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LifeLab · Advanced Cardiovascular Prevention

Normal Is Not Enough

Most heart attacks happen to people who were told they were fine. We look past “normal” numbers to find heart disease early and treat it before it causes harm.
Introduction

The heart attack that never showed a stenosis

Why usual care misses heart attacks

Four things “normal” doesn't tell you

01

“Normal” cholesterol isn't safe cholesterol.

Lab ranges describe the average American, and the average American gets heart disease.

02

Risk calculators mostly measure age.

A 45-year-old with growing plaque usually scores “low risk.”

03

Stress tests look for the wrong thing.

They find tight blockages. Most heart attacks start in soft plaque that barely narrows the artery.

04

A calcium score sees only part of the picture.

It shows hardened plaque, not the soft plaque that ruptures.

What we measure that others don't

We look for the plaque itself

Graphic_CalciumVsPlaque_PMG (1).png

For most patients, the first look is a coronary calcium scan: a quick, low-dose CT that shows whether hardened plaque is present. When the calcium score or your risk factors call for a closer look, a CT angiogram with AI plaque analysis can measure all of the plaque, including the soft, high-risk kind. We order it only when the answer will change your care.
 

We also measure what drives plaque: the particles that build it, insulin resistance, visceral fat, muscle and cardiorespiratory fitness.

Watch the series

Learn the science, one question at a time

Full episodes

Who it's for

This program may be for you if…

01

You've been told your numbers are “normal” but heart disease runs in your family.

02

You have a coronary calcium score above zero and want to know what it means.

03

You want to stay strong, active and independent into your 80s and 90s.

Your heart at 85 should look like it did at 55.

Tell us a little about yourself and we’ll get back to you.

This page is for education only and is not medical advice. If you have chest pain, shortness of breath or other symptoms of heart disease, call 911.

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