This page was designed and is maintained by Nersi Nikakhtar.Last updated September 19, 2008
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Ideal patients are asymptomatic individuals between the ages of 40 and 70 years old. The results of the CIMT scan, ABI measurements, lipid panel, glucose determination and other assessments will be reported to the patient and ordering physician.
Our goal is to provide a valuable, evidence-based service to the medical community that helps identify and prevent atherosclerotic vascular disease. The program will help you identify patients with pre-clinical atherosclerosis and improve assessment of cardiovascular risk.
Patient participation in the Vascular Health Screening Program requires a physician's order and is not being marketed directly to patients, in contrast to coronary calcium ("heart scan") screening programs. Both you and your patient will receive test results from the screening, and our cardiovascular nurse practitioners provide further counseling and recommendations regarding medical management of cardiovascular risk factors.
This program has two components: non-invasive arterial testing and individualized risk assessment with counseling.
"Vascular age" represents the age at which an individual's carotid IMT would be "normal" (at the median or 50th percentile) for their sex and race. For example, a 45-year black female with a composite CIMT of 0.593 mm would have a CIMT percentile of 50% and a vascular age of 45 years; however, a 45-year black female with a composite CIMT of 0.678 mm would have a CIMT percentile of 71% and a vascular age of 55 years, representing the age at which a composite CIMT value of 0.678 mm represents the 50 th percentile. More information can be found on the vascular age page.
This component involves measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) using high-resolution B-mode ultrasound. The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) recently published a consensus statement regarding the clinical use of carotid ultrasound to identify subclinical vascular disease and evaluate cardiovascular disease risk.
Measurement of CIMT is a safe and non-invasive technique that provides incremental information to traditional risk factor assessment and is a powerful predictor of cardiac death, myocardial infarction and stroke. CIMT measurement offers several advantages over measurement of coronary calcium scoring. CIMT testing does not involve exposure to radiation and can be helpful in women, ethnic minorities, and younger patients whose arteries have not developed calcification. This is not a simple carotid Duplex ultrasound scan to find a carotid stenosis - it involves sophisticated scanning and measurement techniques that in the Midwest are available only at UW Hospital and Clinics.
This component will be provided approximately two weeks after completing the CIMT test and will be scheduled after the test is completed. A cardiovascular nurse specialist will provide formal and personalized risk assessment using questionnaires, multivariate risk models and measurement of body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, and cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Many insurance companies do not cover vascular health screening, although some will provide partial or complete coverage. In the Madison area, insurance coverage usually is provided by Unity, Group Health Cooperative, and Physician's Plus, if the patient meets all of the following criteria:
Please check with your provider. Payment for all charges related to the Vascular Health Screening Program must be made prior to testing. The charge is $295. A report of the tests and risk assessment session will be sent to your ordering physician. You will get a copy of the report at the time of your personalized counseling session.
If you have any questions about the Vascular Health Screening Program or would like to order this test for your patient, please feel free to call us at 608-263-7420. Orders also may be faxed to 608-263-8959. Information for patients is located in the Vascular Health Screening Program brochure, available in PDF format (note: this requires Acrobat Reader from Adobe).
This page was designed and is maintained by Nersi Nikakhtar.