Total LDL (bad) cholesterol has never proven to be a risk factor for heart attack or stroke. A detailed Lipid analysis is performed.

This root cause is critically important to understand. Think of inflammation as fire. Vessel linings on fire are porous to the flow of lipids into the artery wall where artery plaque forms. More importantly, vessels on fire are fragile and prone to rupture, causing heart attack and stroke.

Several reliable biomarkers are now available that give a picture of whether your arteries are on fire. Medication and lifestyle changes can put out the fire. The markers can be followed to observe whether treatment interventions have been successful.

You are not adequately treated until your fire is out. Suboptimal treatment of inflammation is a critical reason we are not adequately preventing vascular disease.

There are many causes of inflammation. We will continue to search for and treat causes of your inflammation. Once inflammation is gone (the fire is cold) existing plaque will stabilize and possibly even shrink.

The endothelium is the inner lining of a vessel. A dysfunctional endothelium also leads to excessive flow of lipids into the vessel wall and increases the chance of rupture.

True normal blood pressure is less than 120/70. Almost always, there are root causes to this root cause. We will search for them, not just hand out medication.

Insulin resistance is the abnormality that leads to diabetes. Insulin resistance usually begins 15-20 years before diabetes is formally diagnosed. During that dangerously asymptomatic time, high levels of insulin circulate. Insulin is highly inflammatory, causes endothelial dysfunction, raises blood pressure, and worsens the quality of both the HDL and LDL particle mix. 70% of people with identified plaque have insulin resistance.

There is an undeniable link between periodontal infection (perio) and vascular disease. Several bacteria from our mouth have actually been found inside surgically removed vascular plaque.

Up to 50% of heart attacks are triggered by infection from our mouth. 70% of the US population is thought to have at least mild perio. We are now able to test your saliva for the presence of those disease causing bacteria. If found, you will need aggressive home dental care and treatment by a dentist equipped to treat and follow up the perio.

Sleep apnea can cause or worsen insulin resistance, blood presure, and vascular inflammation. Its treatment can reverse all three within 2 weeks.