Excellent care. Thoroughly explains medical treatments and procedures. His office staff is very friendly. read more

Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States? Another staggering fact is one person dies every 37 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease. But, even more, frightening to me is knowing that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. Just knowing these facts, I'm glad that Dr. Yamada is on my healthcare team at Queens Medical Center. I regard him as progressive, knowledgeable, compassionate yet straightforward with his explanations to me and I have been under his care for at least the past decade or longer. My scheduled annual office visits may include in-office treadmill stress tests or EKG in addition to getting my basic vital signs. Dr. Yamada has also prescribed other diagnostic tests to help him to decide if he needs to recommend changes in my lifestyle or medication. This time around, during pandemic restrictions, I participated in a telehealth visit. This was my first-time using HMSA's Online Care application. After registering for the application (on Friday, in preparation for my Monday appointment), I found this application easy-to-use and quite intuitive. On Monday morning, about 20 minutes prior to my designated appointment time, I signed in to the app's "Waiting Room". Then, about 3 minutes prior to my appointment time, Dr. Yamada's nurse signed me in to my appointment and Dr. Yamada made his appearance on-time as he usually does for office visits. The telehealth visit was just as good as an in-person visit except that I had taken my own blood pressure and weight at home. Yeah, yeah... unfortunately, I had to report the "Corona pounds" gains. Dr. Yamada had reviewed the results of the blood draws that I had taken a couple of days prior to this appointment. I guess that because of the pandemic concerns, he and his nurse were wearing face masks even for this session. I liked that their office takes this pandemic seriously and takes all possible precautions to not only protect themselves but to protect their patients. I sort of like this telehealth application as it was easy to use and I didn't even have to leave the comfort of my home. Anyway, I've already scheduled my next office visit in 2021 and look forward to the continued maintenance of good heart health through Dr. Yamada's recommendations. read more

Gregg Yamada, MD - Cardiologists Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Amazing doctor, so sad I can't see him anymore. Had always been very helpful and accommodating. Staff has always been great.

I was in excruciating pain and scheduled for surgery in another hospital on a Monday morning. My annual visit with Yamada happened to have been scheduled - coincidentally - months earlier for the day after my upcoming surgery so I had called to postpone my REGULAR annual checkup. His office staff was apparently instructed to ambush his patients and drag them in for a check up whereby on a Thursday afternoon before my Monday morning surgery I was rushed into his office. He had my blood test and refused to acknowledge that LDL counts go up in a non-fasting blood test; not that the numbers were so outrageous as to cause worry. He had pretty much seen similar numbers in prior years and knew that my sensitivity to drugs prevented me to take statins. We were both on the same page. He asked if my surgery was voluntary. I said yes and began to explain what it was. He YELLED at me and said "don't tell me! I don't want to know!" And while proceeding to tell me that "of course you will be safe!" He insisted that I had to have a "clearance" from HIM, specifically and he said "this is NOT ABOUT YOU!" Then dismissed me after giving me a lecture (with a PowerPoint presentation of Dr. Google "scary news" about ambulance chasing lawyers in New Jersey who were set to sue doctors for malpractice". This had nothing to do with my "case" because he was not even willing to listen to what I was going through, the pain I was in, or that I had already given full consent to a full medical team UNRELATED to him and been fully prepped for my surgery, including having had an EKG two days earlier in another hospital. His post-visit statement to me, IN ITS ENTIRETY reads as follows: "TODAY'S VISIT: you saw Dr G Yamada on Thursday October 12, 2023. The following issue was addressed: coronary artery disease involving native coronary artery of native heart WITHOUT angina pectoris" (emphasis on WITHOUT is mine! I am 77 years old, so, of course, if I am walking around with "native arteries and heart without any negative signs, and he had already discussed how clean my arteries were after a calcium scan just a year ago, it would have behooved him to acknowledge that I don't have a baby's heart and he had NEVER considered this heart health as questionable before. As far as I can see this scam of an ambush visit was purely for his satisfaction to "prove a moot point" that had nothing to do with me (as he so clearly yelled out to me!) but to show how brilliantly careful he was at the cost of my immediate health, and his own welfare. Yet he managed to stop the surgery which eventually had to be rescheduled for a week later, with my every pain simply getting worse. My echocardiogram in another hospital showed NO SIGNS of abnormality in my heart and whatever anomaly he had chosen to share with doctors on my interconnected "MyChart" BUT NOT WITH ME AS A PATIENT UNDER HIS CARE sitting in his office and being ignored depended on an inverted T wave under two millimeters that can be caused by fifty other syndromes, including high anxiety in a patient in pain being bullied by a doctor who didn't even CARE to hear what was wrong with me and why I had scheduled this immediate surgery! When I followed up in a variety of legitimate medical sources, including HIS and my own beloved Cleveland Clinic, there were clear contraindications for putting me through such anxiety-producing bullying for additional stress tests for non-cardiac-related surgeries (because, indeed, I could be "set up" by doctors like him for additional unnecessary tests that simply drive up the cost of health care without benefitting the patients). This is exactly the kind of unnecessary testing that drives up the cost of medical treatment that is not so much for the patient's safety but to cover the likes of Yamada's behind "just in case" he could be held liable for malpractice. I had not visited him for "clearance" and standard protocol did not require a cardiologist's "clearance" in my specific case. This high handed ambush against another reputable hospital and fully qualified medical staff, simply using me as a pawn for his "high moral standing" (really?!) was unconscionable. The additional cost of my suffering and delay for surgery could certainly be cause for a lawsuit as well but I have never sued any doctor. We are all human. We make mistakes. We misjudge (I should have never stayed with such an arrogant, pompous man). And incompetence is not necessarily a crime - though his seemed well thought out and clearly not to my advantage! I should have never stayed with him for six years worth of his forcing me into unnecessarily visiting other specialists just so he could pass the buck - "just in case" while repeatedly telling me year after year that my heart was in great shape and I would live to be a hundred! He had never even suggested any cardiac related care other than calcium scans - which I had done twice to reassure him that I was fine, though it was not covered by my insura read more

I highly recommend Dr. Yamada. He is to the point & no nonsense Dr. However after 4 years, wanted to return to get a recheck on my heart. Unfortunately I waited too long. He does not accept new patients; though I saw him 4 years ago, office told me I was one year too long. Hence I was (I guess) considered as a "new" patient. I had to find another cardiologist. read more

DR YAMADA WILL PROLONG YOUR LIFE! I feel very fortunate to be a patient of Dr Yamada. From my encounters with him, it is apparent that Dr Yamada is empathetic, passionate and cares deeply for all of his patients. With my visits, he has taken the time to to give a wholistic approach to treating my Cardiovascular disease. He does not treat his patients with a simple 5 min visit , prescription and pat on the back out of the door. Instead he takes as long as needed to discuss with you the nature of your disease, the disease process itself, prevention, long term care and maintenance. One part that stood out to me the most was that he said " When we take our Board certification exam, the answer is always what is best for the patient. Unfortunately insurance companies always choose the cheapest options. If the insurance companies deny any of your treatment, I will fight for you to get them done" This statement is a testament not only to how he practices as a physician, but more importantly his character. Through his book and blog, he has curated content which can be applicable to a broad spectrum of patients and conditions. Dr Yamada understands the bigger picture and that he has a much further reach and can save a lot more lives by promoting Preventive medicine. The curated content on his blog is an extremely comprehensive resource that can be understood by any person with any level of education. By adhering to the lessons from his book and blog, you can prolong your life too! Thank you Dr Yamada, please keep up the great work! read more

BIG TALKER WHO DOESN'T LISTEN I brought my 87 year old mom to this jerk wanting to establish a relationship with a cardiologist as my mom's family has a history of heart disease. Yamada spent most of each of our visits boasting about himself, barely listening to my mom. I mentioned my moms distress over daily, major dizzy spells she was having & edema. He suggested pressure stockings and otherwise offered nothing other than halving her dosage of verapamil. He neglected to do a stress test on mom, or address her valve issue, and said we should just go to the ER if we had other concerns. I had concerns about erratic BP readings and fatigue. Well 3 days after leaving for a big trip my mom DID end up in the ER with congestive heart failure and afib and Dr Yamada was AWOL. Didn't return my calls & quickly dropped my mom as his patient with a dismissive, impersonal letter upon our return. The docs in Michigan took her off the verapamil which ended her dizzy spells & edema, gone, and began treatment for AFIB. Yamada failed to diagnose any of this or monitor the effects of halving her verapamil dose which likely contributed to her going into AFIB. The man needs a podium with a room full of sycophants. Can't handle actual patients. He claims he has 5000 patients. No wonder. read more