Prevention Programs
At Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, we believe in keep heart problems from happening in the first place. To that end, we have established a number of prevention programs, in New York, around the country, and around the world. We offer both diagnostic activities as well as ones to help you make important lifestyle changes.
Diagnostic Programs
Before you can take steps to lower your risk of heart disease, you need to know there’s a problem. We offer a range of diagnostic programs including:
Program for Diagnostic and Preventive Medicine
We have the most complete health assessment in the New York metropolitan area. Patients participating in our diagnostic and preventive medicine program spend a full day at the hospital, where you receive complete assessments of your heart, lungs, and other organs. Our goal is to detect disease in its most treatable stages, before symptoms appear.
"This program gives people access to some of the best resources at Mount Sinai," says Jonathan L. Halperin, MD, Professor of Cardiology and Director of Clinical Cardiology Services. "It is the most comprehensive, single-day health assessment people can find, right here in New York City."
This program is highly personalized. A concierge greets you as you arrive. A program coordinator schedules the tests and escorts you from one to the next. Our state-of-the-art imaging technology provides a detailed assessment of every body system, and your physician can review and analyze the results that same day.
Although you receive tests covering all parts of the body, the program focuses on the heart because of its vital role in maintaining good health. Program features include:
- Complete medical history and physical exam
- Full-spectrum blood and urine tests
- Cardiovascular assessment
- Pulmonary assessment
- Gastrointestinal evaluation
- Evaluation of the urinary system and reproductive organs
- Endocrine evaluation
- Mammography and pelvic exam
- Neuromuscular and skeletal exam
- Vision and hearing exam
- Dermatological exam
At the end of the day, you meet with your coordinating physician to go over your test results. You walk away with a dossier of reports, images, and recommendations to review with your personal physician. We can also customize this program to meet your specific needs.
Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program
The Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program is designed for people at risk of heart disease, who display evidence of heart disease, or who have already experienced a cardiac event such as heart attack or stroke. Because the majority of people with heart disease do not realize they have it, the program is open to anyone interested. Program features include behavioral risk assessment, medical risk assessment, lifestyle modifications, and development of a comprehensive, personalized treatment plan.
Patients learn how to modify their behavior to starve off illness — from what to eat for lunch to using the stairs instead of the elevator.
High-Risk Plaque Initiative
In this program, we use state-of-the-art imaging techniques to identify people at risk for plaque buildup and treat it before it becomes life-threatening.
With sites in Chicago, Louisville, and Miami, this program screens thousands of men and women who have at least one risk factor for heart disease. We use a variety of screening methods including ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission technology scans. Some patients serve as the control group and do not undergo imaging.
Heart-Healthy Lifestyle Programs
In addition to these diagnostic programs, we also sponsor several programs to promote heart-healthy living and prevent cardiovascular disease. These programs include:
The Urban Community Program
The Urban Community Program draws on our strong relationships with medical facilities across the metropolitan area including the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, where we’ve been working for more than 30 years. Elmhurst serves about a million immigrants, many of whom have cardiac conditions not often seen in the United States, such as rheumatic heart disease and tuberculosis pericardial disease- In addition; we also have four other clinical and academic affiliations in the metropolitan area:
- St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey
- Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn
- The Bronx VA Hospital in The Bronx
- Cabrini Medical Center in downtown Manhattan
The Martha Stewart Center for Living
The Martha Stewart Center for Living specializes in working with older adults and offers a variety of health promotion and disease prevention programs. Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital works with the Center around heart disease and hypertension. We provide expert consultation and also share connections to healthy living activities, educational programs, and community referrals.
"The Martha Stewart Center for Living is an unbelievable resource for my older patients," says consulting cardiac specialist Bruce Darrow, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Cardiology. "I know that while I am concentrating on their heart problems, my patients have the attention of a community of specially trained geriatric physicians and staff. We take a holistic approach to the care of our older patients, body and mind.
Go Red for Women
Go Red for Women is our annual celebration of American Heart Month in February. Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital hosts a number of community heart health fairs with free screening and educational demonstrations for nutrition and diet, diabetes, stress management, smoking cessation, yoga, and other relaxation techniques. We work together with the American Heart Association on this project.