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WisconsinChristianNews.com
Volume 26, Issue 9
So The Beat Goes On
By Dr. David Lange, Genesis Primary Care February 2026 Ah February, the Hallmark Month of Love. The medical month of the heart, since we all know that the love comes from the heart. I
for. While the genetic aspect of your cholesterol may not be discussed during the one visit, getting started on a statin probably will. Why? Be- cause without a doubt, they lower cholesterol. Diet alone seldom makes
and inflammation is caused by plaque build up which is the result of too much cholesterol. It feels like there are a couple of “leaps of faith” in all of this, but it seems to hold up pretty well. If the test results are ele-
terol, and some have “slippery” cho- lesterol. While there are additional cardiac and inflammatory markers available to test, nothing really tells you more about the endpoint (blocked arteries) than the above tests. I can skip all those additional tests if cholesterol is not causing a problem. I see no reason to subject someone to medication that is not going to do them any good. This test is really not for everyone though. I would probably not offer it to a low risk patient under 40. I would try to talk a high risk patient out of it as well. It is well established that smokers and diabetics are already under pretty intense inflammatory pressure and probably need to be taking med- ication and participating in other steps to reduce their risk of early vas- cular disease. If you are over 80, this test is not for you. That does leave a lot of people in-between those ends who very well may qualify for this test and benefit from it. It might also be a “one and done” test depending on your calcium score. It certainly is not annual. The changes that the test identifies do not develop or regress that rapidly. Coronary calcium scoring is one of the newest ways to detect early heart disease and help patients and physi- cians decide on the right course of action for treatment of heart disease. Prevention of heart disease is really about risk factor modification: Don’t smoke, control your blood pressure, control diabetes, eat a healthy diet, exercise and treat sleep apnea. From my heart to yours, take care of your arteries and they will take care of you. GenesisPrimaryCare.com Please see the display ad on Page 20 of this issue of Wisconsin Christian News).
guess I can think of worse organs to be associated with love, so I will take the win. Coronary calcium scoring is one of the newer ways to evaluate the health of your heart. Heart disease remains the top cause of death in the world. There are many factors that contribute to the development of heart disease. Some factors we have control over, like smoking. Some factors we have no control over, like family history. One factor that I don’t think there is a lot of room to debate is the im- portance of blood pressure control. Sometimes the medications make people feel poorly, but getting the blood pressure under control is criti- cal. One of the other risk factors that we have some control over is our cho- lesterol. I won’t spend much time on diet. I certainly believe that reducing unhealthy foods, especially processed foods, is in our best interest. The means to achieve that though, can be the subject of endless debate. In the end, the only diet you will stick to is one that appeals to you. Knowing the perfect diet will un- doubtedly end quickly if there are few foods that you enjoy on it. One of the dirty little secrets in medicine is that 90 percent of your cholesterol is not diet related. In other words, you have little control over your cholesterol. So unless your four food groups are composed of cheeseburgers, pizza, deep fried items and soft drinks, your diet may not make as much differ- ence in your cholesterol as you hope
enough of a difference.
vated, then the next steps may get a little murky.
But I am not here this month to sell pharmaceuticals. I have a lot of pa- tients who do not like pharmaceuti- cals in general and statins in particular. I don’t try to debate the merits of their concerns. Just try changing my mind once a decision has been made. But for many pa- tients, if I can offer them a good rea- son to think about the decision they have made, I pursue it. One test that may offer a reason to reconsider some life choices is the coronary cal- cium score. This test is a quick and simple test. It is low cost. It may very well put everyone’s concerns at ease. The test is a non contrast CT scan of the heart. Most major health systems offer this. It is generally under 100 dollars and insurance does not cover it. The test is measuring the amount of calcium deposited in the coronary arteries. Calcium is deposited be- cause of inflammation of the arteries
I like to try to get a CT angiogram. This test uses the same CT scanner, but a contrast material is injected into a vein which then highlights the arteries as the scan is done and will show any narrow spots (i.e. block- ages). This test can be very expensive and is not covered by insurance under these circumstances, but it will define the blockages well and help the patient and their doctor have a discussion about their next steps in cardiovascular disease mitigation. Just because one’s cholesterol is el- evated does not automatically mean that blockages are or have developed. Every physician has had patients with elevated cholesterol, yet no evi- dence of heart disease. Some physi- cians still act surprised by this for unknown reasons.
The way I see cholesterol, is that some people have “sticky” choles-
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