Is Your Heart a Ticking Time Bomb?

Make sure you are setting a foundation of health to prevent major problems later;

How do you envision your yourself in your 60's, 70's, 80's, or even your 90's? Retired and and having adventures, playing with grandkids, or traveling the world? Far too often people succumb to chronic illness and disability leading to a pre-occupation with their declining health in their later years instead of being able to enjoy their "golden years" the way they envisioned. A person's lifestyle, diet, and genetics during their 30-50's set the stage for health or illness later on in life. So why do we wait until later in life when the accumulated damage has already occurred to intervene?

Facts about cholesterol and it's affects on Heart attacks, Strokes, and much more

1. About 1 in 5 heart attacks are silent, meaning the damage occurs without the person realizing it.

2. Every year, about 805,000 people in the United States have a heart attack.

3. One person dies every 33 seconds from cardiovascular disease.

4. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

5. Strokes affect approximately 795,000 people annually, with someone experiencing a stroke every 40 seconds as well.

6. Elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol, are associated with an increased risk of vascular dementia.

Understanding Cholesterol and their relationship to Heart Attacks and Strokes: A Critical Look

Heart attacks and strokes are serious cardiovascular events that affect millions of people worldwide each year. In the United States, these conditions remain significant health concerns, with high cholesterol levels playing a pivotal role in their prevalence.

Why does my provider keep wanting to check my cholesterol and talk to me about this? Why should I care?

Because I care about my patients and I want you to live as healthy and as long as possible! As I tell my patients, it is not so much that I care about high cholesterol. What I care about is minimizing my patients risks for those "Bad" things such as;

• Heart attack,

• Stroke,

• Erectile dysfunction,

• Vision loss,

• Dementia,

• Alzheimer's,

• Fatty Liver Disease,

• Peripheral Arterial Disease

• and so much more.

It just so happens that measurements of cholesterol are still the best predicters of those "bad" things. Lower the low-density lipoprotein and/or apolipoprotein B 100 and we keep you living a longer healthier life continuing to enjoy your hobbies, family, and recreation!

High cholesterol levels increases the buildup of plaque in arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis. This buildup narrows the arteries, restricting blood flow to vital organs such as the heart, brain, retina, and yes, even your penis my male friends. Eventually, a piece of plaque can break off, forming a clot that blocks blood flow—a leading cause of heart attacks and strokes. Most people don't die from a heart attack or stroke with modern medical care but many are left with significant disability or impairments leaving them to no longer being able to work, or do the things they used to enjoy.

What is an advanced cardiovascular screening?

At Healing Roots Medicine we combined traditional modern medical practices with a functional medicine approach to give you better insight and drive appropriate medical decisions.

• Cholesterol screening starts with the most basic lipid panel

• Lipoprotein a is responsible for cholesterol inserting into your blood vessels and is determined by your genetics. People should receive a once a lifetime screening to make sure this is not significantly elevated.

• Apolipoprotein B 100 is now thought to be a better marker of future risk of heart attacks than the classic LDL found in the classic lipid panel.

• High Sensitivity CRP is an inflammatory marker that helps identify those folks who may be at additional hidden risk.

• Coronary artery calcium scan can be obtained for about $100 to further risk stratify a person.

• Continuous glucose monitoring is now easily accessible to troubleshoot dietary cofounders or high blood sugars.

What treatments can Healing Roots Medicine offer that my normal doctor might not be offering?

Instead of giving lip service to dietary and lifestyle changes we give specific examples, can review your diet, provide great self education, or have you see a functional nutritionist.

Many patients can significantly reduce their cholesterol with these interventions along with utilizing specific nutraceuticals and supplements tailored to your needs. We can also set you up with a continuous glucose monitor such as the Freestyle Libre or Dexcom that will give you a reading of your blood sugar every 5 minutes for 14 days to help you further troubleshoot and make targeted specific interventions.

Did your last Doc prescribe you a Statin and move on after 5 minutes in the room? We go so much farther then just prescribing a standard statin. For those patients that need additional support or at very high risk we specialize in non-statin advanced cholesterol treatments such as Icosapent ethyl (Vascepa), Bempedoic acid (Nexletol), and Ezetimibe (Zetia). There is also a next generation statin Pitavastatin (Livalo) that is a significant improvement over the older generation statins.

How do I Get Started?

Getting started is easy!

• If you are an established patient of Healing Roots Medicine simply make an appointment to start your journey.  This is most easily done via the Athena Patient portal.

Patient Portal

• If you have never seen us before, simply fill out this online form and we will set you up your new Athena Patient Portal account within 2 business days and then you can easily self book a new patient appointment typically within 2 weeks.  Jeremy Brodhead FNP specializes in our cardiovascular program.

New Patient Sign Up

Conclusion

Whether you are younger and just want to get a preventative baseline and preventative management in place, you are older and cholesterol has already crept up over the years, or you are currently being treated with a statin and looking for reevaluation and other possible options we can help you reach optimal health.

---

Jeremy Brodhead FNP specializes in weight loss, advanced cholesterol management, and is Board-Certified in Advanced Diabetes Management (BC-ADM) by combining the newest medical treatments with a functional medicine evaluation and complementary treatment philosophy.