagnosis and devising and executing a therapeutic plan." For Dr. Shea, the most rewarding part of his practice is having an opportunity to establish a relationship with his patients. "Oftentimes they're in trouble. There are big issues to be dealt with. In cardiology, we have so many tools to intercede and get patients out of trouble. Many have been with me now for many years. I have what I call my 90's club. When I see them, it is like seeing old friends."

"Early in my career, cardiology had made remarkable advances in intervening in the acute setting.  Our ability to keep patients out of trouble however, was not very effective. I made the switch to aggressive secondary prevention for patients in 1996. The national guidelines did not start advocating this approach until nearly 2014. It takes years to see how good this approach is. People aren't dying like they did and my 90's club keeps growing."

Since his patients are doing so well, Dr. Shea has taken prevention to another level. He routinely suggests their families have Cardiac Calcium CT scans to identify coronary disease at a time when it is asymptomatic but expected to progress. “We are finding these at-risk people frequently. We can now prevent their first event the same way we prevented the second event in their parent or sibling.”

Dr. Shea notes, "One of my other objectives is teaching patients how to take control over their own lives.” One example is Atrial Fibrillation. It is now almost epidemic. He wrote a paper for his patients years ago that is now in its 7th edition. It details everything a patient needs to know about atrial fibrillation. It particularly addresses ways of dealing with acute recurrences. They have been taught how to deal with an acute recurrence at home and avoid unnecessary visits to the Emergency Department. “It is important to have a plan in advance. It will come back.  I realized that it was a bit much for patients to remember what they were told previously at 2 AM when their heart was beating out of their chest. The paper changed all that. We have been able to convert an unexpected medical emergency into a manageable nuisance."

He also talks about another group that is the Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome patients. They can have congenital anomalies of the autonomic nervous system or so-called dysautonomia. They can have symptoms that can be very disconcerting that have many times gone unrecognized and misdiagnosed, sometimes for many years.  “With this condition, probably more than any other that I deal with, understanding is liberation for the patient. It is probably the one diagnosis where a patient can leave in better shape than when they arrived for a consultation and all we did was talk. When that isn't quite enough, medications can be effective and well-tolerated. The condition is usually benign, though it does not seem like it to the patient.”

One of Dr. Shea's favorite pieces of medical advice is: "When taking a history and the patient is describing symptoms, especially pain, get them to use their hands. It is far more descriptive than their words. Eighty percent of all diagnoses can be made by taking a careful history."

Areas of Expertise:

Diagnostic and Clinical General Cardiology

Coronary Artery Disease

Myocardial Infarction

Chest Pain Evaluation

Atherosclerosis

Hypertension

Dyslipidemia

Preventive Cardiology

Congestive Heart Failure

Cardiomyopathy

Valvular Heart Disease

Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome

Dysautonomia

Arrhythmia

Atrial Fibrillation

Echocardiography

 

 

Hospital Affiliation and locations:

Bethesda North Hospital

Good Samaritan Hospital

Bethesda Arrowsprings

The Thomas Center at Bethesda North Hospital

TriHealth Heart Institute Kenwood

Highland District Hospital