Dear Patients,
Congratulations! As a patient of this practice you have made a commitment to take control of your health.
It is the philosophy of this practice to prevent and reverse vascular disease and its related diseases through lifestyle changes, and intervention with medications when necessary to help avoid the following conditions: a heart attack or stroke, memory loss, osteoporosis, cancer, and diabetes. Additionally, a major component of our program is patient education, and empowerment. We feel it is important to educate our patients on the cause and treatment choices available to them for the above conditions.
All of the above conditions are caused by “poor circulation”, which is a symptom of Mild to Severe Vascular Disease. When blood does not flow properly through your arterial system the workings of your “internal motor” or organ systems becomes compromised. As this continues over a long period of time we increase our chances for a breakdown in our engine, possibly in the form of memory loss, osteoporosis, and erectile dysfunction and in serious cases a heart attack, stroke or cancer. We have over seventy thousand miles of circulatory highway made up of arteries know as our vascular system. This freeway runs from the top of our head to the tips of our toes. Research has shown that when one area of our arterial highway is compromised by plaque, our whole system is experiencing deterioration to a similar extent. As a result it is not surprising that all of our organs can become prey to the debilitating nature of vascular disease including our brain, heart, and reproductive system. In most cases when our engine begins to show signs of failing, we are treated by a specialist and the prescribed intervention is generally medication or in some cases an invasive medical procedure. These traditional interventions tend to focus on “management and maintenance”, of our health status.
We challenge our patients to take a different approach to their breakdowns… one that centers on disease “repair and reversal”. Today’s research shows that the implementation of lifestyle changes can be just as effective, and in some cases more effective, in improving ones health status as a traditional medical approach. We have seen this to be true by using strict lifestyle changes and discipline; our patients have proven to us and to themselves that their circulation can be brought to a level where disease/condition repair and reversal can begin. According to the Lifestyle Heart Trial a study performed in the early 1990’s, 82% of the patients in the study group who followed a comprehensive lifestyle change for 1 year experienced regression of their disease. The study concluded that comprehensive lifestyle changes may be able to begin the reversal of even severe atherosclerosis without the use of lipid-lowering drugs. We feel it is important to note that the aggressive treatment using exercise and nutrition was effective in not only treating but reversing vascular disease even in the patients with severe atherosclerosis (vascular disease). When our providers recommend medications and supplements as part of the treatment for vascular disease, the goal is to use them only for the time it takes to reverse the disease.
It is the goal of this practice to empower our patients to be their own mechanic- to keep their engines running right. By using tools of a balanced lifestyle regime including healthy eating habits and supplementation, stress management, regular exercise, and smart lifestyle choices tailored to their current health status, our patients can repair and reverse the effects on their engine, which may be the difference between being towed in or comfortably sailing across the finish line in the race of life.
-Alexander F. Castellanos, M.D., Inc. and Staff
