Preventative Cardiology
Personalized Plans to Prevent Heart Disease
We know your heart.
Preventative cardiology is all about avoiding heart disease and major illness before it happens. At MetroHealth, our preventative cardiologists help you understand your risks and provide treatment for issues that could one day cause major heart problems. We also screen for heart issues like coronary heart disease and monitor your progress as we work together to reduce your risk of heart disorders.
Cardiology Risk Factor Modification Clinic
At MetroHealth, we’re devoted to caring for our entire community. We’re going further to identify heart disease risks in people who have historically been overlooked in heart disease assessment, including specific high-risk ethnic groups, women who have encountered difficult pregnancies, people with inflammatory disease such as HIV and rheumatoid arthritis, and people with worsening kidney function. If you’re identified as high risk for heart disease, we’ll develop a personalized plan to treat your risk factors alongside your primary care provider.
Talk to your primary care provider about if you should be seen in the Cardiology Risk Factor Modification Clinic. Or to refer yourself, call 216‑778‑5270.
At MetroHealth, preventative cardiologists work with you to help you understand your risks and improve your health to prevent heart attacks, heart failure and stroke, as well as other heart issues.
We know that patients of southeast Asian ancestry and African-Americans are at increased risk for developing heart issues. Additionally, preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy), gestational diabetes, obesity, inflammatory diseases and kidney disease mean you are at enhanced risk for heart disease.
But there are risk factors that every person can work to control, including:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Smoking
- High cholesterol
We offer a range of screenings to help us understand your risk and monitor your progress during treatment for those issues.
Some of the screenings we offer include:
- A1C tests to measure blood sugar
- Cholesterol testing
- Coronary calcium score to detect coronary disease
- Lipoprotein(a) testing to detect genetically-inherited cholesterol
Not every person has the same risk factors, and not every person needs the same treatment.
That’s why, in your first visit, we’ll spend about an hour talking about you, your life and your concerns. We’ll then recommend a range of treatment—from medication, to nutrition, to exercise—to help reduce your risk for heart concerns.
Treatment may include:
- Lipid-lowering medications: Medication such as statins and other new advancements to reduce cholesterol and buildup in your arteries.
- GLP-1 medication: While GLP-1s are a common choice to help people lose weight, they also help people with diabetes and protect a person’s kidneys from disease.
- Exercise: We’ll work with you to begin or increase your exercise program to keep you heart healthy. The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of moderate exercise, 5 times per week. Walking is a great way to start!
- Diet: We’ll counsel you on including heart-healthy options for a lifetime of good health.
Advancing Research
MetroHealth participates in many clinical research studies to understand heart disease and disease management, sharing those results with the international medical community.
A team dedicated to you.
The MetroHealth Heart and Vascular Center is setting a new standard of care in northeast Ohio.
