Many clinicians are focused on whole-person, personalized wellness. These practitioners approach cardiovascular health with a similar lens. They combine assessments, targeted support, and coordinated access to emerging strategies, delivered through continuous, tech-enabled wellness plans. 

Many clinicians use a whole-person approach. This includes functional medicine practitioners, integrative clinicians, and primary care providers. The approaches in this article are not exhaustive, and not exclusive to one type of practitioner.

What Does a Whole-Person Approach to Health Mean?

Functional and integrative clinicians, or any healthcare provider who looks at whole-person wellness, approaches healthcare with a systems-based approach. This approach focuses on identifying and addressing the root causes of imbalance in the body, rather than focusing on a diagnosis. These clinicians typically focus on longevity and healthspan, and integrate lifestyle, nutrition, genetics, and environment to create personalized strategies that support healthy function and long-term wellness.

Article Overview:

This article outlines how these types of clinics approach cardiovascular health in the following ways:

• Start with a holistic focus
• Personalized testing to target approaches
• Focus on upstream strategies like the endothelial glycocalyx
• Integrate lifestyle, nutrition and supplementation
• Recommend technologies where appropriate
• Continually monitor and readjust

How Do Clinicians who Focus on Whole-Person Approaches Support Cardiovascular Health?

Clinicians operating from a whole-person or root cause lens tend to use individualized profiles to guide decisions. Lifestyle, environment, and behavioral factors are taken into consideration to gather a holistic picture. 

The focus is on supporting vascular function and long-term heart health through evidence-based, personalized plans that evolve with real-world data and individual goals.

Holistic Focus in Whole-Person Cardiovascular Wellness

Whole-person approaches start with a holistic wellness lens that looks beyond a single marker to understand the systems that influence heart, vascular, and overall health. Many functional practitioners take a proactive approach to health, by assessing healthy individuals, before any symptoms are present. The focus may be on optimizing healthspan and maintaining function.

Cardiovascular concerns continue to be the biggest impediment to longevity and healthspan worldwide. For that reason, clinicians target upstream drivers that often underlie cardiovascular health. Commonly addressed upstream targets are personalized but can include:

• The health of the inner lining of every blood vessel, called the endothelial glycocalyx (EGX)
• Nitric oxide production
• Gut microbiome imbalances
• Oxidative stress

This personalized philosophy frames how plans are built, incorporating detailed biomarker panels, lifestyle supports, individualized nutrition support and targeted wellness plans.

Testing for Personalized Cardiovascular Wellness

Practitioners can use advanced, actionable tools to build a personalized assessment and to track progress over time. Personalized assessment panels guide how nutrition, physical activity, stress, sleep, and nutrient support are tailored. Some common vascular health markers used in clinics today include:

Blood Pressure: Healthy blood pressure in the normal range reflects healthy endothelial and cardiovascular function. Regular monitoring provides insight into vascular responsiveness.

Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (CIMT): This ultrasound-based technology measures the thickness of the arterial wall in the carotid arteries. It also estimates a vascular age to compare to an individual’s biological age. CIMTs offer a non-invasive window into early structural changes in vascular health.

Lipids and Apolipoproteins: Standard lipid panels including total, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. Additional markers like apolipoprotein B and apolipoprotein A can help assess lipid metabolism and cardiovascular health.

Reliable monitoring of these biomarkers is helpful for identification of vascular health and for guiding wellness plans. Regular tracking allows practitioners to individualize support strategies and measure progress over time.

Focus on Upstream Strategies Like the Endothelial Glycocalyx (EGX)

The health of the endothelial glycocalyx has immediate and cascading effects on cardiovascular function. Because of this, functional and integrative approaches target the endothelial glycocalyx to support cardiovascular health. A robust endothelial glycocalyx supports healthy vascular permeability by acting as a selective barrier that controls the movement of fluids, proteins, and cells across the endothelial layer. 

When a person has healthy endothelial function, their blood vessel walls are flexible, and the lining can control tone and permeability. Healthy endothelial function often begins with a healthy endothelial glycocalyx, which protects the endothelial surface from mechanical stress. When the endothelial glycocalyx is healthy, the endothelium is protected, setting the stage for vascular health.*

The endothelial glycocalyx also plays a central role in nitric oxide signaling, the primary pathway for healthy vasodilation. Healthy vasodilation is important for ensuring proper delivery of nutrients and oxygen to every organ and system in the body.*

Integrating Lifestyle, Nutrition and Supplementation

Many clinicians, including those practicing from a functional, integrative, or simply whole-person lens use lifestyle, nutrition and supplementation recommendations as part of a robust wellness plan for cardiovascular wellness. Clinicians typically determine the types and importance of each of these on a person-by-person basis, but almost always include some element of lifestyle modification to support heart health.

Nutrition and Vascular-Focused Diets

Some integrative or whole-person-minded clinicians create completely personalized eating plans based on blood, stool, or saliva assessments to help support cardiovascular and overall health. Typically, individualized plans will include at least some of the following common recommendations:

• Lower intake of salt, sodium, and processed sugar
• Higher intake of healthy fats, lean protein, and leafy vegetables 

Dietary patterns play a foundational role in re-establishing healthy vascular and cardiovascular health. The DASH diet, characterized by high intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy, has been associated with improved vascular function. 

Glycemic control is equally important. Diets high in healthy fats and proteins, and low in processed sugar or simple carbs support healthy blood sugar levels. Stable blood sugar levels are supportive of overall cardiovascular health. 

Foods high in antioxidants and polyphenols are also supportive of healthy vascular function. Examples include berries, leafy greens, and omega-3 fatty acids from fish.

Physical Activity, Sleep, and Stress Management

Movement, sleep, and stress recovery are essential tools for cardiovascular health. They are typically core pillars in wellness plans with a functional or integrative focus. 

Movement recommendations typically include a blend of resistance training, aerobic capacity work, and frequent low-intensity movement. 

Sleep protocols address duration, consistency, and light/noise/temperature hygiene.

Stress programs can combine mindfulness, breathwork, and cognitive tools.

Sample targets:

• AHA recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity movement
• 7-8 hours of consistent, high-quality sleep per night
• Incorporating mindfulness techniques where possible

Research backs these small shifts as hugely beneficial for cardiovascular health. These pillars support systemic and cardiovascular health and reinforce sustainable gains from other aspects of a wellness plan like supplementation or nutrition.

Supplement Support in Heart Health

Many functional and integrative clinicians, or providers with a whole-person approach use supplements to support cardiovascular health. Clinicians suggest supplements based on individualized assessments, needs, targets, and goals.

Core supplements for cardiovascular health include:

• Omega-3 fatty acids for healthy oxidative balance
• Magnesium for vascular tone and sleep quality
• CoQ10 to support mitochondrial efficiency
• Arterosil HP to support the endothelial glycocalyx (EGX) and the health of the artery walls*
• Vascanox HP to support blood pressure already in the normal range*

Learn more about Arterosil HP and Vascanox HP. If you are a healthcare provider, visit our education hub to dive deeper into the science behind these two supplements.

Technology-Enabled and Virtual Cardiovascular Health Support

Remote monitoring is the use of connected devices and telehealth to track health outside the clinic and guide real-time adjustments. In recent years, virtual visits and remote monitoring has extended into people’s homes, enabling proactive check-ins, faster feedback loops, and earlier course corrections for individuals and clinicians.

Some offered technologies:

• Continuous glucose monitors for real-time nutrition and activity calibration
• Wearables for tracking heart rate, movement, sleep, and recovery
• Secure digital platforms for coaching, education, and regular team touchpoints

When used in partnership with a healthcare practitioner, these digital tools track progress towards personalized wellness.

Continual Assessment and Adjustment

Functional, integrative, and all other clinicians focused on whole-person health typically form long term partnerships with individuals to help promote overall health and wellness. Continual tracking and assessment is usually a key part of these wellness plans, to ensure proper progress is being made and to make adjustments as needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tests are used for early cardiovascular health assessment?

Clinicians use advanced biomarkers, microbiome analysis, nutrient panels, and imaging when appropriate for a comprehensive profile. Questionnaires about history and lifestyle are also important aspects of heart health.

How are diet and lifestyle incorporated into cardiovascular wellness plans?

Personalized nutrition, diets high in antioxidants and polyphenols, consistent movement, sleep hygiene, and daily stress reduction practices can help support overall health and cardiovascular health.

Do functional or integrative clinicians ever use traditional approaches?

Yes. Many clinicians who focus on functional or integrative approaches blend a mix of traditional and functional approaches in their wellness plans, which are personalized to the individual and their unique profile, targets, needs and preferences.

What supplements do functional and integrative practitioners recommend for heart health?

There are many supplements recommended by functional clinicians for heart health, including omega-3s, CoQ10, magnesium, Arterosil HP, and Vascanox HP.*