Powerful New Ultrasound Enables Sharp Memorial Doctors to Assess Heart Attack and Stroke Risk in Minutes

Sharp Memorial Hospital is first in San Diego to offer CardioHealth® test as part of vascular screenings.

SAN DIEGO — By quickly and painlessly imaging a patient’s carotid artery with the new CardioHealth® Station, using the only FDA cleared automated IMT imaging device, doctors at Sharp Memorial Outpatient Pavilion aim to better assess risk and potentially help patients prevent a heart attack or stroke. The facility is the first in San Diego to offer this test as part of the vascular screenings and executive health assessments available through its Cushman Wellness Center. With the pass of a wand, doctors can now scan patients for hidden plaque build-up and increased thickness in the artery wall — both common signs of cardiovascular disease.

High blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral arterial disease are all types of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States. The disease often goes unnoticed until a health emergency occurs. Doctors hope the convenience of the CardioHealth test will encourage more people to be proactive about their heart health.

“Cardiovascular disease is highly preventable and is one of the more treatable diseases when caught early,” said Dr. Gary Levinson, medical director of the Cushman Wellness Center. “The noninvasive CardioHealth test enables us to assess patients within minutes and potentially diagnose serious problems years before symptoms arise.”

CardioHealth® Station, which is marketed by CardioNexus Corporation manufactured by Panasonic, operates on a built-in portable ultrasound system that provides automated real-time measurement of thickness of a patient’s carotid artery. The carotid artery is the blood vessel branch that extends from the heart up the neck and provides blood to the front of the face and the brain. Blockages and thickening of the artery can lead to stroke.

Prior to the CardioHealth test, doctors determined cardiovascular risk through a patient’s age, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, family history and whether the patient smoked. However, many people with cardiovascular disease have no or only one identifiable risk factor until they suffer from a heart attack or die suddenly — making the CardioHealth test an important complement to traditional screening.

The Sharp Memorial Outpatient Pavilion first began offering the CardioHealth test in March and plans to include it in a wide variety of screenings offered through its Cushman Wellness Center. The Center focuses on preventive medicine by pairing integrative and complementary therapies with traditional medicine to maintain and enhance the physical well being of its patients. The goal is to help patients manage or correct at-risk conditions before they lead to serious illnesses such as cardiovascular disease. Tests are customized to each patient and the results are typically provided by a doctor the same day.

About Sharp Memorial Hospital
With a tradition of excellence since 1955, Sharp Memorial Hospital is recognized internationally for outstanding programs in emergency and trauma services, surgery, cardiac and vascular care, cancer treatment, rehabilitation, orthopedic and neurological services, women’s health, weight-loss surgery, multi-organ transplantation and home care.

Sharp Memorial completed an expansion in 2009 to become San Diego’s first hospital with all private patient rooms. The new 315,000-square-foot, 334-bed structure, named the Stephen Birch Healthcare Center, is also the first hospital to open in San Diego since 1993. 

Sharp Memorial is a MAGNET-designated facility for nursing excellence and a Planetree designated hospital for patient- and family-centered care. It is part of Sharp HealthCare, the region’s largest health care provider and a 2007 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient.

About CardioNexus Corporation & CardioHealth®
CardioHealth® is the registered trademark of CardioNexus Corporation, an invested company of Panasonic Corporation of North America, dedicated to reducing cardiovascular disease through early detection and prevention. CardioNexus Corporation provides products which are a new multi-modality initiative to advance cardiovascular health assessment for the prevention of heart attack and stroke. For further information on CardioNexus Corporation, visit the company’s website at http://www.CardioNexus.com.

About Panasonics Healthcare Group
Based in Secaucus, NJ Panasonic Healthcare Group is a business group of Panasonic Corporation of North America. Bringing together Panasonic’s expertise in a wide range of health and medical device technologies the business unit develops products for the healthcare industry relating to hearing care and diagnostic machines.  For more information visit www.panasonic.com/cardiohealthstation or http://www.panasonic.com/business/medicalvideo/hearing-aids/index.asp.

About Panasonic Corporation of North America
Based in Secaucus, NJ, Panasonic Corporation of North America provides a broad line of digital and other electronics products for consumer, business and industrial use. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC), and the hub of Panasonic’s U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Panasonic recently announced that it will relocate its North American headquarters to Newark, NJ in 2013 as part of is plans to reduce the size of its carbon emissions footprint. Information about Panasonic and its products is available at www.panasonic.com and its Full HD 3D site at www.panasonic.com/3D. Additional company information for journalists is also available at www.panasonic.com/pressroom.

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