As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” And when you apply this wisdom to your heart health, it can literally save your life. Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States, killing one person every 34 seconds.
At Lafferty Family Care, Dr. Scott Lafferty and our team stress the importance of heart attack prevention, providing comprehensive cardiac prevention assessments that include targeted testing for heart disease risk factors.
Here’s a brief look at the testing we perform, which extends well beyond measuring your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, to help you stay one step ahead of heart disease.
Advanced lipid panels go beyond measuring your levels of triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins (HDL), and low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and assess other characteristics, such as particle size and number.
To understand why this testing is effective in assessing your risks for heart disease, consider HDLs, often called the “good cholesterol.” What makes “good cholesterol” even better is having larger particles, so they can clear more artery-clogging fats from your blood vessels.
All too often, dangerous blockages in a person’s blood vessels are discovered after a cardiac event has already occurred. A carotid intima media thickness ultrasound not only checks for plaque buildup in the carotid artery, but also assesses important features of the plaque, such as:
And the best part of this testing? The ultrasound is completely painless.
We can tell a lot about your health by looking at your genetic makeup. To assess your risks for heart disease, we perform targeted gene testing to look for specific genotypes that might increase your risk.
Genetic testing is great for people who have a family history of heart disease (first-degree relative) or who might have other risk factors.
Did you know that people with gum disease have a two-to-three-times increased risk for a cardiac event? This is because oral bacteria can get into your bloodstream and damage your blood vessels.
With prevention in mind, we perform a quick oral DNA test to look for disease-causing bacteria.
We leave no stone unturned when it comes to assessing your risks for heart disease. Should we find that you’re at higher risk, we become especially proactive in managing your cardiovascular health through lifestyle changes and preventive treatments.
To embark on your own heart disease prevention plan, schedule an appointment at our office in Rogers, Arkansas, at your earliest convenience.
