Dr. Douglas Laidlaw has always been interested in science, and that helped lead him to a career in medicine. “Even as a young child I was interested in biology and how things work,” he explains. “Plus my mother was a nurse and my father was involved in EMS, so I had a lot of exposure to caregiving and medicine when I was growing up.”

As a cardiologist, Dr. Laidlaw makes a point to get to know each patient and their individual healthcare goals. “I feel you need to really understand patients on a personal level before you can make the right medical recommendation and treatment plan for their needs. That’s one of the challenges you face each day.”

Dr. Laidlaw is a specialist in cardiac electrophysiology, the treatment of cardiac rhythm disturbances – also known as arrhythmias. He is encouraged by all the new treatments to help cardiac patients. “An arrhythmia is either an area of cells in the heart that are causing an irregular heartbeat or an extra pathway that is creating an electrical short circuit in the heart. Treating arrhythmias depends on the particular type. It sometimes involves mapping the arrhythmia within the cardiac structures and the heart chambers, and that gives us the information we need to devise a proper treatment. This is a particular area that has made great advances in recent years.”

Treatments for arrhythmias may be as simple as medications, but also include ablation procedures, cardioversion, pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). Surgical treatments are also performed in some cases. Dr. Laidlaw is encouraged by all the new treatments to help cardiac patients. “Every year in cardiology we are developing new skills, new equipment and new technology which allows us to be more successful in treating patients. That’s why cardiac electrophysiology is such an exciting specialty to be a part of.”

When working with his patients, Dr. Laidlaw tries to treat them as if they were his own family. “With every patient, I say to myself, if this was my mother, what would I want the physician to recommend? Whenever it’s a difficult decision between different treatment options, that’s the tie-breaker for me.”

In his spare time, Dr. Laidlaw enjoys playing golf, collecting wine, and spending time with his wife and family. He and his family also enjoy traveling to Europe, especially Spain, where his wife is from originally.