Dr. Robert James Marshall, MD

Please, do not go to Dr. Marshall of Cardiocare. I never leave reviews but I feel obligated to warn others of his lack of professionalism and, for lack of a better word, cruelty. I came to see Dr. Marshall because my dad passed away suddenly in November at the age of 60 when his heart stopped for unexplained reasons. I had developed a heart murmur and skipped beats in the past few years and wanted to get checked out. Dr. Marshall ordered a heart monitor and echo imaging, and then called me with the results. He told me my heart was adding an extra beat every 100 beats on average and that I had some valve leakage. I'm not a doctor and didn't understand the significance of this so wanted to ask a few questions. Everything I asked he responded to with utter distain, and constantly tried to get off the phone. "Does that mean my heart skips a beat about every minute or two?" "No, do you not understand averages? On AVERAGE means not every 100 beats. I'm not going to sit here on the phone… and explain math to you." "It was bothering me when I was exercising--does the monitor show anything there?" "No, that's just what it feels like to have your heart elevated when you exercise." (I'm 30 years old, 130 pounds, and a former D1 runner. I have no idea why he'd think I don't know what it means to exercise.) "I understand you are saying this isn't a problem but might it become a problem over time?" "It is not a problem and won't be a problem. You need to GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE." "I can tell you are frustrated with my questions. I'm really not trying to hold you hostage here--we've been on the phone for less than 10 minutes--I just want to understand what's happening with my body." "WOW. Do you understand that I am a busy CARDIOLOGIST with a million more important things to do?? 10 minutes is a VERY long time for me." "Ok, would you please just send me what we talked about so I have a record of it?" "I'll have my assistant send the tests but no, I'm not going to do a PhD thesis on your symptoms." We talked for a total of 13 minutes, the majority of which he spent berating me. I feel no closer to understanding what is happening with my body. Also, I will add that when I first came in I brought my husband with me, and Dr. Marshall was relatively polite. When it was just me though -a woman half his age - his demeanor changed completely. Correlation isn't causation, but it is worth noting.

My son and daughter-in-law, both physicians, had each seen Dr. Marshall on separate visits. Each gushed about his excellent bedside manner, attention to details, knowledge and clarity of explanation. They highly recommended that my husband and I see him. Today we saw him, and everything they said was spot on. Dr. Marshall did not know and probably still does not know of our relationship to those two patients, our children. This proved to us that he treats everyone with the same care and dignity as he treats his professional peers. To garner such review from his peers says it all. We whole heartedly recommend him. His staff is pleasant and very helpful. Before I saw Dr. Marshall, I met Ava on the phone, and I could not have asked for a better encounter.

Mir

Dr Marshal was great... I wish there were more doctors with his bedside manner and concern. I would highly recommend him.

Dr. Marshall ordered (painful) test and then did not even look at the results. He and his office are disorganized; once they determine that you are not in immediate mortal danger they lose interest.