A Guarantee of Arterial Wellness: New Era of Cardiovascular Medicine

The door is open to change the United States platform of healthcare for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) in terms of maintaining arterial wellness. Accomplishments in this arena of healthcare have been phenomenal, but the vast majority of them deal with end-stage arterial disease. The price tag has been substantial in terms of financial resources and quality of life. Current projections indicate CVD driven mainly by arterial disease will bankrupt our country. Those estimates are based on the current system of treating end-stage arterial disease. We can avoid fiscal insolvency and deteriorating quality of life by shifting to a platform that prevents arterial disease or, at minimum, treats it before it is evident. We live in an era of technology sufficient to identify subclinical arterial disease and knowledge necessary to halt atherosclerosis. For example, safe, inexpensive, painless, and reliable imaging techniques now exist that detect silent non-obstructing arterial plaque, or atheroma; a prerequisite for a majority of cardiovascular events. Additionally, numerous health issues are known to produce inflammation of the arteries, which is causal of atherosclerosis. Each can be managed effectively to extinguish the inflammation. When this is accomplished the disease will halt, which significantly mitigates risk for an acute obstructive cardiovascular event. CV healthcare can now enter a new era of maintaining arterial wellness. We must seize this opportunity for fiscal and humanitarian reasons.