Dr. William J. Cole, MD

He is very erratic personality wise. One day very personable the next yelling for no reason. His PA, Cindy, is very good and responsive but without her I am sure I wouldn’t have received the test I needed to diagnose my clogged arteries which required immediate stents. In my follow up visit he spent very little time answering my basic questions about diet etc. NYU is a fine hospital but if you can find a different dr.

This is the second time Dr. Cole has has been nasty and rude when I called after his office hours in what I considered and most people would consider the need for medical advice for quite a serious situation. My husband now has 11 stents in his coronary arteries. He is now on Plavix for the past three weeks plus low dose aspirin. His determatologist just found a squamous carcinoma lesion on his head that had to be taken out by Mohs surgery. In the evening his incision started to hemorrhage. After speaking to our dermatologist he thought he should skip a dose of Plavix and the baby aspirin which he was to take before bed. But, he advised me to check with our cardiologist first. When Dr. Cole called back he was angry and rude and asked why I called him when I already spoke to the other doctor. He said he just got off the train. I told him that the doctor wanted me to check with him. He said "no" give it to him but after his nasty tone of voice we took our dermatologist's advice… since my husband was bleeding badly. Cole wanted us to go to the emergency room which is 50 miles from our home and we were under a severe tornado warning for about three hours. He said that was my problem. This is the second time I had to call him. The last time it was regarding a bad reaction my husband was having with a new medication Cole put him on and I had the same nasty experience with him. It was on a weekend. There are times when he can be very pleasant. He seems to go in and out of personality displays. What is his problem? We are finding a new cardiologist. If you use him, you better be prepared for these mood swings and never call him after hours or on the weekend. Even if you call during office hours it takes him a day or two to return the call. Maybe he hates being a doctor! By the way, each and every other doctor we have dealt with over our many years at NYU have been outstanding. We love them all.

Well, I believe he correctly diagnosed me, but that's it. I will be taking my diagnosis to a doctor who behaves professionally and treats me like a human being. To start with, he was angry because I didn't discuss things in the order he preferred, though he did not ever tell me what the order he preferred was before getting angry with me. Then he kicked me out to the waiting room for thirty minutes before he deigned to talk to me again. When I apologized for starting things off on the wrong foot, and said that I was having a severe pain day, but that I would work to be more careful with my wording, he said I didn't know how difficult his day was. He also complained about how difficult my long list of medications made treating me. I wanted to tell him to try living with the conditions that make that long list of medications necessary. (He also seemed completely unfamiliar with both the medications I was taking and my other conditions.) And then to top it off, when I… mentioned I was having some atypical for me cardiac symptoms that could be indicative of a problem, he considered it for all of 10 seconds, said he didn't know what was causing them, and walked out the door.

Dr Cole has been my cardiologist since my heart attack in 1995. I am still alive due to the way he manages my care. They don’t get any better.

Best cardiologist in the Country. Saved My dad's life, and is saving mine. Very knowledgeable, witty, and he genuinely cares about your health. I travel in from Long island just to see him. Gives you all the options necessary to treat your condition, and doesn't force you into anything. Listens to everything you say. This man is the best!!!

From the rude women at the front desk to not being able to reach the doctor for results even after a week, there is nothing about this place I can recommend. Find a different doctor.

Nasty and rude. This guy really shouldn't be dealing with people, much less vulnerable and sick patients.

Dr. Cole changed my life for the better by simply being the best doctor anyone could ask for. Professional, brilliant, funny, nice and actually cares.