Proactive Cutting Edge Heart Attack Prevention
Each year close to 1.4 million people in the United States experience a heart attack and in excess of 500,000 die from it. Amazingly, 50 to 70 percent of those individuals who died from a heart attack were not aware of their risk. Worldwide, over 19 million people die from a heart attack each year.
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the US and worldwide. Although public perception is otherwise, CVD is responsible for more deaths than the next ten causes of death which includes lung, colon and breast cancer.
Our traditional western paradigm of medical care is a "fix it when it's broken approach". Our system is very reactive, not proactive. A perfect example is our society's inability and failure to successfully address the core cause of America's number one killer. Cardiovascular disease (CVD). In the overwhelming majority of cases, the risk factors that are all a result of our dietary intake are ultimately responsible for the development of CVD. Aside from inherited disorder, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol are all related to dietary intake.
60% of Americans are overweight and 30% are obese. And poor diet is not limited to these individuals, it is possible to have excess intake of fatty foods, simple carbohydrates and high cholesterol, and dietary hazzards, and still appear outwardly slim and fit. And this is where the challenge lies. The biggest opportunity to make a lifestyle change that avoids costly life time presciption medication and procedural intervention is in identification of the early signs of atherosclerotic change. This is described as primary prevention in the following illustration.
The following illustration shows the progression from early stage atheroclerotic change within the blood vessel to the late stage of life threatening disease that ultimately threatens one with Heart Attack physiology
The conflict lies in the availability of imaging tests and laboratories which assist in the early identification of early stage CVD. CVD may develop in the absence of medicine's traditionally accepted risk factor parameters. The benefit of early risk factors is supported by studies that describe the motivation, compliance and long term success of lifestyle changes when they are prompted by evidence of early atherosclerotic changes
One such test is the High Speed CT, Heart Scan or Calcium Score. This noninvasive imaging modality evaluates the presence of calcium deposits in the blood vessels of the heart and body. In the presence of risk factors, a high Calcium Score may indicate the need for more aggressive treatment of cholesterol, blood pressure and dietary/nutritional manipulation. Read more about Heart Scan in Times (Click here for more information ...)
Other test include the noninvasive ultrasound imaging of layers of the carotid blood vessel. The Carotid Intimal Thickening assessment is another indication of early atherosclerotic changes.
All of these modalities are utilized with the goal of identifying early disease and creating and executing life style behavior changes to avoid disease progression.
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