Preventive Cardiology
Preventative cardiology refers to trying to catch cardiovascular disease before it occurs. This deals mostly with addressing risk factors. Some of these risk factors can be modified through lifestyle changes and medications. Other risk factors such as your family history or genetics cannot be changed, but knowing about them can allow problems to be discovered and treated before they cause harm.
What to Watch For
Lifestyle
- Obesity
- Sedentary
- Tobacco use
- Alcohol use
- Drug use
Medical conditions
- Hypertension
- Hyperlipidemia
- Diabetes
- Sleep apnea
Family history
- Sudden cardiac death
- Early cardiovascular disease (men under 55 years old, women under 65 years old)
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Bicuspid aortic valve
Diagnostic Testing in Preventive Cardiology
Physical exam
- Body mass index
- Blood pressure
- Murmurs
Lab testing
- Cholesterol panel
- Genetic testing
- Inflammatory markers such as CRP
Cardiovascular testing
- EKG
- AAA screen
- Carotid IMT
- Coronary calcium score
- Echocardiogram
Treatments in Preventive Cardiology
Modifiable Risk Factors
- Hypertension – medications and lifestyle changes
- Cholesterol – medications and lifestyle changes
- Obesity – medications, lifestyle changes and surgery
- Smoking cessation – medications and clinic evaluation
- Treat sleep apnea – sleep clinic
- Exercise – at least 150 minutes of exercise a week
- Diabetes – Keep A1c under 7.0 and close to 6.0
Genetic Conditions
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Possible EKG, echocardiogram, MRI, genetic testing in relatives
- Possible medications and defibrillators
Bicuspid aortic valve
- Possible echocardiogram, CT scan and genetic testing in relatives
- Possible valve treatments and aorta treatments
Sudden cardiac death
- Possible EKG, echocardiogram, MRI and genetic testing in relatives
- Possible medications and defibrillators
Abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Possible ultrasound or CT scan in relatives
- Possible aneurysm repair