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The SCVC Blog

Cardiovascular care news and articles from our expert team

Five Reasons Why a Cardiologist Might Recommend a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGMs) to their Patient

Continuous glucose monitoring offers a valuable tool for anyone concerned with their long-term health, especially those with a family history of diabetes or other cardiovascular risk factors. Whether through self-monitoring or professional analysis such as our metabolic health assessment, CGMs can provide actionable insights that help individuals manage their glucose levels more effectively, ultimately contributing to a healthier, longer life. By understanding and managing your glucotype, optimising your diet and exercise, and taking steps to prevent prediabetes and diabetes, you can potentially avoid serious health conditions in the future.

LAD-Stenosis

Is coronary artery calcification good or bad?

Recognition that significant coronary artery disease exists without calcification led to the wider user of contrast-enhanced CT scans to detect both calcified and noncalcified plaques. Even more advanced scans identify not only the non calcified plaques, but also areas of inflammation (using data processing to measure FAI), that a non-contrast CT (such as a CAC scan) would otherwise miss. Sequential CAC to follow up disease progression quickly established that an increase in CAC with age was inevitable in most patients and not linked to clinical course, so is not widely practiced.

Why the best blood pressure to have may be the lowest possible without falling over when you stand up

Diastolic heart failure (often referred to as 'Heart failure with preserved Ejection Fraction' or 'HFpEF') arises from ventricular stiffening due to age, hypertension, and various other rarer heart conditions. The aging component of this process is unavoidable, but maintaining optimal blood pressure through midlife is achievable and, if successful, should prevent additional left ventricular stiffening attributed to hypertension. By regularly monitoring blood pressure and using effective medication, we can help patients live longer with healthier hearts.