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Do you have any of these risk factors?
- 45 years of age or older
- Family history of heart attack or stroke
- Overweight
- Smoker
- High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol\Little or no exercise
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You may have cardiovascular disease and not even know it!
Early detection of cardiovascular disease is important.
Heart attack and stroke combined are the leading cause of death in the United States. Standard labs and tests do not give enough warning to the potential occurrence of such attacks. It becomes imperative for every patient to utilize specialty labs and advanced tests to determine risk, in order to decrease risk of such attacks. The following specialty labs and advanced tests will help your physician at East Valley Naturopathic Doctors determine your true risk and diminish the likelihood of experiencing a heart attack or stroke. Once both test results are received in the office, your doctor will recommend a follow up visit to discuss the findings and your individual treatment plan to decrease your risk for potential and sudden vascular attacks
The first step is to draw blood for an advanced cholesterol test called LPP+™. LPP+™ is an extensive specialty blood test that determines the size and presence of lipoproteins such as LDL, HDL, RLP, and Lipoprotein(a). The size of the LDL and HDL particles are more valuable measures of risk than the total number measured. The smaller the size of the LDL, the more likely it will invade the arterial wall and increase plaque formation. The LPP+™ plus evaluates the presence of LDL III and LDL IV, the smallest LDL particles, to determine if they are contributing to atherosclerosis. Lipoprotein(a) is a direct cause of plaque growth and plaque rupture that can cause a heart attack. Other tests included in the panel, which are helpful to evaluate risk and determine treatment, include C-Reactive Protein(CRP), Homocysteine, and Insulin. These are not accounted for on the standard cholesterol panelThe next step to complete this advanced assessment is to perform a B-mode ultrasound. Carotid intima media thickness, or CMIT Imaging of the carotid arteries, as determined by B-mode ultrasound, is a measure of preclinical and generalized atherosclerosis (presence of plaque in the arteries). This test has been shown to be positively associated with coronary heart disease and stroke. Typical ultrasounds of the carotids measure blood flow. This unique test evaluates the thickness of the arterial wall, to catch the presence of plaque even earlier.
The presence of plaque can lead to narrowing of the arteries leading to high blood pressure. Potential causes may also include high stress, poor diet, inactivity, and other chronic diseases. Your doctor can help you determine the cause and provide alternative therapies to lower blood pressure if needed.
The combined tests will be utilized to assess your risk for both a cardiovascular and cerebrovascular event and prescribe an individualized protocol. Your Naturopathic Doctor will outline the lifestyle changes required, including dietary guidelines and nutritional support to decrease your risk without the use a commonly prescribed medication.
Cardiovascular facts and figures
- Cardiovascular Disease is the number one killer in the U.S. for both men and women.
- One in 2.6 female deaths are from Cardiovascular Disease, while one in 30 are from breast cancer.
- Cardiovascular Diseases are directly or indirectly responsible for approximately 1,000,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.
- Nearly 2,500 Americans die of Cardiovascular Disease each day, one death every 35 seconds, more than the deaths caused by all forms of cancer.
- Cardiovascular Disease claims more lives each year than the next four leading causes of death combined.
- 1,300,000 Americans are expected to have a new or recurrent heart attack this year.
- Heart Disease and stroke account for almost six million hospitalizations each year.
- 333,000 coronary heart disease deaths occur out-of-hospital or in-hospital emergency departments annually.
- 50 percent of men and 64 percent of women who died suddenly of CHD had no previous symptoms of this disease.
- Each year over 400,000 people die of heart disease before reaching a hospital.
- 40 to 50 percent of all heart attack patients have a “normal” cholesterol or lipid profile.
- 71,300,000 American adults have one or more types of cardiovascular disease.
- Most heart attacks and strokes are preventable.
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Cholesterol and Hypertension Treatments