Tokuda

Multifocal Atherosclerosis (MFA) Early and Express Diagnostics and Treatment Center

Atherosclerosis is a multifocal process which develops simultaneously  and/or consecutively effecting different vascular systems including the coronary (heart), carotid (brain), peripheral arteries (upper and lower limbs), visceral arteries and abdominal aorta (intestions, kidneys, internal organs). In over 50% of cases, atherosclerosis develops completely asymptomatic or only with discrete or unnoticeable symptoms. As a result, often atherosclerosis’s first expression is very unexpected and strikes in the form of acute arterial thrombosis causing ischemia (lack of blood supply) and/or infarction (death of organs and tissue) of heart muscle, brain tissues, intestines, kindeys or even causing gangrene. If a patient survives the thrombosis with the help of intensive medical treatment, the affected organs may sustain permanent damage leading to differential degrees of  disability compromising a person’s quality of life.

As medical professionals and as patients, we can see the top of this iceberg, namely clinically expressed atherosclerosis, but unfortunately the larger percentage atherosclerosis cases remain undiagnosed and therefore go untreated. That is why our Multifocal Atherosclerosis Early Express Diagnostics and Treatment Center specialists are focused upon diagnosing the hidden asymptomatic forms of atherosclerosis to effectively manage the disease and prevent serious complications.

Typically, patients with one clinically expressed form of atherosclerosis, in addition to dealing with their symptoms, also experience complications because they are often developing the other forms of atherosclerosis. For example, patients with peripheral arterial atherosclerosis often have myocardial infarctions or strokes; those with coronary atherosclerosis have strokes and/or develop gangrene, and for those with cerebro-vascular diseases also experience myocardial infarctions and gangrene. These facts clearly indicate that the atherosclerotic process develops multifocally and should be treated as such.

In current medical practice, atherosclerosis diagnostics and treatment are performed only on clinically diagnosed forms by a specific specialist in isolation from other medical specialties who manage the other forms of atherosclerosis. This is a serious limitation of current practices, because it does not take into account the strong likelihood of the other forms of atherosclerosis existing or developing amongst these patients. However our Center fully recognizes the fact that to fully treat atherosclerosis, we must respect the multifocal nature of atherosclerosis and take a more complex approach to diagnosing and treating the disease.

Our complex approach is based upon ultrasound diagnostics, which has proven excellent capabilities for the early detection and the mass screening of the asymptomatic forms of peripheral and carotid atherosclerosis. Our center provides comprehensive Color EchoDoppler and Doppler sonography exams for the entire vascular system in approximately 20-30 minutes, during which we fully examine and diagnose atherosclerosis in its earliest stages to detect changes or abnormalities in the vessel walls with a precision of  1/10^th  of a millimeter. Our early diagnosis methods for these hidden forms of atherosclerosis allow us to effectively administrate medication therapy on time to stop and even reverse the atherosclerotic process. Also with our early and comprehensive atherosclerosis detection, we can provide early stage endovascular treatments, which are most effective to prevent severe health problems including myocardial infarctions, strokes, and gangrene cases.