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Elgin resident Luis Cabrera is devoted to living the kitchen connoisseur. He takes regular walks around the neighborhood with his wife and eats a nutritious diet full of fruits, vegetables and liver organ. However, his genealogy of cardiovascular disease has always been at the back of his mind.?
As a precaution, Cabrera chose to obtain a Healthy Heart CT Scan at Advocate Sherman Hospital in March 2013. This preventative test spots calcium deposits within the coronary arteries-an early sign of cardiovascular disease.???????????
“I assumed that at my age, if I had any heart problems, they’d start showing up now,” he states. “I didn’t feel sick, however i thought it might be a good idea to get a screening test for preventative purposes.”?
The Healthy Heart CT Scan revealed Cabrera had significant calcium deposits in his coronary arteries. After consulting with his family doctor, Dr. Dorothea Poulos, Cabrera made a scheduled appointment with Dr. Raminder Singh, a cardiologist with Advocate Medical Group, to talk about his results. Dr. Singh discussed various options with Cabrera, and further evaluation revealed he had three-vessel coronary heart with multiple blockages. Due to the severity of the blockages, Dr. Singh recommended triple bypass heart surgery.?
“I didn’t have clue which i had a serious heart condition,” Cabrera says. “I consider myself very lucky to possess caught the problem early on to get treatment.”??
Healthy Heart Screenings
The Healthy Heart CT Scan detects problems early on so that you can take preventive measures, for example lifestyle modification and treatment, before symptoms occur. “A Healthy Heart CT Scan is usually recommended for those who are asymptomatic and also have intermediate chance of cardiovascular disease, for example strong genealogy, high cholesterol levels and diabetes,” Dr. Singh says. “Not only can these tests really make a difference by prompting people to change their lifestyle habits, however they may also prove life-saving, as with Luis’s case.”?
A higher coronary calcium score indicates the individual has a higher possibility of having significant coronary artery disease and requires further evaluation such as a stress test or angiogram. “Depending around the outcomes of the final evaluation, treatment with angioplasty stenting or open heart surgery may be necessary,” Dr. Singh says. “Others might simply need aggressive risk factor modification for example cholesterol-lowering medication along with a diet and exercise regimen.”?
In accessory for the Healthy Heart CT Scan, Sherman provides a Carotid Artery Screening, which looks for carotid artery disease or plaque build-up in the blood vessels. Other screening tests range from the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) and Peripheral Vascular Screenings.?
Excellence in Cardiac Care
Cabrera had triple bypass surgery in June 2013-three months after undergoing the initial Healthy Heart CT Scan. “I received excellent care at Sherman-everyone was friendly, professional and knowledgeable,” he states. “They answered all my questions and explained everything they’d do, and so i felt very comfortable and also at ease.” Sherman is devoted to continually improving the quality of their cardiovascular care. In fact, a healthcare facility recently received recognition because of its aggressive objective of treating cardiac patients to standards outlined through the American College of Cardiology (ACA) and American Heart Association.?
Cabrera’s surgeon was Dr. Vu Hoang, cardiothoracic surgeon on the medical staff at Advocate Sherman Hospital. “I communicate openly with patients as well as their members of the family to provide a solid understanding of what they can expect throughout their journey, in the day of surgery through recovery,” Dr. Hoang says.?
On average, Hoang explains, open heart people are from the hospital in four days. Cabrera designed a quick recovery and was launched in the hospital in just three days-likely the result of his healthy lifestyle. According to Hoang, open heart patients can return to their normal, active lifestyle in 3 months. “Post-surgery, we encourage patients just to walk every single day within the hospital,” Dr. Hoang says. “At home, we cause them to become walk a mile every day. After six weeks, we set up cardiac rehabilitation to increase potency and efficacy and stamina.”?
Cabrera participated in a 36-week cardiac rehabilitation program at Sherman. The focus of cardiac rehabilitation is to help patients return to an active lifestyle having a combination of exercise and education. Cardiac nurses and exercise physiologists monitor an individual’s heart rate, blood pressure and telemetry when they execute a number of exercises for example walking on the treadmill and riding an inside bicycle.??
A Life-Saving Decision
Currently, Cabrera has returned to his normal routine, including daily walks together with his wife and spending time with his two young grandchildren. He’s thankful he discovered his heart problem early on to receive the necessary treatment.???
“I simply saw an advert from our paper for that Healthy Heart CT Scan and thought it might be a beneficial move to make in my health,” he says. “I was clueless that it would be a life-saving decision.”
If you reside near the Elgin, Ill. area, join Sherman Hospital for their annual?Heart of Diabetes Family Fun Fair on Feb. 8. Find out about the outcomes of cardiovascular disease and diabetes and also the things you can do to keep your family healthy. Click here?to join up or call?1-800-3ADVOCATE.
