Newswise — This summer, millions of people will be traveling to destinations near and far — from nearby family visits to faraway vacations in exotic locales. One of the many questions doctors get around this time of year is: “Is it safe to travel with a heart condition?” And in most cases, the answer is an enthusiastic “yes.”

Dr. Eli Gelfand, Chief of the Outpatient Cardiology Clinic at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center would be glad to take you and your readers through tips for planning ahead and keeping their trip on track. The key to a safe journey, Gelfand says, is advance preparation. By carefully planning ahead and occasionally, making small modifications to travel plans, people with heart conditions can enjoy their trips without worrying about their health.

He recently wrote a blog post on this topic here: http://www.bidmc.org/Centers-and-Departments/Departments/Cardiovascular-Institute/CVI-Newsletter/Archives/Winter17/TravelHF.aspx.

Dr. Gelfand is passionate about getting his patients out the door to explore and travel, even with heart disease, so this is an important topic to him. In fact, he collects postcards from his patients’ world travels and hangs them on his office wall.

Dr. Gelfand is available for interview. Please contact Lindsey Diaz-MacInnis at [email protected] if you are interested in scheduling a time to speak with Dr. Gelfand on this topic.