Greetings!
Thanks for allowing us to inform you about our practice as well as current health care issues. Our website has been up and running for over one year and we recently updated it. Please visit the site and feel free to provide feedback. There are 2 audio links that are a bit "tongue in cheek" - look for them and chuckle (I hope). |
| Influenza - Swine and Seasonal |
 Vaccination Situation
For this flu season there will be the regular seasonal flu vaccine, as well as the H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine. We are currently providing the seasonal vaccine at our office. If you have an appointment in the near future you may anticipate being offered the vaccine. If you wish to have the vaccine sooner, please call the office and request a vaccine appointment. Visiting Nurses Association is also going to offer one seasonal flu vaccine clinic November 14th at our location. This will be available to the public as well as our patients. Click here to see the Visiting Nurse Association's calender of seasonal flu vaccinations in Lee County.
H1N1 (swine flu)- the government will provide and dispense this vaccine to registered sites. We are registered to provide the swine flu vaccine when it becomes available. The elderly (65 and over) population is listed as the last group in terms of priority for vaccine. This recommendation is based upon the population data showing the incidence of infection in this age group for this strain is lowest. The present theory is that folks in the older age groups have likely been exposed to strains with similar genetic lineage to the present H1N1 swine flu variant. You may link to the CDC's website to learn more about the virus and present vaccine situation. If you register to our e-mail list, we can inform you when the vaccine is available at our practice and who will be eligible initially. Eventually we will provide vaccine to all of the population but we do plan to follow the CDC's recommendations in regards to which target groups to vaccinate first. The vaccine was scheduled to be delivered October 19th. A recent news-release from the Florida Department of Health indicates that this will be delayed. If you have symptoms you think might be the flu, click here, for a answer these questions to learn more. |
| The Lipid Story |
 Cholesterol is in the family of Lipids
Cholesterol is a steroid alcohol compound that is moved throughout the body, packaged chemically as lipoproteins. These are basically "soap bubbles" that move throughout our body to be used by various cells for membrane maintenance, hormone production, bile acid production and energy use.
Traditional lab measurements of cholesterol are looking at the total concentration of this substance per volume of blood. It turns out that while the concentration of cholesterol does correlate with risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), the actual lipoprotein makeup as well as the number of the various lipoprotein subtypes correlates better with risk. By not analyzing lipoprotein concentrations we are missing approximately 60% of the "hidden risk" explained by our observation that 60% of heart attack victims have "normal cholesterol" values. As a board certified Lipidologist, I have become adept at testing and interpreting lipoproteins using various labs now commercially available. I recommend such testing especially in patients who already have had a vascular event or know they have significant disease. I have seen many patients whose labs indicate they are properly treated for their cholesterol levels but when advanced testing is done, significant residual risk is present. I also recommend this testing in person's who have a family history of premature heart attacks (parents or siblings who have an event before the age of 65 years). You can go to our website and link to advanced testing or my information regarding lipidology to learn more. |
