The Preventive Cardiology and Lipid Clinic offers expert, interdisciplinary evaluation and treatment to prevent cardiovascular disease, and to provide expert care when you are diagnosed with premature or aggressive cardiovascular disease. The program seeks to understand the causes of premature vascular disease and complex or persistent lipid problems, and to help reduce the risk of future cardiovascular events through lifestyle guidance 以及医疗.
We provide evaluation and treatment for:
- Premature or aggressive cardiovascular disease, such as atherosclerosis or a heart attack at a relatively young age
- Particularly severe or difficult to control elevations in cholesterol
- Inherited cholesterol disorders such as familial hypercholesterolemia (FH)
- Elevated Lp(a)—lipoprotein(a)—a specific lipid problem that signals an increased risk of cardiovascular disease
- “他汀类药物不耐受," which affects a small percentage of patients prescribed with statins, the primary drug therapy used for cholesterol problems
Interdisciplinary evaluation and care
我们的专家 work with you to determine the underlying cause of your cholesterol problems and to reduce the risk of future cardiovascular events through our evaluation, 饮食建议, 以及医疗, 包括:
- Identifying causes of high cholesterol such as diet, genetic factors, diseases, and 药物
- Setting appropriate cholesterol goals
- Offering guidance on lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise, to improve health
- Prescribing appropriate lipid-lowering medication, if needed
- Offering other treatment options, if lipid-lowering 药物 have not worked
服务包括:
- Expert consultation with a certified clinical lipidologist
- Consultation with a registered dietitian, at no charge to you
- Monitoring and treatment for statin intolerance
- Testing for a genetic component or other unusual risk factors for those of you with premature or aggressive cardiovascular disease
- 当表示, testing for subclinical atherosclerosis (disease that exists before symptoms appear), using CT-based coronary calcium scores and CT angiography
- 如果合适的话, prescription and monitoring of new cholesterol 药物 that have been shown in studies to provide additional 50-60% reductions in cholesterol values above reductions produced by statins
了解脂质
脂质, which include cholesterol and triglycerides, are fats essential to the normal function of our bodies. Triglycerides are the primary form in which we store energy. Cholesterol is needed for the production of cell membranes, 胆汁酸, the insulating tissue covering nerve fibers, 性激素. Because lipids do not dissolve in water, they are carried throughout the body in the blood stream by lipoprotein particles, 它们的大小和密度各不相同.
生活方式的选择, 药物, 某些疾病, and genetics can all lead to excess levels of lipid-containing particles in the blood stream. When levels are very high or when moderately elevated levels are combined over many years with other risk factors such as smoking, 高血压, 和糖尿病, the smaller lipid particles can enter the wall of arteries where they play a major role in the development of atherosclerotic plaque and increase the subsequent risk of premature cardiovascular disability and death.
检查你的心血管风险
The American College of Cardiology and the American 心 Association have created the ASCVD风险计算器, which estimates 10-year and lifetime risks for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), which can lead to heart attack or stroke.
The information required to estimate ASCVD risk includes age, 性, 比赛, 总胆固醇, 高密度脂蛋白胆固醇, 收缩压, blood pressure lowering medication use, 糖尿病状态, 吸烟状况.