Heart disease is the number one cause of death in America. At MDVIP, we believe we can change that. That’s why our affiliated physicians have more tools to better identify patients at risk for heart disease and more time to help coach patients on the steps they can take to improve their cardiovascular health.
How MDVIP and your doctor work to lower your heart disease risk:
When it comes to your health, no part of your body plays a bigger role than your heart. Your heart circulates blood through your body, provides oxygen and nutrients to keep you and your other organs going and pumps out waste materials and carbon dioxide. But it makes so much more possible — a strong heart helps us climb stairs and scale mountains. It allows us to run distances and walk to the mailbox. A strong heart can lead to a long life. That’s why it’s so important to take care of your heart, and why MDVIP and your doctor work hard to help you keep your heart beating.
When it comes to things that prevent a long life, most of us worry about something other than heart disease. Study after study demonstrates how little most of us understand about heart disease. We’re generally more afraid of cancer, even though heart disease causes far more deaths.
When MDVIP surveyed women and men about heart disease, most said the leading cause of death was something other than heart disease. Women, for example, were worried more about breast cancer, even though heart disease kills seven times as many women as breast cancer. In fact, the 650,000 killed by heart disease each year account for 1 in 4 deaths.
Here’s the good part: 80 percent of heart disease cases are preventable.
PREVENTING HEART DISEASE
How do you prevent a disease that’s so common, widespread and pernicious? Prevention starts by partnering with your primary care doctor. MDVIP-affiliated physicians have time to really look at your risk factors for heart disease and go beyond the basics.
For example, most primary care doctors use a few simple tools to measure heart disease risk: Family history, weight and height, blood pressure and a simple cholesterol test. And while this information can help a doctor determine some risk, it’s often not enough: Half of patients who have a heart attack have normal cholesterol levels.
At MDVIP, we believe that’s unacceptable. It’s why the MDVIP Wellness Program includes more tests that better illuminate your heart disease risk. This advance testing finds 40 percent more people at risk for heart disease than standard cholesterol tests. Your MDVIP-affiliated doctor can also test you for chronic inflammation, which is a major contributor to heart disease. Most primary care doctors do not test for inflammation as part of routine heart disease prevention.
But screening and testing are just a part of prevention. Lifestyle modifications and medications can help lower your risk substantially. That’s where partnering with your MDVIP-affiliated physician comes in.
BETTER OUTCOMES
With the right partnership, you can better identify your risk for heart disease and work to reduce it. For two decades, MDVIP affiliates and their patients have made steady gains against heart disease, progress documented 10 in peer-reviewed, published studies (see below).
We believe, for example, efforts around managing heart disease risk explain why members seek emergency care and are hospitalized less often than patients in traditional primary care. These outcomes are made possible by MDVIP’s unique primary care model, which gives physicians more tools to better identify disease risk and more time to help their patients reduce that risk. When it comes to MDVIP, your heart matters.
MDVIP’S HEART-RELATED OUTCOME STUDIES
Patients in MDVIP-affiliated practices utilize emergency rooms and urgent care less often than traditional primary care patients.
Patients experience 70% fewer hospitalizations.
Patients at high risk experience 12% fewer heart attacks and strokes.
Patients have better control of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
MDVIP affiliates identify 40% more patients at risk for cardiovascular disease. Visit MDVIP.com/outcomes for more information on our published studies.
9 Ways to Lower Your Risk
Nearly 80 percent of heart disease is preventable. Prevention starts with these steps.
PARTNER WITH YOUR DOCTOR. Your MDVIP-affiliated doctor can help you determine your individual risk for heart disease and the appropriate approach to prevent or treat it.
STOP SMOKING. If you quit, you can cut your risk for heart disease by up to half. If you’re struggling on your own, talk to your doctor.
CONTROL YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE. Your blood pressure should be less than 120 over 80. Blood pressure above this DOUBLES your risk for cardiovascular complications like heart attack or stroke.
EAT HEALTHY. Fill your plate with fruits and veggies, whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts. If you drink, do so in moderation. And go easy on simple carbs, sugary drinks, red and processed meats, salty foods and trans fats. Doing this can lower your heart disease risk by 31 percent. Find heart-healthy recipes on MDVIP Connect.
GET MOVING. Getting 150 minutes weekly of moderate-intensity physical activity like brisk walking or riding a bike can lower your risk of heart disease by 14 percent. There are exercises on MDVIP Connect hat can help.
MAINTAIN A HEALTHY WEIGHT Being overweight or obese substantially raises your risk for heart disease. It can also cause your heart to work harder than it has to. Losing just 10 pounds can lower your risk.
MANAGE YOUR BLOOD SUGAR. Heart disease is the number one complication of diabetes. In fact, having type 2 diabetes doubles your risk for heart disease. Pre-diabetes increases your risk by 15 percent. But controlling your blood sugar can help you reduce these risks.
GET CONTROL OF YOUR STRESS. Stress is a killer. So are anxiety and depression, and all three raise your risk for heart disease. Depression, for example, raises your risk by 64 percent. Work with your MDVIP-affiliated doctor to better manage these.
GET MORE SLEEP. If you’re not getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night, you could have a higher risk for heart disease. That’s because a lack of sleep can be a symptom of other conditions including sleep apnea that raise your risk for heart disease.