A notebook - 3 ring style binder with lined paper. This is a great place to keep the questions you’ve prepared prior to the visit and a way to keep everything organized. If you have more than one family member with the diagnosis, page dividers are a great way to keep each persons records separate.

Your insurance card - The name and address of your general practitioner.

Family history - This is a great front page for your binder. Since we’re dealing with a genetic condition, knowing who in your family may also have had it or was actually diagnosed can be extremely useful for your cardiologist.

Scans and test results - If you've recently had tests done at a different office, it’s good to keep your own copies. Make secondary copies to bring to your doctors visit in case they haven’t yet received them from the other office.

A list of questions you want to ask your physician - Writing down questions in advance will help you make the most of your time with your doctor and will ensure that you don't forget anything that you want to know more about.

List of medications you take, when you take them, and their dosage. It’s important not to leave anything out of this piece. Your doctor needs to know not only what prescriptions you’re taking, but any over-the-counter meds too.

A list of any alternative treatments you’ve tried or are currently using. This could treatments such as homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic and acupuncture as well as any herbal medications you are taking.

List of all current symptoms. Make sure to mention any new symptoms even if you don’t think they are related. It’s your doctor who will make that determination and sometimes something that seems completely separate from your heart condition can actually be relevant.

A friend or family member. If this is one of your first appointments after diagnosis, you may be hit with terms you don’t understand and a feeling of being on your own. A friend or family member can help you write things down, remember what questions you wanted to ask, and be there for support.