Edwin James Dean, M.D., Medical Director, is a graduate of Cornell University and Cornell Medical College. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine, having completed his emergency medicine residency at Los Angeles County -- USC Medical Center. Professional experience includes emergency medicine, urgent care medicine, and general family medicine with a focus on preventative medicine.
“I feel that I have come full circle in my career. Early on I was asked by an emergency physician why I wanted to go into emergency medicine. My on the spot answer was, “I want to make a difference and save lives”. In retrospect it may have been overly idealistic and a little naïve - but it was from the heart. Years later, as a young emergency physician it was rewarding and exhilarating to feel like you snatched someone from the jaws of death - however, over the years of seeing patients “after the damage was done” it became obvious there must be a better way.
It became obvious: We need to "Prevent the crash instead of repairing the damage after the crash." We need to prevent vascular disease instead of repairing the damage after heart attacks and strokes.
By providing effective screening with a process that is easy and efficient, it allows early detection and early intervention of vascular disease and prevention of the catastrophic event that is bound to happen if left unchecked. After practicing medicine 20 plus years, I feel that Heart Health Screening and Heart Health Strategies are the vehicles to make the greatest difference and impact more lives.”
The idea for Heart Health Screening and Heart Health Strategies first began about 20 years ago in an emergency department in downtown Los Angeles The defining event was not unusual however it sparked the question: “Didn’t anyone see this coming?” The answer then was “No”. Over the years, similar events – sudden onset of symptomatic vascular disease (heart attack, sudden death, heart failure, and stroke) in patients who had no idea they had such severe disease has forced this question too many times.
Advances in technology have made early detection of vascular disease possible and advances in knowledge and treatments have made prevention and reversal of vascular disease possible. With Heart Health Screening you can see it coming. With Heart Health Strategies you can do something about it.
The Defining Event: I can remember scenario as if it were yesterday and have the images in my mind of that moment .The scenario: The paramedics had brought in a businessman in his 40s who had no significant prior medical history but was now in full cardiac arrest. As the resuscitation progressed it looked more and more futile and, as the physician in charge, I ran through my mental checklists looking for anything else that could be done. He was too young to die. Eventually and reluctantly we ceased our efforts. When his young family later arrived, there came the difficult job of informing them he was dead and their loved one/ husband/ father would not be returning home. I asked the family about any symptoms or clues to why this happened. I was searching for an ignored symptom, known and ignored disease, noncompliance to medications, or major risk factor - some small justification for this catastrophic event. There were none.
Subconsciously, I was hoping to ease my own emotional pain for feeling ineffective and was looking to shift blame for the bad outcome to someone or some event. Frustrated, I silently screamed in my head, “Didn't anyone see this coming?” The answer was No.
Over the next few days, weeks and months, I pondered the question. And over the years, similar circumstances forced this question – too many times.