A chance to get thousands of dollars of medical help for free

UT HEALTH and Memorial Hermann Hospital have teamed up to fight heart disease and they're looking for volunteers. It's for a study called the "Century Health Study."

"The study is looking at lifestyle change and medical management for people who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease," said Kathie Nelson, dietician with UT Health. She added, "The goal is to show that these approaches will prevent or reverse the heart disease."

Every time the patient comes in they get to see a dietician, a nurse and a physician. The study participant will get to talk about his or her diet, lifestyle and exercise. The nurse goes over medication and the doctor makes adjustments in the medications as needed.

During the course of the study participants will get three free PET (positron emission tomography) scans. According to UT Health, each scan would cost about $3,000.

It's a five year study and the program still needs to enroll another 300 people.

http://www.uth.tmc.edu/pet/century-study/?src=d1
http://www.uth.tmc.edu/pet/century-study/should.html

Highlights of the Century Health Study
- Male or female patients age 40 or above with a history of stable CAD (coronary artery disease) or 2-3 risk factors for coronary artery disease are eligible to participate
- The study will take place over 5 years and will compare 2 strategies for treating heart disease; both involve lifestyle change and medications.
- Special imaging of the heart called Positron Emission Tomography (P.E.T.) will be done on all patients to test whether it guides their treatment more effectively.
- Patients should be able to exercise and a treadmill test will be done for those who have not had one recently.
-Patients are randomly assigned to one of two Groups, for simplicity they are called STARS (Standard Optimal Care Group) or STRIPES (P.E.T.- guided Intense care group)
-All P.E.T. imaging, exercise testing, and study visits are done at no cost to patient
-Continuing communication is provided for support of patients’ primary physician in ongoing patient care.


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