284: Avoiding the Emergency Room in Midlife with Dr. Alex Jabourian Midlife Conversations with Natalie Jill

One of the worst days in someone’s life is the day they end up in the emergency room, life or death. Most of what got them there (even for heart attacks and strokes) can be prevented with lifestyle modifications! Especially if you’re middle aged and midlife!  Dr. Alex Jabourian is a trained physician in emergency medicine and shares with us how to avoid the ER in midlife!
Dr. Alex Jabourian has been practicing medicine since 2014 and his expertise in emergency/critical care and personal athletic endeavors provides a unique skill set well suited to help patients reach their goal of health, longevity, and performance. After completing his emergency medicine residency, he went on to further develop his skills by completing a fellowship in emergency medical services.
Things Recommended to Get Tested For 
Did you know that up to 30% of the U.S. population has metabolic syndrome? Some markers we can test for metabolic derangement/disorder include increased waist circumference, glucose dysregulation, increased triglycerides, and low HDL – including your ability to manage your sugar levels, the amount of cholesterol in circulation – which are a marker for your risk of developing cardiovascular disease (heart attacks, strokes, etc.)  To play safe, everyone, especially when you have a history of heart disease in your family. And honestly, the sooner, the better. 
Optimal vs. Traditional Levels
Depending on where you get your labs, ranges can be huge. However, it’s scientifically backed that we see a lot more improvement in overall health with a narrow range of labs. If you’re working in the ER and just need to be stable, numbers are one thing, while if you’re trying to OPTIMIZE yourself, the number is another. Sometimes you might be at the high end of a traditional “normal” or “stable” level, but in reality, that number is way off the charts for what is optimal– especially optimal for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and best optimizing hormones. 

Hormones and Lifestyle
In mid-life it’s so common for women to say things like “I’m so tired” or “I’m fatigued” or “Something is off” – “it must be my hormones!” And it’s common for women to say these things even BEFORE they clean up their diet, and start moving their bodies, and actually taking care of themselves. Your lifestyle should be your foundation of success – before any kind of supplementation or pharmacological treatment. 
Nutrition Sleep Exercise Stress Management   
Addressing these (barring from some genetic abnormalities) can most often control these markers and you may not need pharmacological treatment. However, for some, doing both simultaneously is the right answer. 
However, yes, hormones and female physiology DO matter and can play a part. Through our typical 28 day cycle hormones shift, and some of us are in fact more sensitive to that. But even still, it’s important that you dial everything else in first (your lifestyle foundation) before you can attribute everything to hormones! If you are pre-menopause, peri-menopause, or post-menopause, it’s increasingly more important for you to test your hormones.  
How Do I Get Tested?
Call me crazy, but remember, I lost my dad to a heart attack at a young age and I’ve got a lot of things that run in the family – so I personally test every 90 days.
Hormonal diagnostic labs to check your bio-markers for deficiencies so that you can get in balance and feel like yourself again. A thorough Video call lab session to review/analysis and MOST importantly, provide you with simple tweaks and solutions to improve how you function and feel. This can likely result in a metabolic boost, increased libido, mood, cognitive health, improved skin texture, and more! We provide individual care for maximal results all within the comfort of your home.
Marek is a tele-health platform built on streamlining health optimization. They use preventative medicin