Heart Disease and Diabetes

PPH takes heart disease and diabetes very seriously. Heart Disease remains the number one killer in the US, and our population is exploding with diabetes. Sadly, even our youth is experiencing an unprecedented rise in diabetes. Rising blood sugars eventually lead us to the diagnosis of diabetes and diabetics are very good heart patient candidates because they plaque like crazy. With some exceptions, both of these diseases are heavily influenced by diet and lifestyle. Knowing the specifics of dietary habits and having the adequacy of key nutrients can significantly improve insulin resistance, which is the cause of Type II Diabetes. High blood pressure (HTN) is also treated in a natural way at PPH. Functional Medicine views HTN as a symptom of endothelial dysfunction and treatment is targeted at the endothelium or blood vessel wall.

When diet and exercise alone are not enough, PPH has three additional options that will be reviewed at consultation:

  1. Intracellular Nutrition Testing to see if you have all the specific nutrients you need to keep the insulin receptor (needed to lower blood sugars) working
  2. Spectracell Advanced Lipid Panel
  3. Boston Heart Cardio Metabolic Testing

The last two labs listed above test beyond the traditional lipid panel of a single LDL and a single HDL measurement. Looking deeper into lipidology, evidence-based medicine now knows there are various types of “bad” or LDL cholesterol and also various types of “good” or HDL cholesterol. Some LDL is not so bad – you want those. Some HDL is not so good – you don’t want those. These tests also look at a number of inflammatory markers which can significantly increase your risk of cardiovascular pathology no matter how your cholesterol/lipid profile looks. Approximately 50% of people who have heart attacks have a normal lipid profile! So, it’s not all about lipids/cholesterol after all. PPH also has the ability to look at genetic markers that influence heart disease risk as well as genetic tolerance for statin drugs. After testing, programs are tailored to each individual based on results. PPH is happy, with your written HIPAA permission, to share these findings with your PCP and/or Specialist.