Tim A. Fischell, MD
Cardiologist | Interventional Cardiology
1722 Shaffer St Suite 1 Kalamazoo MI, 49048Rating
4/5
About
Dr. Tim Fischell is an interventional cardiologist practicing in Kalamazoo, MI. Dr. Fischell specializes in diagnosing, monitoring, and treating diseases or conditions of the heart and blood vessels and the cardiovascular system. These conditions include heart attacks, heart murmurs, coronary heart disease, and hypertension. Dr. Fischell also practices preventative medicine, helping patients maintain a heart-healthy life.
Board Certification
Cardiovascular Disease (Internal Medicine)
Interventional Cardiology (Internal Medicine)
Internal MedicineAmerican Board of Internal MedicineABIM
Provider Details
Tim A. Fischell, MD's Expert Contributions
How do I lower my heart rate?
The best way to lower your heart rate is physical training. The reason that world class athletes have extremely low heart rate is because their whole body and skeletal muscle is in such good condition that it requires much less oxygen at rest and is able to deliver tremendous amounts of blood flow during exercise. World-class athletes like an NBA player or a marathon runner often has a resting heart rate in the 30s. One should also be careful to check things like your thyroid function to make sure that your thyroid is not overactive. There are other rare things that could raise your heart rate. There are medications that can lower your heart rate such as beta-blockers which could be an option if you’re having palpitations from high heart rate. READ MORE
Do stents prolong life?
This is a question that has been controversial. There is now essentially no argument that in patients with “acute coronary syndromes” such as heart attack, small heart attack, or unstable angina that stents have a positive impact on mortality. In patients who do not have an acute coronary syndrome, and have stable anginal symptoms and ischemia you have it and suggest that stents do not prolong, life but may have a substantial effect in improving the quality of life. READ MORE
Can you die from angina?
It is definitely unusual to die from angina. Angina is a symptom of chest discomfort or shortness of breath related to lack of blood flow to the heart muscle when the heart rate goes up, typically during physical activities. If one were to push yourself extremely hard through this and keep exercising, the heart muscle could become more ischemic and this could trigger an arrhythmia that could even be fatal. That is extremely rare. When the symptoms get worse in a syndrome called “unstable angina” it suggests that there could be rupture of one of the plaques and this could predispose one to a real heart attack which does have a mortality risk. READ MORE
Is a pacemaker implant safe?
Pacemaker implants are generally very safe. There is typically a less than 1% risk of a serious complication with could include bleeding at the site of insertion or infection typically around pocket created to insert a pacemaker generator. Overall, a very safe procedure . READ MORE
Can my body reject a pacemaker?
No. The pacemaker is a mechanical device that in general does not elicit any immune response of the type you’re thinking about when you use the term “rejection.“ But can occasionally/rarely have an infection, but this is not your body rejecting the pacemaker. That does not happen. READ MORE
What can cause an irregular heartbeat?
Most of the time and irregular heartbeat is caused by premature beat coming from either the top (atrium or APC) or less frequently the bottom chambers parentheses ventricles (vPC) of the heart. When you have a premature beat there is typically a slight pause before your normal pacemaker picks over and beat again. This may cause a palpitation with the beat that is felt being not the premature beat but the beat after the premature beat. Occasionally and irregular heartbeat could be caused by a more sustained heart rhythm problem. At age 32 that is much less likely. In general, these premature beats are very benign. Sometimes they can be made worse if you are not getting enough sleep or are consuming too much caffeine. I would recommend, getting plenty of sleep and using caffeine in moderation. READ MORE
Are cardiac catheterization and cardiac angiography the same?
Those two terms are not exactly the same. Cardiac catheterization basically means putting catheters into the body typically perform a diagnostic procedure but occasionally associated with doing a therapeutic intervention as well. Cardiac or coronary angiography is a term that relates to the process of injecting contrast into or the heart arteries or other arteries in order to do imaging using x-ray digital acquisition to look at heart anatomy. READ MORE
Is tachycardia the same thing as irregular heartbeat?
Tachycardia means fast heart rhythm. What you have is an irregular heart rhythm. The most common cause of this or premature beats coming from the top chambers or the atrium and occasionally from the lower chambers or the ventricle. These are called atrial premature beats and ventricular premature beats. Sometimes it is due to a more serious rhythm called atrial Ferb relation. If this persists, you should probably see your doctor and get a rhythm monitoring device and an EKG. Tim A. Fischell, M.D., FACC READ MORE
My heart beats harder when I lay down. What can be the cause?
Sounds like you probably are having some premature beats when you change position and lie down. After a premature be the next bit it’s felt very forcefully. Most likely this is a form of palpitations caused by some premature heartbeats. This would be especially true if it were a regular. If it’s regular it just made me and that you’re feeling your heart beat more when you lie down. In either event, it is likely to be benign. Of course you should always have your blood pressure check and make sure that you were happy current guideline of systolic blood pressure at or below 130 mmHg. Tim A. Fischell, M.D., FACC READ MORE
I am experiencing a shortness of breath while walking. Should I get my ECG done?
This is definitely a potentially significant symptom. You should immediately see your physician or a cardiologist. They would likely perform an EKG and possibly a stress test. This can be a sign of coronary artery blockage that can preceed a heart attack. In other cases this could be related to heart valve problems or a silent heart attack that was not recognized. This is a symptom that should not be ignored. READ MORE
Why is my mom's blood pressure on the higher side after bypass?
There is no obvious reason why someone’s blood pressure would increase after bypass surgery. However, in some cases after bypass surgery the heart muscle is getting more blood flow and is contracting more vigorously. This can create a higher pressure. In this case blood pressure medication should be considered to get down to target blood pressure which is a systolic blood pressure of 130 or lower. READ MORE
What are the various causes of high blood pressure?
High blood pressure is very common. Under the current guidelines hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure above 130 mmHg, 46% of American adults have hypertension. More than 90% of hypertension is labeled as “essential hypertension.” This basically means that there is no apparent cause of hypertension. However, the most common causes in these types of patients are obesity as well as diabetes and mild kidney dysfunction. In other cases, there is a definable “secondary“ because of the high blood pressure these would include conditions were the aldosterone levels secreted by the adrenal glands are increased, or hyperthyroidism, and occasionally other more rare conditions including tumors that secrete epinephrine, etc. READ MORE
What is the treatment for marfan syndrome?
Marfan syndrome is a rare condition that affects the connective tissue. Over a lifetime this Santa Claus cardiovascular complications such as aortic enlargement and aneurysm. It is also associated occasionally with ophthalmologic problems such as lens displacement. There is no total treatment to reverse the genetic problem but in many patients beta blockers are recommended to decrease the force of heart contraction to reduce the stress on the aorta. You should definitely see a specialist or one of the special clinics such as the ones at Johns Hopkins or Stanford University. READ MORE
Expert Publications
Data provided by the National Library of Medicine- Radioactive stents.
- Adenosine for reversal of "no reflow".
- The impact of stent design and delivery upon the long-term efficacy of
- Stent design favorably influences the vascular response in normal porcine coronary arteries.
- Cleaning up the mess: new approaches to the old problem of thrombus in coronary interventions.
- Ultrasound thrombolysis for the treatment of thrombotic occlusion of degenerated saphenous vein grafts.
- Visible stents: all that glitters...is it gold?
- Dose and dose rate effects of beta-particle emitting radioactive stents in a porcine model of restenosis.
- Overestimation of stent delivery balloon diameters by manufacturers' compliance tables: a quantitative coronary analysis of Duet and NIR stent implantation.
- Failure of a novel balloon-expandable gamma-emitting ((103)Pd) stent to prevent edge effects.
- Intracoronary brachytherapy in the porcine model: a different animal.
- Role of the "dogbone" effect of balloon-expandable stents: quantitative coronary analysis of DUET and NIR stent implantation introducing a novel indexing system.
- Long balloon angioplasty with focal stenting for the treatment of diffuse coronary artery disease.
- Clinical demonstration that catheter-delivered ultrasound energy reverses arterial vasoconstriction.
- Reduction of subacute stent thrombosis (SAT) using heparin-coated stents in a large-scale, real world registry.
Areas of expertise and specialization
Faculty Titles & Positions
- Professor of Medicine Michigan State University 1997 - 2024
- Clinical Professor of Medicine Western Michigan University 2015 - Present
Awards
- Master of SCAI 2026 Society of cardiac and angiography and intervention
- Andreas Gruntzig Award 2026 Thoraxcenter
- Fellow NAI 2026 National Academy of inventors
Professional Memberships
- American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, SCAI
Fellowships
- Cardiology; Stanford University
Tim A. Fischell, MD's Practice location
Ascension Healthcare
1722 Shaffer St Suite 1 -Kalamazoo, MI 49048Get Direction
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Santhosh Koshy MD1722 SHAFFER ST STE 1 KALAMAZOO MI 49048![]()
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Nearest Hospitals
BORGESS MEDICAL CENTERl
1521 GULL ROAD KALAMAZOO MI 49048BRONSON METHODIST HOSPITALl
601 JOHN STREET KALAMAZOO MI 49007BRONSON LAKEVIEW HOSPITALl
408 HAZEN STREET PAW PAW MI 49079