BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, EXPERTISE AND SPECIAL INTEREST

Dr. R. deGoma was recently featured in the National Lipid Association's Member Spotlight. He talked about his personal and professional journey to prevention which began in 2001 and how it changed the way he practices cardiology. Seeing the impact of aggressive lipid therapy in halting the normal progressive course of CHD after a decade of aggressive evidenced-based preventive therapies, he concluded that prevention is the missing component of cardiac care. To read more, please click here.

In 2005, he became one of the less than 20 board certified cardiologists who became board certified Clinical Lipidologist. The wide treatment gap is a particular interest for Dr. deGoma. In the L-TAP study was published in 2000, only 18% of CHD patients were treated to LDL-c target of less than 100 mg/dl. 82% were not at goal, either not treated adequately or not treated at all. Dr. deGoma participated in a similar study and found that cardiologists had a similar problem.

For several years, he worked on a clinical management system for his private practice. In 2006, he published and presented his clinic data at the annual national scientific meeting SGIM in Los Angeles. In his practice, using the clinical management system that he developed, 85% of CHD and CHD risk equivalent patients were treated to LDL goal of less than 100 mg/dl. Only 15% were not at goal. There were more patients with LDL below 50 mg/dl than patients with LDL over 130 mg/dl. He is the only preventive cardiologist in the US with published performance data. To read more, please click here.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

deGoma RL, deGoma EM. A practical, office-based cholesterol management system. Journal of General Internal Medicine 2006 Apr; 21(S4)

deGoma EM, deGoma RL, Rader DJ. Beyond HDL-C Levels: Evaluating HDL function as influenced by pharmacotherapy. J Am Coll Cardiol 2008