Preventive Cardiology
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in
the United States - 500,000 Americans die from
heart disease every year - that's 4,000/day. Sudden
cardiac arrest claims three lives every seven
minutes. And, more than half of all heart attack
victims never experienced any prior symptoms.
The aim of the Penn Cardiac Care Preventive Cardiology
Program is to both determine a person's risk of
heart disease using state-of-the-art technologies
and reduce it using aggressive medical management.
One of the most common risk factors of heart
disease is high cholesterol. The Penn Cardiac
Care Preventive Cardiology Program operates one
of the largest lipid clinic in the area for the
treatment of high cholesterol, high triglycerides,
and low HDL (called "good" cholesterol.) and is
conducting a number of research studies investigating
new treatments for these heart disease risk factors.
You can benefit from our program if you:
Assessing Cardiovascular
Risk
Physicians in the Preventive Cardiology Program
are experts in the use of newer blood tests, such
as lipoprotein subclass analysis, Lp(a), homocysteine,
and C reactive protein, in the assessment of cardiovascular
risk. The Program has a major effort in the area
of noninvasive imaging of artherosclerosis.
Sophisticated noninvasive screening techniques:
Carotid Intimal Media Thickness and Plaque Screen |
A sophisticated, risk free ultrasound technique proven to assess the current status of your blood vessels and predict your future risk more accurately then standard techniques. This technique can detect cardiovascular disease before traditional techniques such as stress testing. |
Coronary Artery Calcification |
A CT of the coronary
arteries that detects cardiovascular
disease before traditional techniques
such as stress testing |
Echocardiogram |
Assess the structural
integrity of the heart |
Stress Testing |
Assess functional capacity
as well as any symptoms you are having |
Abdominal Ultrasound |
Screen for aneurysm of
the aorta |
Ankle Brachial Index and Pulse Volume Recording |
Screen for peripheral
arterial disease |
Reducing Cardiovascular Risk
A dietitian specializing in treating patients
with hyperlipidemia and other cardiovascular
risk factors is also available at Penn Cardiac
Care at Penn Presbyterian. Physicians are specialists
in the careful use of medications designed to
reduce cardiovascular risk. If you have lipid
problems, glucose intolerance, hypertension
or are obese, you can benefit by creating a
comprehensive plan to improve the patient's
health and decrease his cardiovascular risk.
Please contact a Penn Cardiac Care physician
at 1-800-789-PENN to discuss your risk of heart
disease and ways you can help prevent it.
Research
Physicians and scientists at Penn Cardiac Care
are working hard to find new methods to diagnose
and treat coronary artery disease, making earlier
treatment possible. New blood tests help predict
which patients are more likely to experience future
complications, while new medications increase
the patient's life expectancy.
Gene therapy is one of the most exciting new
coronary artery disease treatments currently being
explored. For instance, a new gene placed into
the liver may lower cholesterol levels in the
bloodstream. New genes used in the arterial wall
may reduce the scar tissue that forms after angioplasty,
making long term results more effective. Eventually,
gene therapy may also be able to:
- decrease the extent and severity of artherosclerosis
- alleviate the need of angioplasty or bypass
surgery
- produce new blood vessels in the heart
- minimize the long term effects of a heart
attack by growing new heart muscle to replace
the muscle that dies during a heart attack
In addition to the above, Penn Cardiac Care is
also conducting multiple studies to reduce the
risk of heart attack and stroke.
Preventive Cardiology and Vascular Medicine
Locations
Philadelphia Heart Institute, Suite 200
39th and Market Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Philadelphia Heart Institute, Suite 400
39th and Market Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Penn Cardiac Care at Cherry Hill
1400 East Route 70
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
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