Did you know that heart disease is still the number one killer of Americans?* Are you at risk for it? McAllen Heart Hospital has a new and improved risk assessment tool that can help you understand your risk of heart disease and manage your heart health.
Knowing Your Level of Risk
The Cardiac Risk Assessment is an easy way to find out the clinical age of your heart. Daniel Caldwell, CEO of McAllen Heart Hospital, explains that the new assessment now combines results from a CT Calcium Score – a simple imaging test done at the hospital that measures the calcium build up in your arteries – with the patient’s blood work and answers from a lifestyle questionnaire into an easy-to-interpret guide. After the assessment, patients have private access to this information through an online portal. Patients can even track lifestyle changes, such as weight, following their assessment and watch their heart’s clinical age, and risk of heart disease, go down.
“The screening is a quick, noninvasive assessment that takes less than 60 minutes, and the great thing is that the patient leaves with a detailed report containing lifestyle recommendations and results they can act on immediately,” says Mr. Caldwell.
How It Works
Erika Martinez, RN, administers the program, and explains that patients make an appointment, and a nurse guides them through the risk assessment and creates their profile. Blood is drawn and sent to the lab, while the patient is taken for the CT scan. The person’s health history and results are entered into the program. Erika says, “Depending on the results, we encourage patients to go to a cardiologist and we can book an appointment for them right there.”Screenings are recommended for individuals 50 years and older. “The test results give doctors your Coronary Artery Calcium Score, an indication of heart disease risk or progression of heart disease. You can also learn if you have high cholesterol or are at risk for diabetes, based on your blood test results,” says Erika.
Blood work includes a lipid panel, glucose and hemoglobin A1C, so you will need to come to the appointment fasting. Reports are available in English and Spanish.
*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Be proactive about your heart health.
Call 956-388-2190 to schedule your assessment.
The screening costs only $99! Appointments are required.
Learn more or call Erika at 956-994-2265.