Virginia Heart- Fairfax's Online Review Report Card

Awful experience. When I scheduled an echo with them, they actually scheduled me with an INova facility within their office. So I got two separate claims from my insurance - one from Virginia Heart and ONE FROM INova who charged me 5x what Virginia Heart would've charged me for the same heart echo test. When I asked why they would schedule me for an INova test instead of a test from Virginia Heart, they said sometimes they are out of resources so they use INova. They seemed to have forgot to tell me that INova charges $3,500 for an echo instead of the $600 that Virginia Heart charges. Worst part, when I talked to their office about cost estimates and after they cross-checked with my in-network insurance, they estimated that this would cost around $200 after insurance.

People need to know that the financial back office of Virginia Heart has systemic issues. l had a sleep study and worked at paying it off. I set up payments beforehand. Something came up and l needed to change a payment. Before July 4 the person was out and they told me my payment was locked in and can not be changed. But they would give me a refund. Payment went through on Friday July 7 and they refunded me on Monday July 10. Five days have passed and that refund has not shown up. I checked my bank account this morning Friday July 14 and it's still not there. While the issue may be Visa the fact remains that Virginia Heart needs a more flexible financial system. Finances, especially for older people or those on a limited income are a sensitive matter. One tries and pays their medical bills and Virginia Heart's financial back system is a mess. I didn't want to leave this review but felt l had to.

Great Doc...learned a lot. I hope to continue with him in the future..

The nurse who took vitals was very friendly and gentle. The cardiologist performed a thorough examination and explained about my condition in detail. He possesses an excellent bedside manner.

I was having serious heart palpitations. I had several tests done and made an appointment with a doctor. His advice, after viewing the test results was that "some people your age decide not to go forward, while some do." I had a 98/99 % blockage in the main artery. I consulted with my primary care doctor. She made an appointment with one of her colleagues. They both agreed that I needed immediate intervention. I had surgery within two weeks where they inserted a stent. I asked what would have happened if the blockage had reached 100%. I was told that I wouldn't be here.

Doctor James is a great doctor and give good advice and attention to my issues... The staff is courteous and outstanding to deal with.

I met with Dr. El-Haddad for a consultation. He laid out my next diagnostic tests, and previewed what may be after that. Very clear in his explanations and in answering my questions. Onward! Now just waiting to get those tests scheduled.

I'm very good

Great doctors and helpful staff.

My experience with the Doctors at Virginia Heart has been very positive. The experience with the staff and nurses has been less than positive leading to delayed treatment for a serious heart condition that needed prompt diagnosis and treatment. I was notified via the portal in early December that I had no new heart rhythm issues reported on my Pacemaker, only to be notified in early January (via a phone call) that there were issues of concern( for the same time period that was initially reported as having no issues). It took six weeks to receive image results of a PET scan. The nurse ignored some of my email messages. I eventually got the results by calling the testing location to track down where the images were sent, spoke with another nurse to help track them down and escalated the issue to the nursing supervisor. My procedure (ICD implant) was cancelled the Morning of the procedure while I was being prepped to go into the operating room. The Hospital had to cancel because the required staffing was not in place. It was reschedule for 6 weeks later. I'm not sure if this was an error on the part of Virginia Heart or the Hospital Facility. Each of these issues created a treatment delay.