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Our preventive cardiology team at Coastal Cardiovascular in Wilmington, NC, helps you mitigate the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Whether you have the potential to develop heart disease or you have cardiovascular disease and are at risk of further issues, our expert team is dedicated to your overall health. Let’s set and meet your goals together!
Preventive Cardiology may be right for you if you:
By taking proactive steps to mitigate risks, you can significantly reduce your chances of having heart difficulties in the future.
At Coastal Cardiovascular, we focus on preventing heart disease through:
Risk stratification helps us identify your risk level for developing heart disease or other heart complications. This ensures that we approach your heart health needs with the appropriate intensity level. We’ll also use the information gathered to monitor and adjust our approach to your preventive cardiology care.
To identify your level of risk, we’ll use clinical data, health history, demographics, statistics, and the expertise of our incredible team.
Our cardiologists and nurses believe that effective preventive cardiology starts with a comprehensive, tailored approach to each patient’s unique heart health background. Our personalized care plans address your specific risk factors, lifestyle, and goals so you can maintain optimal heart health.
First, we’ll assess your individual risk factors, family history, lifestyle choices, fitness level, and more. Depending on your situation, we may also include your Primary Care Physician, and any other doctors, to develop a multidisciplinary plan. Once we have a plan in place, we’ll monitor progress and make adjustments as needed, taking your feedback into consideration throughout.
The best way to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) is by adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle. While CVD remains a leading cause of sickness and death worldwide, we have good news! Many major risk factors for CVD can be controlled and even reversed with sustainable lifestyle changes.
Our team will work to identify where you need to make some changes to improve your heart health and reduce risk.
Some lifestyle changes we may recommend are:
We know that changing your habits and lifestyle can be hard. Our Wilmington, NC team is here to support you through every step of this transition!
Cholesterol is another key component of heart disease and risks. High cholesterol levels are a risk factor for plaque buildup in your arteries (atherosclerosis), which can lead to heart problems. Cholesterol levels can be managed through lifestyle changes, medicine, and routine monitoring.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fatty substance in your blood that helps to build healthy cells. However, too much can increase your risk of heart disease.There are 2 types of cholesterol, Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL). You’ve probably heard that there is a “good” and a “bad” cholesterol. This is because LDL can build up in your arteries, while HDL actually removes LDL from the blood stream, preventing that build up.
High cholesterol (mainly LDL) can lead to coronary artery disease (CAD). This is because plaque accumulation can restrict blood flow, depriving your heart of nutrients and oxygen. This results in chest pain (angina), heart attack, or other complications.
How can I manage cholesterol?
Cholesterol can be managed with a heart-healthy diet (healthy fats, high fiber, low trans fats, low cholesterol-rich foods), exercising, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting/quitting tobacco and alcohol, and medication.
Our cardiologists can measure your cholesterol levels and create a management plan if needed. We’ll regularly check in with our plan and your cholesterol levels to make sure we are moving toward your goals!
Maintaining a good blood pressure is another key factor in your heart and overall health. High blood pressure (hypertension) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular complications and disease. Thankfully, blood pressure can be managed to improve your risk levels.
What is a good blood pressure?
Typically, a good blood pressure is less than 120/80 mmHg. The first number refers to systolic pressure. This is the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The second number is diastolic pressure, which is the pressure in between your heartbeats, when your heart is resting. If your blood pressure is consistently higher than this, you may have:
Hypertension is commonly referred to as the “silent killer”, because it usually doesn’t have obvious symptoms but it can cause serious heart, kidney, and blood vessel damage.
How to improve blood pressure:
Your target blood pressure depends on a lot of factors, but ultimately we strive to see a pressure of less than 130/80 mmHg in our patients!
Ready to take the next steps in your heart health journey? We’re accepting new patients and can’t wait to meet you!
