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News / Headlines
Contact: Daniel Keeney, APR
DPK Public Relations
832.467.2904
dan@dpkpr.com
Cedars-Sinai Imaging Center Designated SHAPE Model Center of
Excellence
Recognized for setting the standard to prevent first heart attacks
HOUSTON, March 28, 2011 – SHAPE, The Society for Heart Attack
Prevention and Eradication (
http://www.shapesociety.org, a nonprofit organization that
promotes early detection and preventive intervention to reduce heart
attack risk, today recognized Cedars-Sinai’s S. Mark Taper
Foundation Imaging Center as a SHAPE Model Center of Excellence. The
announcement coincides with American Heart Month, during which SHAPE
is encouraging men over age 45 and women over age 55 to consider
having an atherosclerosis test.
As a SHAPE Model Center of Excellence, the S. Mark Taper Foundation
Imaging Center is a leader in establishing and promoting best
practices in heart attack screening. The Center’s work with SHAPE is
led by Prediman K. Shah, MD, director of the Division of Cardiology
at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, and Daniel S. Berman, MD, chief
of Cardiac Imaging and Nuclear Cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai Heart
Institute and the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center, both of
whom have helped to revolutionize the field of preventive cardiology
through their involvement with SHAPE and their promotion of
responsible cardiovascular screening.
“We are thankful for the leadership of the S. Mark Taper Foundation
Imaging Center and we are proud to recognize their commitment to
improving patient outcomes through early detection and primary
prevention of coronary artery disease,” said JoAnne Zawitoski, chair
of the SHAPE Board of Directors. “On the heels of American Heart
Month, it is appropriate to make note of the strides being made at
SHAPE Centers for Excellence toward preventing and, ultimately,
eradicating heart attacks.”
SHAPE Centers of Excellence adhere to the First SHAPE Guideline for
screening to identify hidden heart attack risk in apparently healthy
individuals. The First SHAPE Guideline recommended two non-invasive
atherosclerosis tests for at-risk men over age 45 and at-risk women
over age 55: either coronary artery calcification scoring (CACS) by
a computed tomography (CT) scan or carotid artery intima-media
thickness (CIMT) scanning by ultrasound. Both tests have been shown
to assess an asymptomatic individual’s heart attack risk more
effectively than relying on measuring risk factors such as
cholesterol.
SHAPE Centers of Excellence focus on the prevention of a first heart
attack -- especially in the vulnerable population , who are those at
risk of a near future heart attack.
In addition to the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center, SHAPE
Centers of Excellence are located in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida,
Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Australia. A complete
list is posted at
http://www.shapesociety.org/shapecertifiedcenter.html.
The SHAPE Centers of Excellence Program coincides with SHAPE
Provider Certification. For more information about these
certification programs for your practice or hospital, please contact
Dr. Jeff Fine at (803) 360-4756 or
jfine@jandjmedical.net .
About the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication
(SHAPE):
The mission of SHAPE (www.shapesociety.org) is to eradicate heart
attack by championing new strategies for prevention while advancing
the scientific quest for a cure. SHAPE visualizes a world free from
the threat of heart attack. The goals of SHAPE are to reduce the
instances of heart attack - especially in the asymptomatic patient -
through education programs presented to both healthcare
professionals and the community. SHAPE believes that education and
ongoing research are key elements in the success of programs
designed to go beyond the norm in the early detection and treatment
of cardiovascular disease.
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