Use of cardiac risk biomarker testing in a naturopathic medicine teaching center: Lessons on standard of care

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IntroductionCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in the United States. Since atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease, it is critical for integrative practitioners to have insight into the level of cardiovascular inflammation in their patients. The purpose of this study was to describe the medical history of patients that received cardiac biomarker testing at National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) Whole Health Center and the naturopathic interventions that these patients received. MethodsIn this report, 40 patient records selected based on specific inclusion criteria at a naturopathic training center were reviewed and analyzed to assess their baseline values, specifically paying attention to testing their cardiac inflammatory markers. The risk factors for these patients, their baseline blood work per the standard lipid panel (LDL and non-LDL cholesterol plus triglyceride), their medication history, the panel results, the naturopathic therapies employed, and any longer-term follow-up testing were recorded. ResultsFor this group of 40 patients, the majority had elevated risk and dyslipidemia, and of those many showed evidence of inflammation. Most of the patients in the study were not using statin therapy; more than half of patients did not receive follow-up testing to ascertain the impact of the naturopathic therapies on their inflammatory state. ConclusionsNaturopathic cardiology practicerequires targeted protocols that can be evaluated clinically. More consistent follow-up and reproducible protocols that can be evaluated for their impact on inflammatory biomarkers are needed. Follow-up is strongly encouraged, especially in those not using statin (standard) therapy.