Heart disease is progressive, having its start years, even decades before symptoms appear. Upwards of 60 million United States citizens have cardiovascular disease and 50 million Americans have hypertension.
The good news is you can avoid many of the major lifestyle risk factors for heart disease. And, even if you have heart disease, it’s still possible to control it and keep it from getting worse. The first step is to work with your doctor to evaluate risk factors in your life, then develop a game plan to make changes.
We Specialize in Helping You Avoid Heart Problems.
The first of its kind in Western New York, the Strong Health Preventive Cardiology Program can get people on track for a healthier life. In the process, it may even thwart heart attacks, strokes and heart failure, and delay the onset of Type II diabetes in some patients. The program is primarily geared for people without known heart disease but who have risk factors such as:
- High blood pressure, also called hypertension
- High cholesterol or lipids
- A family history of heart disease
- Obesity
- Smoking
John D. Bisognano, M.D., Ph.D., is a cardiologist and an expert in hypertension who helps patients develop prevention strategies
Numbers Out of Range Are a Cause For Concern
Systolic blood pressure: >140 mm Hg
Diastolic blood pressure: >90 mm
LDL (bad) cholesterol: >130 mg / dl
HDL (good) cholesterol: <40 mg / dl
Total cholesterol:
> 200 mg / dl
Cholesterol ratio (total cholesterol / HDL cholesterol) >4
Body Mass Index >27
Homocysteine:
>15 umo / L
Choose Wellness – Controllable Risk Factors
The primary focus of the program is intensive control of these risk factors before they can cause damage to your cardiovascular system. Additionally, if you have high blood pressure and are not responding to medication, have Type II diabetes or are at risk for stroke or dialysis, you will benefit from the program. Anyone with hypertension, including those with borderline elevations in blood pressure readings, can also benefit from the program.