Our Services / Preventative Cardiology

What is preventive cardiology?

Cardiovascular interventions and treatment techniques are more advanced than ever before. With targeted treatment and care, many people with heart disease are living longer lives than they might have just a couple of decades ago. 

Even so, living with heart disease can take a heavy toll on your health; it remains the leading cause of death for men and women across most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Fortunately, most forms of heart disease are also preventable. 

Preventive cardiology is a specialized area of medicine that’s focused on lowering your heart disease risk and reducing your chances of having a heart attack or stroke. If you’ve already been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, preventive cardiology works to slow or stop its progression. 

Who can benefit from preventive cardiology?

While everyone can benefit from learning and implementing heart-healthy lifestyle strategies, preventive cardiology offers next-level interventional care specifically for people with a high risk of developing heart disease.  

You may benefit from seeing a preventive cardiologist if you have:

• A family history of peripheral artery disease, heart attack, or stroke
• A personal history of heart disease, especially if you’re younger than 60
• Significant risk factors for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)

These risk factors may be compounded by other risk factors. Even if you don’t have a high-risk family or personal medical history, the following controllable risk factors can also make you an ideal candidate for preventive cardiology care:

• Chronic high blood pressure (hypertension)
• Unhealthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels
• Elevated blood sugar levels or diabetes 
• Obesity, especially with excess abdominal fat 
• Lack of physical activity; sedentary lifestyle
• An unhealthy diet rich in processed foods 
• Tobacco use; excess alcohol consumption

Excessive daily stress and routine sleep disturbances are two other manageable factors that can intensify your personal risk for heart disease. 

How can preventive cardiology help me?

Preventive cardiology has two main goals: to fully assess your cardiovascular risk factors and create a comprehensive plan to reduce that risk. 

This may include getting you on track with regular physical exams, blood pressure checks, blood lipid screenings, and diabetes screenings; it may also involve helping you manage other chronic conditions, lose weight, get more active, make healthier dietary choices, and stop smoking.     

One of the main benefits of the preventive cardiology approach is that it uses advanced risk screening assessments, such as advanced lipid and lipoprotein testing, to offer a more nuanced view of your cardiovascular risk. 

Preventive cardiology also embraces innovative new treatment approaches that can go further in helping you mitigate that risk.  

To learn more about the preventive cardiology services at Coastal Cardiology of Orange County, call your nearest office, or schedule an appointment online today.