Prevent Heart Disease Before It Starts
With heart disease America''s number one killer, educating the public about lowering their risk is essential. That''s why Andrew Kates, MD, cardiologist at the Washington University Heart Care Institute at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, has launched St. Louis'' first Heart Disease Prevention Program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University.
Dr. Kates serves as medical director of the program and says prevention is important not only because heart disease is America''s leading cause of death, but also because many of the risk factors for heart disease are treatable.
"There are many easily measured and potentially treatable risk factors for heart disease. In fact, these risk factors account for greater than 90 percent of the risk of an initial heart attack," says Dr. Kates.
Despite recent advances, more people die from heart disease and stroke than the next four leading causes combined. "Clearly, there are still risk factors that we have not yet identified that may help to reduce the incidence of heart disease further," added Dr. Kates.
The goal of the Heart Disease Prevention Program is to provide patients a standardized cardiovascular risk assessment and, if necessary, with an individualized treatment plan. With this, Dr. Kates and his colleagues hope:
- To identify patients at high risk for cardiovascular events (such as heart attack and stroke)
- To identify patients with active but undiagnosed cardiovascular disease
- To provide annual evaluation for low risk patients to help identify new risk factors for heart disease
For more information on the Heart Disease Prevention Program or for a free heart disease awareness kit, call 314-TOP-DOCS (314-867-3627) or toll-free at 866-867-3627.