South Asians are those who trace their origins to the countries in the Indian sub-continent; such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
Why? South Asians are at a disproportionate risk for both heart disease and diabetes compared to other populations. These advanced tests are more comprehensive at determining the risk for this population and may not be warranted for others. Non-South Asians must discuss the need for these tests with their physicians and have those administered at their physicians’ office.
What is the AIM to Prevent screening process at the Center, and how long does it take?
The South Asian Heart Center's comprehensive AIM to Prevent program consists of three (3) steps – Assess, Intervene, and Manage (AIM), each step focused on evidence-based technology and education.
- The first phase "Assessment" involves a 20-25 minute over the phone consultation, a fasting laboratory appointment, and a brief physical exam.
- The second phase "Intervention" consists of a face to face consultation with our clinical staff to review your personalized risk report and therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) recommendations, and expert counseling on nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction. This phase begins once we've received your laboratory results; typically two weeks after the lab draw.
- The third phase "Management" consists of tracking your recommendations on an on-going basis with your personal heart health coach who also monitors your TLC progress, physician follow-up, and ongoing retesting. Your coach will connect with you every four to six weeks for the first year and annually thereafter.
What are the advanced laboratory test components? How are these different from the ones that my physician routinely does?
A full list of the advanced tests that we perform over and above the standard lipid panel are:
- Apo-B
- LDL-C sub classification (7 sizes)
- HDL-C sub classification (5 sizes)
- C-Reactive Protein
- Glucose
|
- Lipoprotein (a)
- Homocysteine
- Fibrinogen
- Insulin
- HgA1c
|
The Center's comprehensive screening includes laboratory tests and risk evaluations (in addition to the metabolic/lipid panel or cholesterol tests and biometrics that are routinely completed at your annual physical) that help better predict your risk and uncover:
- your genetic predisposition as indicated by Lp(a), disorders of reverse cholesterol transport and HDL subtypes, disorders of LDL and small dense sub-particles, and family history of CAD or diabetes
- your predisposition to diabetes and dis-metabolism insulin, hemoglobin A1c, and waist circumference
- presence of inflammatory markers such as CRP, fibrinogen
- disorders of lifestyle including sedentary habits, malnutrition, and levels of stress
- presence of disease with coronary calcium scoring
If you qualify for the 2 for 1 Women's Screening, the Center will pay for your advanced screening cost, so your screening will be entirely free while your husband will incur a small out of pocket expense for the advanced lab test. If you do not qualify, you will incur a small out of pocket expense for the advanced lab test.
Will my insurance cover these tests? What are my out of pocket expenses?
The South Asian Heart Center provides all its consultation/counseling services at no cost to you. These include risk evaluations, review of results, nutrition counseling, exercise consultation, meditation orientation, and on-going heart-health coaching. Our laboratory partner bills you directly for the advanced screening lab work based on your insurance provider and coverage.
Network |
Insurance Plan |
Participant responsibility |
| In-network |
Aetna, Cigna, Anthem, etc |
Co-payment, deductible |
| Out-of-network |
Kaiser, Healthnet, etc. |
$59 |
| Medicare Part-B |
Part-B |
$0 |
| Medicare HMO |
Medicare Cross-Over Plan |
Co-payment, deductible |
Self-pay/
Uninsured |
List price/
Financial hardship price |
$900/
$229.37 |
We need your date of birth, gender and medical insurance information to validate your out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for the advanced screening lab. We determine these costs with our lab partner Berkeley Heartlabs (Quest Laboratories) prior to beginning the program. While most insurance companies are in network with Quest, you are responsible for the co-payment and deductibles. If you do not want your insurance company to be billed, enter your gender and date of birth, and select "Self-pay" as the insurance option. Once we receive the OOP cost, we will call to schedule your appointments.
As a South Asian (those who trace their origins to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh), you are at a two to four fold increased risk for heart disease and diabetes. Think about the people you personally know who have had heart attacks and diabetes. Compared to other ethnicities, heart attacks typically occur at much younger ages, and often fatal. Traditional lipid testing, or your annual physical underestimates this risk in this population. We offer a more comprehensive approach - advanced screening that includes additional genetic factors, metabolic risk factors, inflammatory markers, and other diabetes risk indicators to better understand your true risk and to educate you on your susceptibility for these chronic illnesses.
We work collaboratively to augment the work of your physician, providing them with your test results and our recommendations. We encourage you to follow-up with them to evaluate the need for medication, and further medical management. The Center continues to provide evidence based lifestyle counseling , personal coaching, and wellness resources to help you reduce your risk and incidence of disease.
