Introduction

February is appropriately National Heart Month. Therefore, I encourage all of you to be current with your understanding of where you are on the spectrum of preventing the Number One Cause of Death in both men and women in America, Heart Disease.  The very good news is that this is a disease that can be detected very early and there are many healthy steps you can take that will dramatically reduce your risk of dying of this disease. 

Please read below to see all the Heart Healthy options we have for you.

Our Store is Open!

You will now be able to buy many of our products online from our website.  Just click on the Store icon and all of our most popular products are listed.  Eventually we will have all of our products available.

For Everyone Over 40 - Dr. Dale's New "Healthy Heart for Life" Class

This Class will fill fast, so please call right away!  Mark this down on your calendar and call your friends, Thursday, February 17th, from 6:00 - 7:30, at the clinic.  No Charge!

This is a New Class, which will focus on The Path to A Healthy Heart for Life.  Learn How to Make Sense of, and Make the Right Choices in spite of  all the Confusing Nutritional Information in the media.

This class is for existing patients plus friends or family of patients who are interested in Never Dying from a Heart Attack while Creating a Lifetime of Wellness, Vitality and Longevity.

Attend this class, and you will have a greater understanding of:

• The Causes of Heart Disease,
• The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Statin Drugs (who should and who should not be in Statins),
• How to Really Know if You are at Risk for a Heart Attack Now, and how to dramatically reduce that risk.

Are You Confused? Dr. Dale will help clarify how to avoid the confusion from the mountain of information out there on nutrition, especially nutrition related to the heart, as well as how to stay focused on those nutritional factors that make for a lifetime of wellness.

Special Offer: If you are an existing patient and you bring a non-patient friend or family member to attend this class, you will receive a free gift of 5 Nano-Greens Travel Packets.  Also, any guest who attends will have the opportunity to sign up as a New Patient at no charge for their first visit. A complimentary history and examination (normally a $95 visit)!

To register for this Free Class, Please call the office and let us know you are coming (687-0533), and the names of any guests you will be bringing.  Also, please be a few minutes early for class so we can start on time. I look forward to seeing you there.

Heart Scan Special for Feb. - One of the Two Most Important Heart Tests

February is National Heart Month and once again Pueblo Radiology is offering a half price special for a Heart Scan until the end of the month. For Feb. the test is $150, rather than the usual $300.

I am a big proponent of this test. Some research has shown that this is the best predictor of heart attack risk. That makes sense to me, as this is the one test that picks up ANY amount of hard plaque in your arteries, then measures (Calcium Score) the plaque in each artery, and gives a total Calcium Score.

This allows us to us to detect hard plaque in its very earliest stages. Traditional Stress Tests usually do not begin to pick up plaque until it has blocked an artery by 70%!  At that point the patients' options are either a stent, treatment with a balloon to open up the artery (angioplasty), or a bypass surgery, depending upon the severity of the situation.

I recommend this test for all males over 40 and all females over 45. Early detection is critical, as we have lifestyle and nutritional steps that can greatly slow the progress of plaque, stop it and even reverse it in some cases. This is very important since plaque averages a 30% increase per year, once it is established.

If you want to have this test, call the office and let them know so I can write you a prescription. The test is quick; it only takes about 15 minutes. The amount of radiation is relatively small, being very similar to what we get walking around on earth for a year (in spite of lots of mis-information on this topic), and at times I have had patients who we found had other heart problems that would have gone undetected until they became much more dangerous.

If your test score comes back a 0, which the majority of my patients have been so far, then I will just call and let you know you don't need another test for 5 years.  If there is any positive score, or if this is a follow up test to monitor your progress since your last test, then we will schedule a follow up visit.

I also will write a prescription for any of your family members who are currently not patients.

By the Way, the American Heart Association has finally agreed with me on this. They say this test is more powerful than even the best non-invasive test for predicting a heart attack, or other coronary episode, even in apparently healthy people.

Stroke Risk Testing

Our friends at Pueblo Radiology have added the service of Stroke Risk Screening at a very reasonable price.  In the past, I have hesitated in recommending the "visiting services" that come through town with these tests, primarily because I didn't know the quality of their technology, which is a critical component to this test.

The test is an Ultrasound screening of the Carotid Arteries, the Abdominal Aorta and an Artery in both legs. Pueblo Radiology is offering this at $130, and I recommend it for everyone over 50.  Each year approximately 200,000 people in the US are diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysms alone!  This is potentially life saving information at a low cost.  If your results are clear, this is another test that does not need to be retaken for about 5 years.

The Other Most Important Heart Health Test

The Omega 3 Index Test is the other Heart test that is "far more important than cholesterol tests", and quite possibly the single most important health Bio-Marker available today.

The Heart Scan and Omega 3 Index Test are each important, as they measure very different markers of Cardio-Vascular Risk. The Heart Scan is the best test for detecting atherosclerosis (hard plaque) at an early stage, where as the Omega-3 Index Test clarifies if your risk for heart attacks from soft plaque has been dramatically reduced.

Omega-3 fatty acids, especially EPA/DHA, are believed to help fight disease by reducing inflammation in the blood vessels, joints, and elsewhere in the body.  They also decrease the risk for an abnormal heart rhythm, reduce levels of unhealthy fats in the bloodstream, slow the rate of plaque build up in the blood vessels and they can lower heart rate.  Most importantly, relative to Heart Attack risk, when your Omega 3 Index is in the ideal range, your risk of Sudden Cardiac Death is 90% reduced when compared to the range most Americans are in!

Having your EPA/DHA levels in the ideal range provides cardio-vascular protection far greater than any single medication.  Some experts have concluded it offers better protection than 5 different heart medications would provide, and this comes from a nutrient that has extremely low levels of complications and provides many other health benefits.  Long term use of Omega 3's are associated with reduced risk of other diseases, from Age Related Dementia, including Alzheimer's, Age Related Macular Degeneration and numerous mental/emotional conditions.  Additionally, a recent study published in JAMA indicates that a high Omega-3 Index may slow the biological aging process.

The other nice aspect of this test is that it is a simple take home test, which anyone can do. It takes about 5 minutes (most of the time is spent filling out the form) and is dropped in the mail on the same day you do the test.  I usually receive your results within 3 days and most of the time I just call to let you know your results and how optimal your intake of Omega 3's, specifically EPA/DHA, is.

Closing Thoughts

So Be Smart and Order Your Omega 3 Index Test Today. If you want to take this test, just call or stop by the clinic and pick one up. You can also pick one up for any family member over 40 years old. My price for this test is just $159.  The company's suggested retail price is $199.

Make a point this year to Be Smart and Take Care of Your Heart.  Doing what it takes to know your risk of heart disease and a heart attack is relatively simple and not that expensive.

Taking the necessary lifestyle steps to get heart healthy and dramatically reduce your risks are both relatively easy and usually result in feeling noticeably healthier in a short period of time.

Lastly, with these non-invasive, sophisticated tests, and my guidance, we can follow your progress over time and make sure the steps you are taking are effective. 

Heart Disease is the number one killer in America and you can quite effectively, dramatically reduce any likelihood that you will be part of that statistic, and at the same time feel great.

Monthly Quote

"One part of knowledge consists in being ignorant of such things that are not worthy of being known."
-Crates