by Dr. Steve Parcell
 
I am continually amazed by how few people come in looking to prevent disease. Part of the reason, I know, is that patients do not come in unless something is wrong. The other part may have to do with fact that the public is not aware of how far we have come in the art of prevention.

Want to stay out of the hospital? If so, keep reading.

How many people know that if either of your parents had heart problems that you should have lab tests done measuring homocysteine, hsCRP, Lipoprotein (a), and fibrinogen? Most folks know that being overweight is a risk factor but did you know that by having elevated fasting insulin you put your self at risk of heart disease?

Scientists have known for many years that people get heart disease even when cholesterol is normal. You may know your cholesterol count – your doctor may have discussed your LDL, HDL, or triglycerides with you. Although these numbers are useful for some patients in determining their heart risk, they don’t tell the whole story for many patients and their risk of developing heart disease.

Today, scientists have begun to realize that determining your risk for heart disease is not as simple as just measuring your cholesterol. We now know that heart disease is actually caused by particles in your bloodstream called lipoproteins. These particles carry the cholesterol that you’re used to hearing about. No matter how much cholesterol is inside these lipoproteins, what matters is the number of lipoprotein particles transporting your cholesterol. High levels of certain types of lipoprotein particles become “stuck” in your arteries and can lead to heart disease or, worse yet, a heart attack.

This new test is called a lipoprotein NMR analysis. It looks at the different sizes of HDL and LDL in your blood. The cost of this test is $140.00. In addition, you can get a CT scan of your heart for about $400.00 to see if calcium has already started to build up. We have a device called the Cardiovision in our office that measures “arterial stiffness.” A number greater than your age indicates your arteries are prematurely aging, hardening annd becomming inflexible.

Why is it important to know how flexible arteries are? Arteries are responsible for moving the majority of the blood through the vascular tree. Consequently, non-flexible or hardened arteries cause the heart to work much harder when it is forced to push blood through partially occluded vessels. This extra strain on the heart and the resulting blockages are a root cause of cardiovascular disease. Until the invention of Cardiovision, there was no easy, inexpensive or quick way to determine if a person's vessels had lost flexibility.

Who should have this prevention screening done?

• Positive family history of heart disease
• History of or current smoking
• Overweight people
• Anyone who has been told they have atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
• Anyone with triglycerides above 100
• HDL below 60
• Anyone who has already had a heart attack or heart surgery
• Anyone with metabolic syndrome (syndrome X)
• Anyone with elevated blood pressure (greater than 135/70)