The CardioHealth Platinum Program

The CardioHealth Platinum program is specifically designed for those who want to know all they can about their current and future risk of cardiovascular disease. It is the best of everything we have to offer for identifying cardiovascular disease as well as risk for cardiovascular disease. But these tests don’t just help diagnose things. They can also show us if our therapeutic treatment plan is working and gives us a change to adjust to make sure we get the results we want and need.

The CardioHealth Platinum is cost-effective and easy to complete. All blood work is drawn at Revolution Health & Wellness Clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma. All testing (except the CAC discussed below) is also done at Revolution. Of course, we may find something that would need additional testing or therapy not available in our clinic. All of these tests can be completed in less than half a day.

Having measurements of risk factors AND disease process allows us to directly treat the disease process as well as the risk factors. More importantly, we can see if improving the risk factors is actually making a difference in the overall disease process.

We start off looking at risk factors. We capture as much information as we can in regards to your overall risk for cardiovascular disease. Certainly, we look at the 5 traditional risk factors but we do it in an exceptional way:

(1) Hypertension:

You may already know that your blood pressure should be <120 over <80. However, there is so much more that you should know about your blood pressure! We use the right machines and devices to measure your blood pressure in the most accurate way possible. Our testing is based on a thorough review of the medical literature so that we can give you the absolute best information about your blood pressure available.

We measure your blood pressure in ALL of your extremities. We check it with several different devices. We check your central blood pressure. And, finally, we check your 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure. These tests, together, provide the absolute best information you can get about your blood pressure at various times of day. This allows us to further evaluate your cardiovascular health and prescribe the absolute best interventions.

We also measure several labs to make sure we thoroughly understand the physiologic mechanisms behind your hypertension, if present. Knowing these mechanisms helps us further refine your therapy. Plasma Renin Activity and Aldosterone levels help us with this. These labs are run through your insurance so we do not charge for them.

CardiaX is a genetic test that evaluates your cardiovascular risk based on genetics. Several of these genes can help us understand your blood pressure and how it should be treated. Knowing your genetics enables us to focus our therapy on your specific reasons for blood pressure issues if they are present.

(2) Hyperlipidemia:

It is important to understand your lipid (cholesterol) levels. However, the standard lipid panel is woefully inadequate for assessing your cardiovascular disease risk. You need additional testing if you really want to understand how to be as healthy as possible. We add LDL-Particle, Lp(a), and sdLDL as part of our routine lipid assessment.

(3) Diabetes:

Many people think that if they are not “diabetic” then they doing well in regards to their blood sugar when it comes to cardiovascular disease. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, risk for cardiovascular disease begins to increase when your A1c is higher than 5.1. There is evidence that risk for cardiovascular disease increases 1% for every 1 point above 75 is your fasting blood sugar. If you have actual diabetes then you have a real problem and you need to be VERY aggressive about getting it under control.

We measure several labs such as fasting blood sugar, insulin, HbA1c, pro-insulin, c-peptide, fructosamine, 1,5-anhydroglucitol, adiponectin, leptin, an others to ensure that your insulin sensitivity is optimal so that you can be as healthy as possible. Not only can we diagnose with this information but we can also track our progress so that we can measure the effectiveness of your therapy. That is absolutely critical.

(4) Obesity:

We define obesity by the body mass index (BMI). A BMI above from 25-30 is considered overweight and over 30 is considered obese. However, it isn’t really the BMI that matters. It is body composition. We need to measure and assess your body composition so that we can see percent body fat which is the real issue.

We measure this with the Bio-Electric Impedance Analysis (BIA). Our goal is to optimize your body composition as opposed to your BMI. This measurement is included in your CardioHealth Platinum.

(5) Tobacco/Smoking:

There is really nothing to measure here… If you smoke, quit. Whatever it takes. Do not smoke. Ever.

Other Risk Factors In The CardioHealth Platinum Program

There are numerous other labs that we routinely check in the CardioHealth Platinum program. The lab will bill your insurance for these labs so we do not charge for these at our clinic. We check a full hormone panel, thyroid labs, inflammatory markers, nutritional markers, and many others. Many of our patients are shocked at the amount of information they get from what we consider our ‘basic’ lab panel.

Spectracell

Nutritional deficiencies can play a significant role in cardiovascular disease. We measure serum levels of some nutrients. However, others are very difficult to measure. Additionally, we want to make sure that our cells are functioning at their highest level. The Spectracell Functional Intracellular Assay (FIA) of 31 nutrients provides excellent nutritional and cellular function information. It can be a game changer!

Heavy Metals, Toxins, and Infections

Each of these can significantly impair cellular function, increase inflammation, increase oxidative stress, decrease antioxidant ability, and simply wreak havoc. We have found heavy metals to be a significant cause of cellular disruption and they can frequently contribute to cardiovascular disease. We routinely test for these heavy metals in the CardioHealth Platinum program. Other toxins and infections can be measured if indicated at any point.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) reflects the simultaneous affect of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems on the heart, which results in a beat-to-beat variability on an electrocardiographic (ECG) rhythm strip. A change in the normal autonomic regulation of heart rate may reflect the impact of a stressor on the body and can detect the early signs of pathologic developments or functional disorders, which may not be detected with routine physical or laboratory examinations.

It is well known that stress can greatly increase cardiovascular disease risk. We know that working to improve the physiologic response to stress can decrease this risk.

The HRV test is a routine part of the CardioHealth Platinum program which helps us understand your physiologic and emotional responses to stress which can impact your heart health. Knowing your autonomic responses can help us tailor our therapy.

PULS

This is, without question, one of the best tests I’ve seen in quite a while. It measures your risk of having a cardiovascular disease event within the next 5 years based on several serum markers. When these markers are elevated, there is a high correlation with unstable plaque in the arteries and this risk needs to be mitigated.

This test does not “diagnose” cardiovascular disease. It is simply a “check engine light” letting us know that there is a problem. Like many of the other tests mentioned previously, we can repeat this test to measure the effectiveness of our therapy to make sure it is working. When it is working we’ll see the score improve. Often, fairly quickly.

CardioHealth Platinum Disease Evaluation Tests

Evaluating actual cardiovascular disease appears to be vastly superior in our ability to predict heart attacks and strokes. Risk factors matter but it is more important to understand if you actually have cardiovascular disease. The following tests are included in the CardioHealth Platinum program.

Endothelial function

Endothelial dysfunction is the first marker of cardiovascular disease. Given our poor diet, stress, inflammation, and exposure to toxins, most people have very poor endothelial function. How many people do you know who have erectile dysfunction? Maybe you have it yourself. Erectile dysfunction is caused by endothelial dysfunction. If those aren’t working to provide an erection then they aren’t working anywhere else either.

We can easily measure endothelial function in the clinic and results are available immediately. If your endothelial function isn’t good then cardiovascular disease is in your future. We need to get this treated as quickly as possible and there are several things that can help.

Arterial Elasticity

The second marker to show up in the presence of vascular dysfunction is a decrease in arterial elasticity. You want young, elastic arteries. As we age, and certainly in the setting of increased vascular damage, our arteries get stiffer. The CV Profile directly measures the arterial elasticity and helps us understand how healthy (or sick) your arteries may be. This is an excellent initial test to screen for the beginnings of cardiovascular disease.

DPA

DPA stands for Digital Pulsewave Analysis. It is another measurement of arterial stiffness as stiff arteries transmit a pulse wave much faster than a soft, elastic artery.

CIMT

The Carotid Intima-Media Test (CIMT) is one of my favorite tests as it measures the wall of the artery itself as well as the presence of any plaque. This test is much more sensitive than the duplex doppler used by most physicians since it can detect the presence of ANY plaque, not just the ones blocking at least 60% of the artery.

Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI)

This test measures your blood pressure in your arms and legs and calculates your risk of having peripheral arterial disease (PAD). It is fairly simple to do and only takes a few minutes. Your blood pressure is measured with a doppler and a blood pressure cuff. You want a score of >0.9 to ensure good vascular health.

Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CAC)

The Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CAC) is another excellent test that measure coronary artery disease directly. We do not perform this test in our clinic and the cost ($50-100) is not included in the program but it is an essential component of understanding your cardiovascular disease risk as deeply as possible. This is a non-invasive, pain-free, quick test that provides excellent information about cardiovascular disease in your coronary arteries.

CardioHealth Platinum Summary

The CardioHealth Platinum program is the most comprehensive cardiovascular screening program you’ll find anywhere in this area. Nobody in Oklahoma even comes close to being able to identify cardiovascular disease as early as we can with all of these tests. You may not want (or need) this much information so you may want to start with CardioHealth 101 or CardioHealth Advanced. However, you may want all of the peace of mind we can provide with the CardioHealth Platinum program.

Whichever program you choose, don’t wait another day. Your health is simply too important!