In Via Domodossola an extra attention to metabolic medicine. Starting from the second half of November 2018, the Humanitas Medical Care outpatient clinic in via Domodossola, Milan, activated the Lipidology outpatient clinic. The manager, Dr. Chiara Gabbi, explained that the aim of the new service is to provide people with a high level and multidimensional health care (interaction between various specialists), made possible by the experience and professionalism of medical staff, in which prevention plays a key role. The clinic will be open every Saturday morning from 9.00 to 12.30-13.00, privately or in agreement with insurance companies and funds. We discussed it in more detail with Dr. Gabbi, a specialist in Internal Medicine, an expert in this branch of medicine thanks to her work in research, both in Italy and abroad, mainly in Sweden and the United States.
Who is the outpatient clinic for?
“The lipidological examination serves to ascertain the pathologies linked to the altered levels of lipids in the blood (cholesterol, triglycerides) or in the liver (the so-called “fatty liver”) and to set up a personalized therapeutic plan to reduce, for example, the cardiovascular risks in patients with high cholesterol – explained the doctor -. In fact, when the cholesterol is high, which can be such not only for nutritional reasons but also for genetic factors, tends to accumulate in the walls of blood vessels that, with the passage of time, occlude, causing cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke”. The fundamental prevention service offered at the Lipidology clinic is therefore aimed at secondary prevention, aimed at preventing the patient from having another cardiovascular event.
What is a fat liver?
“The so-called ‘fatty liver‘, in technical terms ‘hepatic steatosis’, is the accumulation in the liver of lipids, in particular triglycerides, which over time, if not properly managed, can evolve into inflammation ‘steatohepatitis’ and fibrosis, resulting in possible development of cirrhosis and, therefore, of liver failure”, clarified the expert, who has been dealing with this disease for several years.
The new outpatient clinic prescribes the most suitable pharmacological therapy for the individual patient when necessary, but also prevention based on training and nutritional education, since, for those who do not have a genetic pathology, high cholesterol or even fatty liver may be of alimentary origin or derive from a too sedentary life.
A vade-mecum on dietary standards and lifestyle has also been prepared for patients to reduce, for example, the cardiovascular risks they may face. This is not a real diet, but advice on the foods to be preferred, consumed in moderation and avoided.
What to do before your visit
“On the occasion of the first lipidological examination of metabolic medicine – recommends the expert – you should bring with you the recent haematochemical tests (not older than sixty days) that include at least total cholesterol, LDL and HDL, triglycerides, GOT, GPT, GGT, Alkaline Phosphatase, CPK; reports of previous visits. Letters of discharge of any previous hospitalizations; reports of instrumental examinations such as Doppler of the supraortic trunks, abdomen ultrasound, ECG; list of medications currently in use. The specialist will then, if he deems it necessary, prescribe a series of super-specialized examinations, so-called “second line” examinations, generally for that more complex category of patients”.
