Patricia L. Murphy, MD

What are some of the specific conditions you treat?

I am a general consultative cardiologist with a special interest in echocardiography (ultrasound imaging of the heart). I perform both office-based and hospital-based noninvasive patient assessments for various diseases, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, heart attacks and valve disease, heart failure and heart rhythm issues, to name a few. I also evaluate patients for fainting, palpitations, shortness of breath, leg swelling and chest pain.

Many (but by no means all) of my patients are women at various stages of life.

What techniques or procedures do you use in your practice?

Some of the techniques or procedures that I use in my practice are echocardiography, electrocardiogram, stress testing, and heart rhythm monitoring.

What would you like patients to know about your approach to care?

My approach to patient care is collaborative. I spend much of my time with patients and families gathering information.  We put clues together, a bit like detectives, in order to arrive at a plan of action. That plan may involve testing or medication, and always involves education. Teaching my patients about their disease or health-status is critical to my philosophy of patient care and is often one of the most difficult parts of the process.  I will do all that I can to help them navigate the recommended testing and treatment

I emphasize maintaining a healthy lifestyle as critical to the health of each individual.  I craft an achievable program of diet, nutrition, and activity for patients to follow.

What inspired you to become a doctor?

Believe it or not, in 7th grade science class, we had to trace the digestion of a sandwich from mouth to "exit". I wrote an extremely comprehensive discussion (according to Mr. Skloot, my teacher), loved every minute of the assignment, and never turned back. I did not wind up as a gastroenterologist, and not all of my 7th grade decisions turned out as well, but I am extremely fortunate in that I love what I do. I have never regretted my youthful decision, and I can still recite much of that transit through the "alimentary canal" as it was called then.