Medical Talks and Patient Management with Dr. Nehal Gheewala, DO of Dedicated Senior Medical Center

Dr. Nehal Gheewala, Associated Chief Medical Officer with Dedicated Senior Medical Center, provides tips every senior needs to optimize both health outcomes and satisfaction with their doctors. Dr. Gheewala has always had a passion for working with aging patients. These experiences inspired him to pursue a career as a geriatrician. “I always advocate for my patients,”  says Dr. Gheewala. “I pride myself in managing chronic diseases while maintaining my patient’s mobility, reducing their medication burden, and avoiding hospital stays.” He often gives out his cell number as do many of the doctors at the Center. The elderly patient population often want to spend more time with their doctor and Dr. Gheewala finds ways of doing that. Answering a call or sending a text develops a relationship with his patients, which in turn aids in improving their health. 

In this month of June, Dr. Gheewala and Rosie talk about heart disease and specifically risk factors for this disease. The heart does change as we age and there are risk factors associated with heart disease. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in 65 and older, both men and women. Most heart conditions fall under coronary artery disease or CAD. CAD causes heart attack, heart failure, chest pain, and irregular heartbeats. When he sees new patients he does a complete physical head to toe and listens to their heart and lungs,and looks at their skin, legs and neck. This can tell me a lot about how the heart is functioning. Ask them about their symptoms - what makes things worse or better.  There are risk factors so we look at high blood pressure, diabetes, trouble with kidneys, and cholesterol levels. All this relates back to diet. So, zooming out is key.  Asking lifestyle questions is necessary. How often are they walking? What are they eating? Answers coupled with the patient’s symptoms aids him in treating patients and determining if lab work or imaging is necessary. Doctor and patient work together to determine next steps. This relationship is “sacred” and guides the best outcome. At the Center, doctors focus on this heavily.

Preventive medicine is a highly recommended practice for everyone. How do we stop things from happening? How do we slow things down so people can have more health days and less sick days? Avoidance of anything that could be causing the problem is necessary such as poor dietary habits, smoking, lack of exercise, and other risk factors. Dr. Gheewala says we can stop things before they happen. That is the secret sauce in all of this he says. 

Rosie shares that there are Medicare insurances that are specific to this type of disease. These are called chronic conditions plans but not all insurance companies under Medicare will offer them. As an insurance broker, she completes a health risk assessment form on clients and submits it for review. A physician verifies the form and signs off on it. The relationship between the patient, doctor, and insurance company is important to make sure that people in the community are taken care of. 

In closing, Dr. Gheewala shares tips for taking care of our hearts. Staying active is number 1. Make sure you are exercising every day - get your blood flowing each day. Walking 30 minutes each day is important. Watch what you eat. Control your portions and avoid fried, fatty foods. Make your meals at home and cut out salt in our diet. The rule of thumb is wherever salt goes, water does. Salt can cause swelling. Look for sodium on nutrition facts, not just salt. Stop smoking. Watch your cholesterol too. See your doctor frequently. This relationship is key. 

Rosie closes with thanking Dr. Gheewala for his time and encourages anyone looking for a primary doctor to visit Dedicated Senior Medical Center at www.dedicated.care. Lastly, she read an excerpt from her book, “highly engaged people are instinctive ambassadors and trusted sources. They are willing to go above what is required not because you told them to but because they want to.” Surround yourself with similarly minded people and in doing so you will be successful. Stay pure. Stay positive. Stay inspired.

 

#Diabetes #CoronaryArteryDisease #CAD #Disease #Patient #Medication #PreventionMedication #HeartFailure #ChestPain #Geriatrician #Hospital #Glucose #Metabolism #HighBlood #Cholesterol

 

Nehal Gheewala, DO, 

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