DGMC center promotes heart healthy year round

  • Published
  • By Maj. (Dr.) Ian Riddock
  • 60th Medical Surgical Operations Squadron cardiologist
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  In honor of American Heart Month, your Heart, Lung and Vascular Center at David Grant Medical Center will provide program updates throughout the month of February.

Every year, about 715,000 Americans have a heart attack. Heart attacks can be prevented and DGMC's metabolic clinic can keep our patients from adding to this staggering statistic in America. The metabolic clinic offers advanced cardiovascular risk assessments and screenings to help prevent heart attacks.

Five years ago, the inspiration of this clinic was to help patients achieve important blood pressure and cholesterol goals, it has evolved to offer a wide range of tools to better identify your risk of having a future heart attack. We specialize in recognizing and treating early disease states such as the metabolic syndrome and prediabetes.

The metabolic clinic is staffed by a Certified Lipid Specialist and a Preventive Cardiologist. This team takes an individualized approach and provides expert interpretation of conventional cholesterol testing as it relates to the overall medical situation. When needed, these experts utilize more advanced testing such as specialized lipid and biomarker assays and advanced imaging with coronary artery calcium scores and cardiac computed tomography.

This team of specialists will help PATIENTS decide which tests are appropriate for them, provide counseling, and ultimately prescribe therapy that places patients on the path to achieving the best results while reducing the risk of side effects.

HLVC is also home to a full-time heart failure clinic. Studies show that Heart Failure clinics are associated with better outcomes for patients diagnosed with heart failure when co-managed by their cardiologist.

Patients who have been diagnosed with heart failure and have not been referred to a Heart Failure clinic or patients who would like to be seen in our metabolic clinic, please call the HLVC at 423-2300 for an evaluation. No referral is necessary to be seen in either clinic.