Nashville Physician Opens First Stroke & Heart Attack Prevention Center in Nashville.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Dr. Alfred Callahan, an internationally recognized leader in stroke and heart attack prevention, announces the opening of the Stroke & Heart Attack Prevention Center in Nashville. The Center is unique in that in conducts complete personal risk assessments and utilizes integrated programs for stroke and heart attack risks when found. This personal care is distinctive in our community, prescribing a combination of lifestyle changes and medical care, which together are proven to reduce risk.

This news comes on the heels of last week's announcement by Dr. Callahan, the co-creator of the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction of Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) study. SPARCL revealed that the drug Lipitor, given in high doses to stroke patients who had no heart disease, was effective in preventing a second stroke and first heart attack.

"SPARCL provided important evidence about the link between stroke and heart attack, which are often treated as very separate health issues, and proved that the integrity and health of blood vessels is perhaps even more important than the health of any individual organ," said Callahan. "The Center is revolutionary as it addresses the link between stroke and heart attack and focuses specifically on blood vessel diseases, which are responsible for the death of half of Americans."

The Stroke & Heart Attack Prevention Center is located at 2000 Glen Echo Road in the Green Hills area of Nashville. The Center's telephone number is [phone], and website address is www.angiologycenter.com.

Callahan explained that the Center is novel because it quilts together different medical specialties that focus on vascular care. The Center uses information from non-invasive studies to determine risk in a unique fashion with a value-effective model of care including lifestyle changes as well as prescription medications.

"It is total blood vessel care under one roof," he said. "Using our system that integrates nine different medical sub-specialties, we can actually help you reduce your risk with customized treatments proven to improve your health."

Callahan said he opened the Center because he believes that the best, most effective, least expensive healthcare anticipates problems before they begin.

"Knowing your vascular risk is especially important because you live in the South, known around the world as the Stroke Belt, where we have the highest rates of heart attack and stroke in America," he said.

Alfred Callahan, III, MD, has made it his professional mission to prevent stroke and heart attack. Possessing an innovative vision of healthcare, he believes that focusing his efforts on preventing disease, rather than acute treatment, is the way to control healthcare costs in the United States. A practicing stroke neurologist for 25 years, he received post graduate training in internal medicine at Vanderbilt, neurological medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a fellow in neurology at Harvard Medical School. He serves on the clinical faculty at Vanderbilt Nursing School, is past President of the Nashville-affiliate of the American Heart Association and served as Chairman of Operation Stroke: Nashville. He recently directed an international clinical trial of the drug Lipitor, called SPARCL (Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction of Cholesterol Levels). He has authored 56 publications and received three patents during his years of private practice in Nashville. He authored the book The Next Medical Revolution: Angiology. He was also the creator of the Muhlenberg Vascular Project, which provides vascular healthcare delivery in rural Kentucky. To date, the impact of the project has reduced the rate of stroke by 47 percent in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.