Hayes Clinical Laboratories, South Florida’s largest independent clinical laboratory, is offering cutting edge cardiac tests that will help healthcare practitioners better diagnose, treat and monitor their patients for heart attacks and strokes.
Cleveland HeartLab, LLC, a leader in next-generation cardiovascular disease prevention, diagnosis, and management, has chosen Hayes Clinical Laboratories to market its proprietary CardioMPO™ test, which can help predict the risk of heart attack.
“Hayes Labs is one of only two laboratories chosen to market this proprietary test throughout South Florida,” said Trent Hayes, Senior Vice President of Hayes Clinical Laboratories. “We were chosen because of our excellent track record and strategic patient locations, he said. “We also offer a wide variety of cardiac tests, and serve many of the top cardiologists and physicians in South Florida.”Dr. Seth Baum, M.D., FACC, FACPM, FAHA, FNLA, a Boca Raton practicing preventive cardiologist, said he had wanted to order the CardioMPO™ test for some time, but it had not been available to him until now.
“My goal is to risk stratify my patients as accurately as possible,” said Dr. Baum. “The availability of the newer tests from Hayes Labs will help more physicians practice cardiovascular prevention, something which will hopefully translate into heart attacks avoided, and lives saved.”
Hayes offers a variety of cardiac tests such as the Lp-PLA2 test, known as the PLAC® test, the only blood test cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to aid in assessing risk for both coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke associated with atherosclerosis.
“We’re one of the few laboratories in Florida to use the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) methodology, which is the best method for the PLAC test,” said Hayes.
Dr. Baum noted that he had a young patient whose only abnormality was an elevated PLAC Test. “I found that he had premature carotid artery disease,” he said. “This test helped me treat the patient more aggressively to try to stave off the development of a stroke or heart attack.”
“I’ve always tried to be cutting edge in all aspects of my practice, including the ordering of lab tests,” said Dr. Baum. “Hayes Laboratories has always been very responsive and receptive, and never held me back from thinking outside the box. I’ve found that the larger labs were not as flexible with my desire to order specialized testing. I’m also happy with the service Hayes provides to my patients – they’re flexible and accommodating, and it’s nice to work with a family-owned company because they are so responsive and caring.”Awareness among physicians of the newer cardiac tests is still moderate, noted Dr. Baum, who is one of a handful of cardiologists in the U.S. to achieve board certification in Clinical Lipidology and fellowship status in the National Lipid Association. “We are all still learning how to best use these tests in clinical practice, and the word has not necessarily spread as far and wide as it should.”
Dr. Baum noted that people should talk to their doctors about these tests. “Since February is American Heart Month, it’s a good time to make a resolution to do what it takes to limit your risk for having a heart attack,” he said. “Hayes Labs makes that process easier by including the tests they’re offering right now.”
