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Integrative Cardiovascular Care

Heart Disease is the Leading Cause of Death and is Preventable

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in America and worldwide. Despite advancements in medications, medical procedures and surgeries the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and its associated modifiable risk factors continue to rise. It has been widely published that as much as 70% to 90% of cardiovascular disease is preventable through lifestyle choices. Our integrative cardiology programs include treatment strategies such as smoking cessation, nutritional transitions and changes, exercise, deficiency repair, meditation and group support. Our clients have prospered by reversing coronary artery disease and associated risk factors.This result is occurring world wide with people following similar protocols and regimens. Yet, medical systems have been very slow to adopt such strategies related to a variety of reasons. The “convenience” of coronary stenting combined with the “quick fix” mentality generate less interest for solutions that require challenging lifestyle changes. Additionally, one cannot underestimate the influence that the significant revenues that cardiac procedures generate for physicians and hospitals.

An Integrated Strategy that Supports Behavioral Modification while Optimizing Lifestyle Choices is Essential to Reverse the Rising Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease

Coronary artery disease and its primary risk factors of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia, are modifiable disorders that are related to lifestyle choices, environmental exposures such as heavy metals, and adverse life events. An integrated strategy that supports behavioral modification while optimizing lifestyle choices is essential to reverse the rising prevalence of cardiovascular disease.

Patients and their physicians often treat the signs and symptoms of heart disease as they develop. However, heart disease is a slow process that develops over decades and can be prevented. Coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, obesity and diabetes account for the majority of heart disease. Current risk stratification is used to identify risk for disease and can help guide individuals to pursue healthier lifestyle choices. However, these disease states are the result of chronic exposure of the blood vessels to excessive insults. These insults come in many forms including physical forces such as pressure, biochemical forces and electromagnetic forces. The latter two forces are products of our thoughts, emotions, beliefs, exposures and experiences.

It is well known that the chronic emotional unease that includes anger, shame, guilt and doubt activate the sympathetic nervous system leading to excessive stress on the cardiovascular system. If this unease is not relieved then heart disease will develop. Therefore, health is best preserved when the systems of the body are acting in harmony and stresses are neutralized, otherwise known as a state of coherence. To achieve this resilient state of coherence, individuals need to find balance in their life allowing there autonomic nervous system to function in a more harmonious way along with the immune, endocrine, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems. If cardiovascular disease is the tip of the iceberg, then the base is made up of mental and emotional states, adverse life events or trauma, unhealthy relationships and discordant energy states within the body.

Our integrated cardiology program embraces all aspects of an individual’s being including their physical body, emotional and mental body, and spiritual body. Modern medicine has abandoned the exploration of the individual’s soul and spirit. Yet, much of the knowledge of the ancient wisdom traditions is being validated with modern scientific methodology. Two such examples are the now widely recognized health benefits of meditation and the expanding understanding of the hearts electromagnetic fields which are able to influence both emotions and the physical response to emotions. The fact that we can change our biology through our thoughts, beliefs and emotional responses is fundamental to the healing processes of many ancient healers.

We are Complex Organisms with Widely Variable Individual Exposures and Experiences that Dictate our Biology

Thus, a successful integrative cardiology program must include a wide variety of approaches. Heart disease is NOT just a dietary disorder as some would have you believe. We are complex organisms with widely variable individual exposures and experiences that dictate our biology above and beyond the food we eat, air we breath and water we drink. When seeking a holistic or integrative cardiology look for someone that embraces the whole of you, from where you have traveled to where you may be traveling. The approach used at Reveal Vitality is built upon the science of modern medicine along with the wisdom of indigenous healers.

Frequently Asked Integrative Cardiology Questions

What is Integrative Cardiology?
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States, taking the lives of 610,000 Americans every year. While conventional medicine can offer heart patients the very latest in medications, surgeries and interventional procedures to treat heart conditions, preventing heart problems is often less precise and sometimes more complex. Integrative cardiology brings together traditional medical treatments and lifestyle medicine to focus on causes of symptoms and treatment of the entire person. It incorporates advances in pharmacogenomics, nutrigenomics, metabolic, nutritional, and exercise approaches in addition to pharmacological treatments, cardiac procedures and interventions. An integrative approach complements rather than replaces conventional heart care and may include natural supplements such as fish oil and turmeric which have a proven anti-inflammatory effect on the body and can help reduce risk.
What is “Lifestyle Medicine?”
According to the Institute for Lifestyle Medicine, “the Lifestyle Medicine model is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness. It relies on a detailed understanding of each patient’s genetic, biochemical, and lifestyle factors and leverages that data to direct personalized treatment plans that lead to improved patient outcomes.”
What should I expect from my office visit?
Our expanded office visits include Integrative cardiology, Lifestyle medicine, genomic consults and all of our programs. These visits include expanded history with the review of nutritional, metabolic, genetic and environmental factors, review of all records and prior procedures, Lifestyle medicine focused physical exam and specialized Lifestyle medicine testing. The goal of these visits is to provide personalized treatment, including pharmacological and nutraceutical interventions, nutritional guidance, and correction of underlying root causes of identified imbalances.
What advanced testing is offered?
Advanced laboratory testing includes: genomic testing, micronutrient testing, food sensitivity, gut and microbiome testing, heavy metal testing, hormonal testing with urinary metabolites, advanced inflammation and lipid testing

Other testing includes resting metabolic rate (RMR) and VO2 max testing(cardiopulmonary exercise testing), DEXA scan with body composition and visceral fat measurement, carotid intimal media thickness, heart rate variability.

Frequently Asked Integrative Cardiology Questions

  • 5Nutrition Optimization (Diet & Micronutrient Support)
  • 5Fitness (Body And Brain) Optimization
  • 5Hormone Optimization
  • 5Weight Management
  • 5Environmental Health (Detoxification/cleanse Programs)
  • 5Stress Management
  • 5Psycho-social-spiritual Support & Therapy

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