REVOLUTIONARY CARDIAC PROTECT™ CAN SAVE MILLIONS OF LIVES, BILLIONS IN COST

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan – Nov. 18, 2002 – A revolutionary method of detecting and treating heart disease has the potential, over a five-year period, to eliminate 90 percent of by-pass surgeries, decrease the incidence of heart attacks by 98 percent and save billions of dollars in health care costs. The new Cardiac Protect™ program is an exemplary method of detecting and treating disease years before symptoms appear and is only available from pre-symptom medicine innovator Early Warning™ Healthcare Institute.

Cardiac Protect™ is a quick and simple method that detects silent heart disease and prescribes appropriate, simple medication to reverse plaque formation in coronary arteries. It can prevent heart attacks up to ten years before there is risk of one. As coronary plaque builds up and clogs the artery, heart attack risk grows.

“Cardiac Protect™ is revolutionizing the way we diagnose and treat heart disease,” said Donald Bronn, MD, PhD, medical director and chairman of Early Warning™ Healthcare Institute. “Heart disease kills more Americans each year than all forms of cancer and AIDS combined. The cost to our society is staggering and it’s unnecessary.

“Now with Cardiac Protect™ we have an easy, reliable way for patients to pro-actively manage their heart health because it diagnoses disease at the earliest stages when treatment is simple and inexpensive. And, it will reduce health care costs by billions of dollars because it will virtually eliminate the need for angioplasties, cardiac catheterizations, stents and by-pass surgeries.”

Cardiac Protect™ combines:
• Highly accurate, non-invasive electron beam computed tomography (GE’s EBTe-Speed scanner) to detect plaque in coronary arteries (the scan)

• A patented methodology of the Berkeley HeartLab (Alameda, Calif., www.bhlinc.com) to determine which of 16 sub-classes of cholesterol is causing the plaque build-up. (the blood test)

• Experienced cardiologists who prescribe specific treatment from a broad range of options, from simple diet and exercise to vitamins, aspirin and pharmaceuticals. (the treatment)

The Cardiac Protect™ scan determines the condition. The blood test identifies the cause. The cardiologists prescribe and monitor a specific treatment regimen to reverse plaque formation.

Cardiac Protect™’s integration of these elements tailors the diagnosis and treatment according to the individual patient’s cholesterol sub-class, unlike conventional approaches that, for example, rely on routine cholesterol tests and general treatment with statins such as Lipitor and Zocor. Or, in cases of chest pain, the conventional practice is an expensive chest-pain work-up that involves, among other things, a thallium stress test that requires at least 65 percent coronary artery blockage to generate a positive result. Heart attacks can occur with as little as 50 percent blockage of a single coronary artery.

The breakthrough of Cardiac Protect™ is its unprecedented combination of state-of-the-art technology (EBT plus unique, diagnostic software), patented blood analysis (Berkeley HeartLab) and an innovative healthcare model that motivates cardiologists to avoid prescribing expensive drugs and invasive treatments.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, with two-thirds of Americans succumbing to the disease. More than 1.1 million Americans suffer heart attacks each year, of which nearly half are fatal. Of those, half die without warning.

“A million heart attacks a year is just a statistic – unless it happens to you. Then, it’s a tragedy,” said Bronn. “Heart attacks are almost completely preventable with Cardiac Protect™.” Available exclusively at Early Warning™ Healthcare Institute, Cardiac Protect™ costs $550 for the scan. If the scan indicates plaque and a blood test is necessary, the blood work at Berkeley HealthLab costs $695, with about 60 percent covered by insurance. Medicines typically are covered by insurance. The typical cost of a heart attack is about $150,000 including hospital charges for critical and intensive care, angioplasty, by-pass surgery, patient rehabilitation, worker replacement and lost productivity. The typical cost for an outpatient chest pain work-up is more than $15,000 including stress test, cardiac catheterization, critical care observation and blood testing. Aside from those whose first symptom is sudden death from heart attack, chest pain is often the first symptom of heart disease.

Cardiac catheterization costs more than $12,000, according to the American Heart Association.

“The potential for cost savings is enormous,” said Bronn. “With Cardiac Protect™ society gets the best of both worlds: Virtual elimination of the leading cause of death in America and a vast reduction in health care costs.”

A Cardiac Protect™ scan yields one of three types of results:

A zero score means no heart disease

Scores above zero indicate the presence of coronary plaque and heart disease, up to ten years before there is risk of a heart attack

Identification of a “time bomb,” in which blockage is so severe that a heart attack is imminent and angioplasty or by-pass surgery is necessary. Even though such advanced-stage cases require invasive procedures, the scan detects heart disease before the heart is damaged by a heart attack.

“Within five years for a given population, Cardiac Protect™ can eliminate the time bombs,” said Bronn.

“We can take care of our hearts just as we care for out teeth. We see our dentist twice a year to remove dental plaque. Cardiac Protect™ once a year is a way to monitor and reverse plaque formation in our coronary arteries.”

EBT is the only scanning technology approved for non-invasive coronary artery analysis by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and has received validation by more than 1,000 medical publications including the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation (American Heart Association), American Journal of Cardiology, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Journal of the American College of Chest Physicians and Archives of Internal Medicine. The American Heart Association recognized EBT in 1999 as one of the Top Ten Advances in Cardiology.

The Early Warning™ Healthcare Institute is an innovator in the promotion and practice of pre-symptom medicine, which diagnoses disease at its earliest stages and prescribes treatment regimens many years before symptoms are evident. Co-founded in 2002 by Donald Bronn, MD, PhD, who leads a team of 20 cardiologists and radiologists, which composes the faculty of The Early Warning™ Healthcare Institute. The Institute is supported by hundreds of referring physicians and offers a range of non-invasive diagnoses and treatments, including Cardiac Protect™, virtual colonoscopy, virtual bronchoscopy, bone density and osteoporosis evaluation with 3-D orthopedic skeletal imaging. The Early Warning™ Healthcare Institute can provide visual tours of organs throughout the entire body utilizing its 3-D and 4-D (3-D with motion) advanced EBT technology. This methodology enables detection of potential major diseases long before symptoms appear. Cardiac Protect™ is the first of a number of comprehensive programs that will advance the revolution in pre-symptom medicine.

For more information, visit www.earlywarninghealth.net.