Kathleen Drinan, DO
Kathleen Drinan, DO
Clinical Associate of Medicine
Specialties
- Cardiology (Heart Care)
Locations
- Orland Park
Schedule an Appointment
- About
- Specialties & Areas of Expertise
- Locations & Patient Information
- Education & Research
- Accepted Insurance
- External Professional Relationships
[MUSIC PLAYING] Hi, I'm Kathleen Drinan. I'm a clinical cardiologist with the University of Chicago. I've been practicing cardiology since 1990.
My interest in medicine really started when I was in college. I initially went to the College of Pharmacy in Michigan. I thought I was going to be a pharmacist. I loved science. I loved chemistry and pharmacology, physiology, and was very, very interested in pursuing that. But towards the end of my education in pharmacy, I realized that it was the clinical application of the science that I really loved and loved working with the patients and realizing the differences I could make in their outcomes by applying science, pharmacology, and physiologic principles.
My goal in my practice is really to take care of patients that have had cardiovascular disease, but more importantly to take care of those patients that want to prevent the development of cardiovascular disease. So I spend a lot of time with patients who have never, ever realized that they had cardiovascular disease, but are there because they know they have significant risk and want to prevent it.
My approach in cardiology is prevention, is the identification first of patients who have cardiovascular disease and the appropriate treatment. But then from there, it's secondary prevention to prevent it from getting worse or redeveloping. And then more importantly, reaching out to those patients who have not yet had cardiovascular disease, but in whom we know, because of attendant risks, we could prevent cardiovascular disease.
By the time I started practicing cardiology, it was at that time that we began to recognize that women were not doing well with cardiovascular diseases. Simple examples would be a woman who was hospitalized with a heart attack. Her chances of surviving that heart attack were less than a man's. And her complication rates with procedures were higher. And the presentation of her heart disease usually came at a later time in her life, so it was fraught with additional risks.
Since that time, with the identification of this difference for women, and decades of research, and continued vigilance and advocacy by lots of groups, we've been able to really advance care for women who have heart disease, to prevent heart disease, as well as to more adequately treat it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Kathleen Drinan, DO, FACC, FACOI, is a highly skilled clinical cardiologist with over 30 years of cardiac experience. Dr. Drinan is trained in preventive and non-invasive treatments for a wide range of heart conditions, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia/hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol), valve disease and cardiac arrhythmias.
In addition to providing comprehensive cardiology care to men and women of all ages, Dr. Drinan specializes in the treatment and prevention of heart disease in women. She recognizes the unique presentation of heart disease in women, and advocates using updated cardiovascular prevention guidelines, which include pregnancy associated hypertension and diabetes, adverse pregnancy outcomes like pre term birth, and psychosocial factors like depression and anxiety. Because she understands that symptoms, diagnoses and treatments vary between men and women, Dr. Drinan is able to identify often overlooked signs of heart disease and deliver personalized care to her heart patients.
Specialties
Areas of Expertise
- Hyperlipidemia
- Hypertension
- Preventive Cardiology
- Women's Heart Disease
- General Cardiology
Board Certifications
- Internal Medicine
- Cardiovascular Disease
Practicing Since
- 1990
Languages Spoken
- English
Medical Education
- Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine
Internship
- Franciscan Olympia Fields
Residency
- Franciscan Olympia Fields
Fellowship
- Franciscan Olympia Fields
Memberships & Medical Societies
- American Society of Echocardiography
- American College of Osteopathic Internists
- American College of Cardiology
News & Research
Insurance
- Aetna Better Health *see insurance page
- Aetna HMO (specialists only)
- Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO
- Aetna POS
- Aetna PPO
- BCBS Blue Precision HMO (specialists only)
- BCBS HMO (HMOI) (specialists only)
- BCBS Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO
- BCBS PPO
- Cigna HMO
- Cigna POS
- Cigna PPO
- CountyCare *see insurance page
- Humana Medicare Advantage Choice PPO
- Humana Medicare Advantage Gold Choice PFFS
- Humana Medicare Advantage Gold Plus HMO
- Medicare
- Multiplan PPO
- PHCS PPO
- United Choice Plus POS/PPO
- United Choice HMO (specialists only)
- United Options (PPO)
- United Select (HMO & EPO) (specialists only)
- United W500 Emergent Wrap
- University of Chicago Health Plan (UCHP)
Our list of accepted insurance providers is subject to change at any time. You should contact your insurance company to confirm UChicago Medicine participates in their network before scheduling your appointment. If you have questions regarding your insurance benefits at UChicago Medicine, please contact our financial counseling team at OPSFinancialCounseling@uchospitals.edu.
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