LISA HANCHEY

It's a better approach to cardiac care -— detecting heart problems before a major event happens. Cardiologists David G. Baker, Kevin Courville, Christopher Mallavarapu and Vernon Valentino of the Lafayette Heart Clinic just launched Coeur Health Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Center in River Ranch's Carriage House in January. This comprehensive early detection program involves a detailed interview, lifestyle counseling, state-of-the art diagnostics and one-on-one discussion of results with a cardiac expert. "After practicing for many years, we began trying to figure out a way to impact patients earlier, rather than seeing them after a heart attack or after they have developed disease," Baker explained. "We did extensive research, and selected a system of non-invasive tests that we feel is best for detecting disease at the earliest stages and generating the most accurate prediction for disease development. Medical researchers have published very good scientific data on this particular testing protocol, which allows us to tell patients with a high degree of confidence what their risk of having a heart attack will be over the next decade."

Using the University of Minnesota's Rasmussen Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention's program as a model, the physicians at Coeur Health designed a modern, comfortable facility for evaluating patients with potential heart problems. The layout and décor provide a beautiful, calming atmosphere for patients before undergoing a thorough – and potentially life-saving – evaluation. Starting with an exhaustive history-taking and lifestyle counseling session with a trained nurse practitioner, each patient will go through a battery of non-invasive tests.

After a blood draw, patients will step into one of four private rooms for a series of specialized screenings. One test involves a treadmill, which will focus on a patient's recovery time. "There is good data to show how fast the heart rate goes at a certain level and the recovery time, which correlates with mortality or upcoming events," Baker explained.

Another procedure involves a retinal camera, used to measure the ratio between the arteries and the veins at a certain distance from the optic nerve. "By figuring out what that ratio is, we can determine whether there is any early vascular compromise, be it from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or other causes," Baker said.

In another room is a key piece of equipment — a vascular elasticity device. Manufactured by Hypertension Diagnostics, the CV Profiler® measures elasticity of the blood vessels and the radial and ulnar arteries. "By doing so, we can tell if there is any abnormal elasticity, which indicates early disease," Baker explained.

During the ultrasound procedure, the technician performs a carotid intimal thickness test, which measures the thickness of the artery walls. "So, if there is any early thickening or early deposition of plaque, we can see that," Baker said.

The interview and testing process takes about two hours. Once the test results arrive about a week later, one of the clinic's cardiologists reviews the data and compiles a risk score. This score determines a patient's risk factor for a cardiac event as far as seven years down the road. "This is the most exciting thing I've seen in my 28 years of practice," Baker observed. "We are the first practice to use this scoring system in Louisiana."

Follow-up interviews with the cardiologist are done in person or by phone, whichever is more convenient for the patient. At that time, the physician will go over the diagnostic details. Depending on test results, the patient might receive a specific medication prescription or dietary and exercise recommendations. Then, patients receive quarterly follow-up calls to review and discuss progress related to their preventative or disease reversal "game plan."

Coeur Health is open to all patients, particularly those who have risk factors such as family history, high blood pressure, lipid problems, diabetes or smoking history. Patients can make appointments directly at the clinic or through physician referral. In addition, for patients with known coronary artery disease (CAD), Coeur Health provides a CAD Reversal program to help patients begin to reduce their risk of heart attack. "This is for patients of any age, but particularly people who are younger who have concerns about their heart," Baker said. "Because, heart disease doesn't spare any population, any race, any gender, we are trying to impact people very early, just as we do in our clinic. Our mantra in our clinic is healing through prevention. So, we are trying to detect very early so that we can actually prevent."