I’m thankful to have the opportunity to continue my career as Medical Director of PTS Diagnostics and to help improve the lives of those suffering from comorbidities such as diabetes and heart disease.

This personal experience further ignited my passion for helping to curb our nation’s heart disease epidemic. Unfortunately, it’s my professional opinion that the prevalence of heart disease will continue to grow. This is due to an aging population and busy lifestyles that cause millions to forgo physical activity, regular doctor’s visits and healthy food options, as their health declines.

These regular doctor’s visits, termed ‘compliance,’ are an often-overlooked issue when caring for patients with or at risk of heart disease. If a doctor sends a patient to a laboratory, there’s a chance they may forget to go or opt not to because traditional laboratory tests can be time-consuming and intrusive. Moreover, if a patient takes an intravenous test onsite, results often take days to come back and the doctor may have trouble reconnecting with the patient to share them. This disconnect in the testing process costs many people time that they really don’t have in terms of reducing the risks of further complications if heart disease is present.

Emergent technologies, such as point-of-care testing, can slow this trend and reduce the spread of heart disease by providing timely results and reducing treatment gaps.

In the past, patients had to fast for 8 – 12 hours before a blood test. Now, non-fasting lipid panels (cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides) and fingerstick blood glucose control can be performed via A1C testing for the greater convenience of the patient. The sooner that a doctor can identify a potential heart issue, the earlier treatment can begin. Our CardioChek® product line is CLIA-waived, meets NCEP guidelines for accuracy and precision, and delivers a full lipid panel in as little as 90 seconds.

The ability to walk into a clinic, pharmacy, or physician’s office and leave with test results and a plan for care has the potential to take a huge burden off of our healthcare system. It’s my hope that the healthcare workers on the front end of our nation’s heart health epidemic will take steps to incorporate point-of-care technology into their treatment plans.

For more information about heart health and how PTS Diagnostics is innovating point-of-care testing, stay tuned to our social media channels and check out resources such as the CDC or the American Heart Association.