ENCORE: A New Revolutionary Technology That Can Predict Cardiovascular Risk With Precision, Part 1

Current ways of visualizing the coronary arteries with calcium scoring are limited: the presence of calcium doesn’t always determine risk; its absence doesn’t fully eliminate the possibility of soft plaque, which is actually more dangerous than stable calcium deposits. Dr. James Min is an expert on cardiovascular imaging and founder and CEO of Cleerly, a company that has developed an improved scan that can differentiate between dangerous unstable plaque, and more benign lesions. The test can be used to establish risk, and then medication and/or lifestyle modification with diet, stress reduction, exercise and supplements can be undertaken. Subsequent tests can yield a report card for how successful the preventive interventions have been. Dr. Min emphasizes that even in settings of high cholesterol the test can show minimal risk, reducing the need for cholesterol medication; conversely, people with low cholesterol may have substantial dangerous plaque. The Cleerly test promises to revolutionize our approach to cardiovascular prevention.