Every day offers us an opportunity to start fresh and take responsibility for our own health. Besides a healthy mental outlook on life, we need to examine three major preventive medical aspects in our lives to ensure a long healthy quality of life. First, we need preventive medicine for internal monitoring of our health and putting out fires before they do damage. Secondly, managing (of getting to) optimal weight that is achieved by harmonious integration of eating properly, correct excursive and active lifestyle. And third, is smoking cessation. Medical programs now have over 65% successful quit rates.
The advancement in medical science is providing us with powerful tools to forecast and prevent major events. The Advanced lipid testing lab testing is a new and innovative way to check cholesterol, genetics and overall risk for heart and vascular disease. Genetic testing is the newest arsenal is our tools to fight heart disease. We can now test whether you have an early heart attack gene, if a Statin (cholesterol lowering drug) is right for you, if certain drugs such as Plavix (anti-platelet drug given to patients with stents) will work on your body, if alcohol will increase or decrease your good cholesterol and even if aspirin is effective on your body to prevent heart disease.
The Advanced lipid testing also gives you an in-depth cholesterol panel that is very different than the standard lipid panel. The basic cholesterol panel that you have done during your annual physical checks your total cholesterol, HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol). The Berkley test goes much further and breaks down the LDL and HDL into further “bad and good categories” For example LDL- the bad cholesterol can actually be broken up into 4 different particles 1 being Labeled as ” good” 2 being “bad” and one particle called IVb being very dangerous. There are also multiple marker of inflammation that the Berkley lab test does such as Fibrinogen, CRP and homocysteine levels tell us what kind of disease process is happening in your vessels.
Advanced lipid testing gives us better knowledge which translates to significantly improved care for each individual. The Barkley Lab test is covered by most insurance and free for all Medicare patients. Please ask your physician about the Advanced lipid testing if you think you have, may have or have a family history of heart disease.
