PREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGY
UAB Medicine ’ s multidisciplinary Preventive Cardiology program offers expertise to help reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease and related complications across the continuum of care . Patients have the opportunity to be considered for novel treatments as part of national clinical trials . Our faculty are nationally and internationally recognized for their clinical and scientific contributions to the fields of clinical lipidology , hypertension , and cardiac rehabilitation . Our experienced staff includes cardiologists , nurses , clinical exercise physiologists certified by the American College of Sports Medicine ( ACSM ), nutritionists , psychologists , pharmacists , and a certified yoga teacher .
Our hypertension clinic sees patients with complicated or high-risk hypertension , isolated systolic hypertension , labile and fluctuating hypertension , and severe or difficult-to-treat hypertension . Outpatient services include 24- hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring , hormonal and kidney assessments through 24-hour urine evaluation , and evaluation for possible causes of hypertension , such as hyperaldosteronism .
PREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGY
Our lipid clinic sees patients with complex lipid disorders , both genetic and acquired . This includes patients with familial hypercholesterolemia , combined hyperlipidemia , severe hypertriglyceridemia , elevated lipoprotein ( a ), and those who have difficulty tolerating lipid-lowering medications . The program is actively recruiting for the ORION 4 clinical trial , a double-blind , randomized , placebo-controlled trial assessing the effects of inclisiran on clinical outcomes among people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease .
CARDIAC REHABILITATION The established benefits of cardiac rehabilitation ( CR ) include reduced cardiac mortality , improved quality of life , and fewer hospitalizations . UAB Medicine ’ s comprehensive CR program includes medically supervised exercise training , treatment of cardiovascular risk factors , lifestyle modification , and psychosocial management . Our program is certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation ( AACVPR ), reflecting UAB ’ s adherence to high standards and stringent care guidelines . The program also participates in the AACVPR national registry , to help our providers measure and improve patient outcomes . In addition , UAB ’ s program leaders recently were selected to serve as the Data Analytic Center for the National AACVPR Registry , representing our commitment to advancing the field of CR .
Our preventive cardiology services include :
• Comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment
• Multidisciplinary risk intervention
• Medical management to lower lipid levels
• Advanced cardiac imaging
• Nutrition services
• Rate Your Plate eating pattern assessment tool
• 6-minute walk test , to assess aerobic capacity / distance
• Dartmouth COOP functional status assessment
• Psychosocial Risk Factor Survey
PATIENTS ’ PERCENTAGE IMPROVEMENT FROM BASELINE TO THERAPY COMPLETION
Evidence of the positive impact of CR therapy on patients who complete our program includes a 113 % increase in exercise minutes per day and a 100 % increase in exercise days per week . On average , UAB ’ s cardiac rehabilitation program staff complete over 9,000 cardiac rehabilitation visits and more than 4,000 inpatient consults annually . uabmedicine . org 19