![Mayo Clinic home page [logo]](/images-global/mayologo.gif)
Share this site with others using one of these sharing tools.
To link to this article, paste this block of HTML code onto your webpage.
Guidelines for sites linking to mayoclinic.orgMayo Clinic is one of only a few medical centers in the country that has combined advanced risk-factor testing, cardiology consultation and leading-edge treatment to serve patients who have a family history of coronary heart disease (CHD) or who, at a relatively young age, develop hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis).
The comprehensive assessment offered at Mayo Clinic is tailored to the individual and is based upon Mayo's nationally recognized research on cardiovascular disease. If a patient has novel risk factors that have recently been associated with coronary heart disease, emphasis is placed on expanding the cardiovascular risk profiling beyond conventional methods of risk assessment. Read more about atherosclerosis diagnosis.
Patients identified as being at high risk for cardiovascular disease receive specialized preventive care to reduce their risk of heart attack and other circulatory disorders caused by atherosclerosis. Read more about atherosclerosis treatment options.
Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is a condition in which the arteries, including those in the heart, legs, and brain, become narrowed by plaque that builds up and reduces the amount of blood flow. Early atherosclerosis means the arteries are hardening and potentially causing medical problems at a relatively young age, before age 55.
Although nearly 90 percent of people who develop heart attacks have at least one conventional risk factor, such as high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, many people who do not have coronary heart disease also have conventional risk factors. Therefore, the prediction of CHD risk using conventional risk factors is not always accurate. Novel risk factors are new factors, recently identified through research, that may provide additional explanation of why people have heart attacks. Most patients who have a heart attack or develop atherosclerosis before age 55 have abnormal levels in one or more novel risk factors.
Read more at
www.MayoClinic.com (opens in new window)
A service of Mayo Foundation for Education and Research
.
