Healthy Heart Program

April 26, 2010

Back in March, I had a survey performed about my practice, and asked for patient feedback about what direction my patient's wanted the Institute For Medical Wellness to go.

Two interesting responses:

1) Over 70% of those who responded would like more specific vitamin and nutrient testing.

2) 50% of those who responded would like more vascular, i.e. heart disease, evaluation and testing.

The survey was back in early March, which reminds me of a funny saying,

" sh.t or get off the pot"

From wikipedia:

"Sh.t or get off the pot" is a common English language colloquial expression, used to imply a person should follow up their stated intentions, with action. It is also used to urge someone to complete a task with a greater degree of efficiency or timeliness than is observed at the time the expression is used. Implicit in the expression is that the person, by failing to act, is preventing others from acting.

I find this relevant because for the past few months I have been promising a new Healthy Heart Program, different from any other program out there. I had hoped to have this program up and running in February, but wanted to wait for the response of the survey. Also, one thing after another occurred, and you know, yada, yada, yada....

So now, I am proud to introduce, by popular demand, after months and months of work and research, the Institute For Medical Wellness Healthy Heart Program.

One of the fears I hear all the time from my patient's is, "I don't want to have a heart attack. What can I do to prevent one?"

The answer has never been simple, but we are learning more and more every day about the multitude of causes of heart disease. Many of these causes are now more easily evaluated, allowing a better gauge of your heart attack risk. In the past, we used EKG's, stress tests and routine lipid or cholesterol tests. While helpful, these tests tend to underestimate the risk of disease. For example, if an EKG is abnormal or inconclusive, the next step is a stress test. If a cardiac stress test is abnormal or inconclusive, the next step would most likely be a cardiac catheterization. While cardiac cath's are still the gold standard for assessing heart attack risk, it comes with many of its own risks, and is a very invasive test. So for diagnosis and prevention of heart disease, there has to be a better way!

There are many factors involved in stratifying your heart disease risk. But the newest technique I use is called a coronary calcium score. This very quick test uses CAT scan technology to measure the amount of calcium in your coronary arteries. The following is an explanation of coronary calcium scores as provided by "Track Your Plaque" website, soon to be introduced as part of the Institute For Medical Wellness Healthy Heart Program.

The calcium score provided by this test gives you an extremely reliable gauge of the plaque present in your coronary arteries, something no other test - even a stress test - can do. The higher the calcium score, the greater the quantity of plaque in your coronary arteries, and the higher the risk for heart attack and other cardiac catastrophes. The coronary calcium score can therefore be used as a yardstick for your coronary plaque. It can also be tracked for its increase, stabilization, or decrease allowing you to tailor your treatment for optimum results.

I like yardsticks.

When a woman thinks she is pregnant and gets a blood test, she wants to know how far along in the pregnancy she is. That is valuable information for her prenatal care. As it relates to heart disease, I like to know, not just yes I have the disease, or no I do not, but if I am at a low, moderate or high risk of developing a worsening of the disease, or worse, of having a heart attack in the near future. The coronary calcium score gives me this information.

I am pleased to announce that coronary calcium scores are an integral part of the Institute for Medical Wellness Healthy Heart Program.

OK. I have had the coronary calcium test. Now what do we do with it?

If your score is moderate or high, indicating an elevated risk, then prevention of heart attack is your ultimate goal. So I have teamed with the Track Your Plaque program to include a free one year online membership. This program will give you loads of information and techniques to not only lower your progression of heart disease, but even possibly reverse it. Please click here for more information on the Track Your Plaque program.

But wait, there is more.

Nutritionally, I have been a big fan of fish oils for prevention of heart disease. But we have not had a method of measuring fish oils in our blood to help with recommending proper supplement amounts. That is, until now!! The Institute For Medical Wellness is now able to offer a simple blood test called the "Omega-3 index". We will use this index to measure your omega-3 levels and to stratify your heart disease risk and allow individualization of your fish oil supplementation doses.

I am not finished yet!!

The Institute For Medical Wellness will also be offering specialized comprehensive cardiac risk assessment testing to even further elucidate your heart risks. Some of these tests include the VAP cholesterol profile, triglycerides, homocysteine, insulin levels, glucose, Lp-PLA2, Vitamin D, C-Reactive Protein-hs, HbA1C, Thyroid testing, apoB levels, and even a gene test, called the Apo E Genotype, that will even further allow risk stratification, and individualization of your risk factors.

Now I know this is all a lot to swallow and the learning curve is a bit steep. Hey, five years ago, over half of these tests were even beyond my scope of practice. But when I decided to make prevention and wellness a hallmark of my practice, my scope needed to expand, and expand it did.

Still not finished!

Have you ever wondered if you were deficient in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and amino acids? If you have, we are now offering a comprehensive micronutrient test to help achieve optimum levels. This comprehensive test tests for:

Vitamins: A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, D, Biotin, Folate, and Pantothenate
Minerals: Calcium, Magnesium and Copper
Amino acids: Asparagine, Glutamine, Serine
Antioxidants: Alpha lipoic acid, Coenzyme Q10, Cysteine, Glutathione, Selenium and Vitamin E
Fatty Acid: Oleic Acid
Metabolites: Choline, Inositol and Carnitine
Cabohydrate Metabolism: Chromium, Fructose Sensitivity, Glucose-Insulin Metabolism
Spectrox Total Antioxidant Function

The beauty of this test is that it measures intracellular levels of these nutrients, as it is inside the cell that the nutrients perform their necessary functions. The measurements give readings of how your cells have functioned with these nutrients over the past six months, which allows for a much better evaluation of your overall health. This powerful tests fits perfectly into our Healthy Heart Program.

So let me take time to review:

The Institute For Medical Wellness Healthy Heart Program includes:

1) Coronary Calcium Score.
2) One year membership in "Track Your Plaque Program" to reverse your heart disease risks.
3) Omega-3 index testing your levels of omega-3 fish oils.
4) Comprehensive VAP cholesterol testing.
5) Comprehensive Cardiac lab testing looking for new markers of heart disease.
6) Apo-E Genotype testing.
7) Advanced Vitamin and Nutrient Testing.

And thru May 2010, our Healthy Heart Program will also include:

8) One month free of our Healthy Weight Program - Lite Edition
9) 20% discount on all Institute For Medical Wellness supplements for one year.

All this testing should cost a fortune. If purchased individually, these tests would cost over $1,300.

However I am able to offer the complete Institute For Medical Wellness Healthy Heart Program for $799. If you prefer, for $150 more, or a total of $949, you can upgrade your coronary calcium score to a full Wellness Scan, which includes a coronary calcium score, as well as a scan of your lungs and abdomen.

And if you are already a Wellness Plan member, your cost for the Healthy Heart Program is only $699. For $100 more, or a total of $799, you can upgrade your coronary calcium score to a full Wellness Scan, which includes a coronary calcium score, as well as a scan of your lungs and abdomen.

The Institute For Medical Wellness Healthy Heart program is not for everyone, and is definitely not meant to be an annual expense. What I hope is that individuals 50 and over, or if you are 40 and over with current risks of heart disease, you will look closely at this program. This program is also best for individuals with Diabetes, High blood pressure, High cholesterol, Obesity, or a Family history of Heart disease.

My goal and yours, is to use this program to uncover previously hidden risks of heart disease, that we can then work towards reversing and resolving.

By detecting hidden risks at an earlier time, we have a much greater chance of truly preventing future heart disease!

If you need further information about our Healthy Heart program, Traditional Wellness Plan, or any other Institute For Medical Wellness program, please email Dr. Horvitz at DrHorvitz@DrHorvitz.com .


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Institute For Medical Wellness Special Offers:

Our supplement of the month for April continues to be Dream Protein.

Dream Protein is an all natural whey protein powder, available in both vanilla and chocolate. It is very popular when used to help with both weight loss and muscle growth. I have used it on an almost daily basis for the past 6 months, during which time I lost 15-20 pounds, all from my waist. This protein supplement does not work alone, and results will always vary. It is one of the better whey protein supplements on the market that I have used.

Regular cost is $45.

For the month of April, Dream Protein will be available for $36, a 20% savings.

Any suggestions for the supplement of the month for May???

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Please look for our booth at Moorestown Day on Saturday June 5, 2010.

And please wish for good weather, that is, no rain. It is no fun being outside in the rain!!

To Good Health !!!

Steven Horvitz, D.O,
Board Certified Family Practice
Founder of The Institute For Medical Wellness
128 Borton Landing Road, Suite Two
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Phone 856-231-0590
Fax 856-294-0311
www.drhorvitz.com

LDL Cholesterol- Is it truly a villain?

Institute For Medical Wellness Healthy Living Report

LDL Cholesterol- Is it truly a villain?

In my previous newsletter, I discussed the meaning of a Total Cholesterol reading as it relates to your risk of vascular disease. If you missed that newsletter, I'll update you.

Total Cholesterol is meaningless.

I'll say that again.

Total Cholesterol is meaningless!!

You see, total cholesterol is made up of many subfractions.

There are two common subfractions we usually hear about.

One that we measure is called LDL, otherwise known as low density cholesterol or BAD cholesterol. A simple way to remember LDL is bad is that L is lousy or bad.

A second that we measure is called HDL, otherwise known as high density cholesterol, or GOOD cholesterol. A simple way to remember that HDL is good is that H is happy or good.

So while two individuals may have the same Total Cholesterol, the amounts of the HDL and LDL may differ.

Today I will focus on LDL which has long been blamed for heart and vascular disease. What you may not know is that just as Total Cholesterol has subfractions that are both good and bad, LDL cholesterol also has subfractions. These subfractions are not all bad for you. Unfortunately, a routine cholesterol or lipid panel does not break down LDL into its subfractions. That is why at the Institute For Medical Wellness, we order a more detailed lipid panel to include these measurements. These added LDL subfractions enable us to better stratify your risk for heart and vascular disease and guide you towards a healthier diet and lifestyle to match your levels.

The first LDL subfraction I will call Type B LDL, otherwise known as small and dense. The small dense Type B LDL's tend to be more problematic. A simple way to understand this is to imagine a cholesterol doorway that is only 25 nanometers wide. Only LDL cholesterol particles smaller than 25 nanometers can fit through the doorway. Type B LDL tends to be 25 nanometers or less and can fit easily through the doorway. Unfortunately this doorway leads the cholesterol towards increased plaque formation and a higher risk of heart disease.

The second LDL subfraction I will call Type A LDL, otherwise known as large buoyant or big and fluffy. These big fluffy Type A LDL's tend to be much less problematic, as they tend to be larger than 25 nanometers in size, and do not fit easily through the cholseterol doorway. This makes the Type A LDL's not as dangerous.

OK. Now let me put this all together for you. Just as measuring a Total Cholesterol level by itself tends to be meaningless, measuring a total LDL is not very helpful without the subfractions we now call big fluffy and small dense.

So, I know people do not like to be call big and fluffy. But when we are talking about LDL cholesterol, big and fluffy is what you want to be.

For more information about this type of cholesterol testing, please visit the following website.

Unfortunately, there is a caveat. One insurance company, Aetna, is way behind the eight ball when it comes to lipid measurements, and refuses to allow payment for this testing. But I am always looking for a way to guide you through or around the health insurance quagmire. Presently I am in discussion to get this special testing at a reduced price for Aetna patients.

Stay tuned.

Next in the cholesterol series, in an upcoming newsletter, will be HDL.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Healthcare Reform Update:

Yes, here we go again!

First let me say that my views on healthcare reform are not meant to be political, as healthcare should never be held hostage to politics. Your healthcare and the decisions you make about your health should be yours to make, and yours alone. Unfortunately too many outside interests (insurers and politicians) have gotten in the way. It was not always like this.

My whole life has been centered around healthcare. I started my medical education in 1988, but I grew up in my father's medical office. My father was an independent family doctor who practiced for 25 years, before the insurance companies or the government took over control of the system. Insurance premiums were much more affordable during that period. The doctor-patient relationship was paramount when I would visit my father's office and see the interaction between him and his patient's. There was no concern for what insurance a patient had. So the problem, as I see it now, is not that there is not enough government and third party control of your healthcare, but too much. Way, way too much!!

So when I discuss the healthcare reform debate, it is personal. Healthcare costs, as I see it, have skyrocketed due to government and insurance control, so how will giving them more control of the system lower costs?

I am not part of any political party. I am not a republican or democrat, and I do not belong to a tea party. I am proud to be just as independent politically as I am independent in my practice of medicine. My views on this healthcare reform issue gravitate towards what I personally feel gives the most control of healthcare decisions to patient's and their physicians. Any reforms that try to intrude on the doctor-patient relationship, I will oppose, and oppose strongly.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Institute For Medical Wellness Planning Stages or what we hope to offer in the near future.

•Healthy Weight Program- Lite edition- pun intended!
•New Heart and Vascular Wellness to focus even more on prevention of heart disease.
•More In-Depth Nutritional Testing

If you have any ideas for future newsletters please let me know!

To Good Health!


Steven Horvitz, D.O,
Board Certified Family Practice
Founder of The Institute For Medical Wellness
128 Borton Landing Road, Suite Two
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Phone 856-231-0590
Fax 856-294-0311
www.drhorvitz.com