By Dr. Christopher Lepisto
a 2-min read
Around 13 years ago, a patient of mine came into my office wanting to know about his cardiac health. He was in his late 50s, at first appearance a healthy male with a strong constitution and physical health. He had just come from his cardiologist, who had done conventional screening and cleared him of any heart risk. I performed a cardiac examination and reviewed his blood work, which was a standard complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, including the lipid indicators of cholesterol, HDL/LDL and triglycerides. I also gave him a clean bill of health.
Some weeks later, he was climbing on the Telluride via ferrata with his daughter. This involves an athletic, highly exposed cliff-side scramble along a set of iron rungs and ladders, designed to create a rock-climbing experience safely without ropes.
Approximately halfway across, he collapsed on a rock shelf from a massive heart attack, dying shortly thereafter in a local hospital. He had the tragic experience of a “widow-maker” event, at which the first sign of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is a fatal event. While his wife spoke to me of him doing what he loved at the end of his life, I was shocked into the revelation that I needed a better approach to cardiovascular assessment.
Some years later, I heard Bill Blanchette, MD a holistic Boulder cardiologist, speak on the merits and limitations of blood work assessment for cardiovascular health. He essentially downplayed the entire set of bloodwork analysis, determining that even expanded lipid panels of lipoproteins and particle size were ineffective for determining one’s true risk of a cardiac event.
Instead, he introduced me to a practice-changing tool, the coronary Computed Tomography, aka Calcium Score or Heart Scan.
This CT is the radiation equivalent of a small series of x-rays, which demonstrate the amount of calcium present in the coronary arteries, and therefore the amount of plaque present. Because calcium is utilized along with cholesterol and other nutrients to lay down plaque in the body’s natural attempt to heal blood vessel inflammation and leakage, it can be directly measured and is a 1 : 1 correlation between calcium and the actual cardiac risk. Zero is ideal. Any calcium present is an atherosclerotic process. Numbers over 300 indicate a very high risk of heart attack or stroke.
Having now ordered these at Community Hospital in Grand Junction for over a decade, I have seen a valuable set of data emerge. I of my patients came back with a score over 900. Two patients with long-term diabetes had scores of zero! Many more had moderate numbers showing moderate risk, which is incredibly helpful to establishing a long-term plan for heart recovery and prevention.
Collecting accurate data on the health of my patients is a top priority, including cardiac risk. When you’re ready for a doctor who puts the big picture together for you, helps prevent disease and assists you in achieving your goals naturally using time-tested methods, give me a call. I’m here to help.
(970) 250-4104
