Cardiology
Cardiometabolic Disease Prevention Program
What Sets Us Apart
The field of cardiovascular disease prevention has focused thus far on risk stratification based on surrogates of atherosclerotic disease such as elevated blood lipid levels and carotid intima media thickness. A novel care model poses to be a game-changer in the prevention realm. Advances in coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) coupled with machine learning/artificial intelligence now offer direct visualization and quantification of plaque phenotypes. Integrating these imaging biomarkers with traditional risk algorithms is truly a paradigm shift in the management of cardiovascular disease.
Our Multidisciplinary Team
Our cardiometabolic disease prevention team includes cardiologist, primary care providers, endocrinologist, bariatric medicines providers, pulmonologist, registered dietician and pharmacist and advanced imaging technicians. Each member of the team has undergone specialized training to deliver longitudinal cardiac care for our patients.
Personalized Risk Assessment
The Cardiometabolic Disease Prevention Center (CDPC) at the University of South Florida/Tampa General Hospital will engage a multidisciplinary, 4-step approach to the management of coronary disease and risk factors. The central pillar of this program is a risk-based approach that looks beyond traditional scoring algorithms. Patients enrolled in the program will undergo upfront coronary CT angiography. In addition to the coronary calcium score, imaging biomarkers of disease will be assessed to further risk stratify and guide therapy decisions. CT-derived plaque characteristics and pericoronary fat attenuation indices (FAI) for inflammation assessment provide personalized risk models for treatment plan optimization. These imaging biomarkers further provide hard endpoints for assessing treatment efficacy and guide escalation of therapies.