We, at the David A. Baum Foundation, are thrilled you are reading this page. It means you are concerned about heart disease for yourself or for someone you love. Our mission at the DABF is to educate others to prevent heart attacks and to fund screenings and treatment options.

 

We lost David Baum due a blockage in his Left Anterior Descending (LAD) Artery – the “widow maker” artery.  It was a complete shock that this type of event was even remotely possible. To add to it, David’s younger brother had a heart attack two weeks after David passed away. Because of David, his brother was able to discover the extensiveness of his disease in time, and now he is under a comprehensive plan to stop the creation of plaque and reduce the existing plaque in his arteries. Since then, David’s family has extensively researched advancements in screenings and preventive care.  

 

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is treatable and preventable, but only if you are willing to take proactive steps in your personal health care to avoid it.  Today, science and technology in preventive care has far surpassed the typical care one receives from primary care physicians.  Yes, there are some great primary care physicians that are up to date with advancements in cardiovascular treatments, but the “standard of care” of putting patients on cholesterol statins and blood pressure medicine works for only 70% of patients. For the other 30% it is not enough as it generally only delays a heart attack to later in life. The problem with this out of date treatment is no one knows if one is in the 30% risk group or the 70% risk group…sometimes it is realized after you have had a heart attack. 

 

There are inexpensive and non-invasive tests, many covered by insurance, that paint a more detailed picture of plaque inside your arteries. Plus, there are proven treatment plans to stop the progression of plaque and thus stop heart attacks. The DABF wants to educate those to determine if they are in the 30% risk group and help those pursue treatment options to prevent and reduce plaque in one’s arteries.

 

So let’s get some simple screening done. If you are reading this far, we assume you already have annual checkups and have had the standard screenings for CVD, and you have discussed these screenings and other risk factors with your doctor. They are as follows:

 

1. A family history of Heart attacks and CVD;

2. High Cholesterol (untreated);

3. High Blood Pressure (untreated);

4. Obesity;

5. Diabetes, Pre-Diabetes & Insulin Resistance (only a 2 hour glucose test can accurately measure each);

6. Smoking (past or present);

7. A diet rich in saturated fats and/or sugar;

8. Excessive drinking;

9. High stress;

10. Very little exercise.

 

There are more risk factors but if you fall into several of the above risk factors, the DABF recommends 3 other screenings.  The first one should be done by all of us regardless of age while #2 and #3 after the age of 40.  The screenings are as follows:

 

1. A Lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a) blood test;

2. A Calcium CT Scan, and;

3. A Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (cIMT) ultrasound.

 

• Lp(a) is a bad cholesterol particle similar to LDL. The test cost under $30. Studies have shown high levels of Lp(a) can double and even triple one’s risk for heart attacks;

 

• A Calcium CT Scan detects calcium around your heart on or in your arteries. The test is 10 minutes long and generally with most co-pays or deductibles is about $100.  Our bodies deposit calcium on soft plaque over time, and a CT Scan can measure the amount of calcium.  The scan will give you a scoring with zero being no calcium to over 400 being very high calcium.  This test is a very good indicator of if you have plaque in your arteries. Keep in mind it takes time for the body to deposit calcium on plaque and in enough quantities for CT Scans to be able to detect it. So, this generally means you may have more soft plaque in other arteries yet to be calcified.

 

• A Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (cIMT) ultrasound detects plaque in walls of the Carotid Arteries of your neck. The Carotids are vital highways of blood flow to your brain.  This is one of the very few ways for technicians to actually visually see plaque inside your artery walls since these arteries are larger and closer to your skin allowing the ultrasound to easily view them. This is a different and more detailed ultrasound than ones done by screening companies such as “Life Line Screening,” but it is generally done the same way with a transducer and gel moving across your neck.  It only takes about 15 minutes. One important note, another Baum family member took this test and surprisingly found plaque in the Carotid artery walls but received a perfect zero score on the Calcium CT scan around the heart. This is why both tests are very important.

 

If you complete all 3 of the above tests and have high levels of Lp(a), detectible calcium and detectable plaque in your Carotid artery walls, it is highly recommended you seek more screening and guidance.