Not only against cancer:
ASC’s mission also includes cardiovascular disease.
The ASC Diagnostic Centre, set up with the fundamental mission of disseminating the Whole-Body Diffusion for the early diagnosis of cancer in the asymptomatic population, could not fail to pay special attention to the major issue of cardiovascular diseases.
Moreover, these diseases still constitute one of the most significant public health problems in Italy and are among the main causes of disability and mortality.
Protecting our tireless heart pump remains a health priority, which is why ASC has decided to make a package of examinations, recommended by international guidelines, available to the public to monitor the condition of the heart and blood vessels.
ASC's goal
That of stimulating a positive change in people’s habits in order to curb possible risk factors, which are: cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, disorders of the so-called “lipid profile” (triglycerides and cholesterol), overweight, sedentariness.
Risk factors
Risk factors are those specific conditions that increase the likelihood of a health problem in the individual. Here then, on the cardiovascular front, is a brief sketch of an infamous quartet.
Smoking:
The cigarette, for example, induces a significant reduction in “good” HDL cholesterol, which helps cleanse the arteries of fatty sediments. In addition, due to smoking, the blood vessels undergo vasoconstriction, i.e. their calibre shrinks and the pressure rises. It has been calculated that a cigarette steadily increases the “maximum” blood pressure reading by 5-6 millimetres of mercury for every 15 minutes of smoking!
Hypertension:
The guidelines drawn up by the experts indicate that a therapeutic intervention, including a pharmacological one, is justified when the blood pressure values measured by the doctor are 140 mm Hg or more for the “maximum” and/or 90 mm Hg or more for the “minimum”. The trouble is that hypertension (17 million Italians suffer from it: on average, 33% of men and 31% of women) is a silent killer: when it sets in, it does not cause any major tell-tale symptoms, but in the meantime it progressively wears down our body systems and increases the likelihood of serious health problems: angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, cerebral stroke, chronic renal failure, memory loss.
Cholesterol:
Hypercholesterolaemia, or high concentrations of cholesterol in the blood, is a factor that determines an inflammatory state in the arterial walls. It is involved in the genesis of atherosclerosis, the pathological condition characterised by the deposition of cholesterol on the inner surface of blood vessels and the formation of those dangerous “scales” known as atheromatous plaques.
Here are the ideal values to watch out for: total cholesterol should not exceed 190 mg/dl; the “bad” cholesterol, LDL, should be below 115 mg/dl, while the “good” cholesterol, HDL, should be high (above 40, preferably above 60).
Being overweight
- BMI less than 18.5 = underweight
- BMI between 18.5 and 24.99 = normal weight
- BMI between 25 and 29.99 = overweight
- BMI 30 = obese (there are additional classifications beyond the value 30 that classify the different degrees of obesity)
Ultimately, to safeguard our heart’s performance, we must strive to counter a range of risk factors, in both men and women: from cigarette smoking to poor diet, from sedentary lifestyle to poorly treated blood pressure, from an oversized waistline to inadequately controlled diabetes, from untreated cardiac arrhythmia to spikes in blood cholesterol. The risk that each of us has of developing a cardiovascular problem depends on the extent of the aforementioned factors. This implies a fundamental message that is clear in its simplicity: banishing the “shadows” from the heart, i.e. reducing the burden of these harmful agents, is possible through the adoption of a healthy lifestyle and the periodic implementation of a few strategic checks.
The "heart-saving" examination package offered by ASC
ASC puts all its scientific knowledge to work for the health of your heart.
With a view to crucial cardiovascular prevention, the Centre offers a series of tests in line with international recommendations. These are the services included in the “heart-saving” package developed by the ASC, a range of examinations aimed at assessing not only the function of the heart pump but also the condition of the arterial and venous vascular network.
Here are the ideal values to watch out for: total cholesterol should not exceed 190 mg/dl; the “bad” cholesterol, LDL, should be below 115 mg/dl, while the “good” cholesterol, HDL, should be high (above 40, preferably above 60).
HEART
ASC puts all its scientific knowledge to work for the health of your heart. The centre offers a cardiological prevention package in line with international guidelines.
VASCULAR
Also with regard to prevention in the vascular field, the ASC diagnostic centre performs various types of examinations that are essential in the prevention of cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke, aortic aneurysm, gangrene of the lower limbs and all venous diseases of the lower limbs.
