The CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute is offering their new HeartSmart Screening Program. The new preventative screening program combines a series of tests to identify cardiovascular health risks into a single visit that patients can schedule at their own convenience to gain greater insight into their true heart health and detect any early signs of heart disease.
“Our focus here is early detection. The sooner we can detect signs of heart disease, the sooner we can begin proper treatment that focuses on less invasive practices like medication or lifestyle changes rather than a trip to the emergency room,” said David Griffin, MD, chief medical officer for the CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute. “We’ve carefully selected the preventative screenings that are part of this program in order to give patients the greatest level of insight into their heart health in the least invasive manner. In some ways, a HeartSmart Screening will feel little different from an annual physical, but the information we learn will be exponentially more valuable.”
By combining a series of heart screening tests that would normally be conducted individually by a doctor into a coordinated preventative program that a patient can schedule on their own, the HeartSmart Screening Program provides patients with a personalized report on their own heart health. In the past, such insights would have required a series of tests conducted over time, but can now be part of a convenient, preventative screening program completed with a single visit.
Preventative screenings conducted as part of the HeartSmart include:
-Lipid Panel and Hemoglobin A1C
-Blood Pressure Evaluation
-Body Mass Index
-Heart Attack Risk Assessment (ASCVD)
-Electrocardiography (EKG/ECG)
-ABI Peripheral Artery Disease Assessment
-Cardiac Calcium Scoring CT Scan
“As the leading cause of death in Arkansas, heart disease has for too long had a disproportionate impact on the lives of individuals and their families across our state,” said CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute President Marcia Atkinson. “We hope this kind of convenient, preventative screening program will give our patients an upper hand in the fight against heart disease and allow them take control of their heart health in order to live long, healthy lives.”
The HeartSmart Screening is offered every third Friday of each month. Screenings are conducted by appointment only.