Q: What is DPA Cardio Screening?
A: DPA is a Digital Pulsewave Analysis which is a screening that will assess your cardiovascular health. Each time your heart beats, it creates a Pulsewave down the linings of your arteries to your fingers and toes and then travels back to your heart. This is what we measure and we produce a report for you.
Q: Why should I get screened?
A: Heart Disease is the #1 killer of people in the world. In North America it is the # 1 killer of women and the #3 killer of men. You should get screened because once you know where you are on the heart disease scale you can take actions to prevent or reverse this silent killer.
Q: I don't have any symptoms. Should I still get screened?
A: Yes! Sometimes the first symptom of heart disease is death - a fatal heart attack also referred to as SCD: sudden cardiac death. Have you ever heard it said, "He or she suddenly died from a heart attack?"
Q: I am a young person and very fit. Should I get screened?
A: Yes! Everyone should get screened. Early detection is critical because this disease is preventable and reversible. Today we hear of athletes and younger people having heart attacks or strokes, therefore heart disease is not reserved just for older people.
Q: What is heart disease and how does it cause a heart attack or stroke?
A: The major culprit of most heart and other cardiovascular diseases is the slow, silent and steady build-up of fatty plaque deposits with your arteries. These arteries carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart, brain and limbs. When one of these vessels narrows and blood flow is reduced, a heart attack or stroke can occur at any time and without warning.
Q: Is the screening painful?
A: No! The screening is pain free and non-invasive, meaning no needles, no blood and no pain. The actual screening takes less than a minute. However forms need to be filled, data is captured, your test is analyzed and a report completed for you to keep. Expect the entire test to be between 10 and 15 minutes.
Q: What do I need to do to prepare for a screening?
A: No food for 2 hours and no caffeine (coffee or tea) for 6 hours before your screening appointment. You can drink water.
Q: How often should I get a screening done?
A: The major culprit of cardiovascular diseases is a slow, silent and steady build-up of fatty plaque deposits within your arteries. To truly be in control of your heart health it is suggested that screenings take place every 3 months or at minimum twice a year.
Q: Is this cardio screening covered by insurance?
A: No! While we use a Health Canada Approved device the service itself has not been accepted as an insured service by provincial health insurance services.
Q: Do I need a doctor's referral to get screened?
A: No! Simply call or go online and make an appointment.
Q: Is the screening expensive?
A: It's only $150. For most people it's a small price to pay to know the health of one of the most important organs in our body.
Q: What is the difference between Cardio Screenings and Medical tests (EKG, ECG, Cardiac Stress Tests Etc.)
A: There are several differences but these two are the most important:
1- To get an EKG/ECG or a Stress test you must be referred by a physician. If you have the appearance of being healthy, in other words, no pain, no breathlessness and no history of heart issues in your family, your physician is highly unlikely to want to waste taxpayer’s money and refer you for these tests. Doctors typically need symptoms to refer for a diagnosis.
2- Even if you do get referred there are no guarantees that any of those tests will discover if you have heart disease until you start having symptoms. Read our founders story on our Website www.cardiowellness.ca to see how 3 sets of these tests failed to find a problem until he had an 80% blockage. And then it was an invasive Thallium (radioactive contrast agent inserted into the blood stream) test that finally discovered it.
Q: Why are doctor’s offices not using the DPA technology?
A: DPA technology is accepted and used in medical facilities and corporations in the USA and around the world. While the DPA technology is being used at St. Boniface Hospital in Manitoba and Dr. Saul Isserow, a Royal College Certified Cardiologist at the University of British Columbia performed an independent study of the Health Canada Approved Medical DPA device (and found the device to be non-invasive, safe, accurate at measuring the parameters it is designed to measure and that the measurement of heart rate variability, a marker for cardiovascular health, is accurate) the Canadian Medical system is focused on treatment not prevention and has not yet adopted this proven technology.
