Lipid/Cholesterol Clinic

The lipid clinic is a specialized clinic that provides in-depth education, goal determination, and medication management for lipid abnormalities.

Our goal is to give our patients with lipid abnormalities, the basis to take control of their lifestyle and treatment with a holistic approach to modification of risk factors for coronary artery disease. This process will help in decreasing the risk of developing significant vascular disease (including coronary artery disease) as well as the further progression of disease that you may already have.  Certain risk factors can be modified and include: smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, insulin resistance and PCOS, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, being overweight or obese with increased abdominal adiposity, alcohol abuse, chronic inflammation, and increased stress.  Non-modifiable risk factors for heart disease include: gender, family history, age, postmenopausal state, and heredity including race.

Each patient is individually referred to the clinic by his or her own cardiologist. Thereafter, an initial office visit takes place with our Physician Assistant where an emphasis is made on individualized diet and exercise plans, education, and patient-specific goal determination. Our physician assistant will work in coordination with the patient’s cardiologist to help achieve ideal lipid goals.

Prior to the evaluation, laboratory studies are obtained which may include VAP testing (a detailed lipid profile) as well as liver function testing. These blood tests are completed fasting, so you should have nothing to eat or drink for 12 hours prior to the test other than water and medications. Further testing for other metabolic processes (such as diabetes mellitus or hypothyroidism) that may affect lipid abnormalities may be obtained.