Sanjay K Patel, FACC, MD

My family doctor referred me to Dr. Patel at Hickory Cardiology, although I had previously been treated by a different office, saying Dr. Patel has "a good bedside manner". I wasn't concerned about the doctor's "manner", I simply wanted to figure out the cause of my chest pain so I agreed to sign the release for my records from the other cardiologist and authorize them to be sent to Dr. Patel.The staff was very polite and the nurse who called me back into the room was great! She read my prior history to make sure it was accurate and asked why I was seeing the doctor today.When Dr. Patel came in, he must have left his "good bedside manner" at home! I had previously had a stress test which came back normal but the pain was still there which is why my doctor referred me to him in the first place; he was out of ideas as to what was causing the pain. Dr. Patel told me I had already had the tests done that he would have conducted and the results were completely normal. He then said he was a "heart doctor, not why is my chest hurting doctor". Excuse me, but I'm a patient in pain, not a doctor in any sense! I didn't walk in off the street, I was REFERRED there by another physician who thought Dr. Patel could assist in my diagnosis. I realize the cause of my pain may not be heart related, and Dr. Patel may have honestly felt he couldn't help me, which is fine. But, for any physician to belittle a patient, the way I feel he did me, is completely unacceptable! My primary care physician will definitely be hearing about my worst experience with another physician, EVER! And, I'll also be more reluctant to accept referrals based on personal opinion.