What if the future of cardiology requires looking far beyond cholesterol numbers?
In this live Evolution of Medicine Podcast episode from the Institute for Functional Medicine Annual Conference, James Maskell speaks with Dr. James Carter about the changing landscape of cardiovascular care and the growing role of functional medicine within major healthcare institutions.
Drawing on his experience as an interventional cardiologist and leader of Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine, Dr. Carter explains why inflammation may be a more important driver of heart disease than many traditional risk factors. He discusses the limitations of relying solely on LDL cholesterol and risk calculators and highlights the importance of assessing inflammation, lifestyle factors, environmental exposures, gut health, and social determinants of health.
The conversation explores the power of listening to patients' stories and how personal experiences, stress, trauma, and social context shape biology and influence long-term health outcomes.
James and Dr. Carter also discuss innovative care models including shared medical appointments, community-based health programs, church partnerships, and teaching kitchens designed to improve access to preventive care and lifestyle medicine.
Additional topics include brain health, dementia prevention, interdisciplinary collaboration, healthcare transformation, and the future of functional medicine within large healthcare systems.
The episode concludes with Dr. Carter's vision for creating a healthcare model that combines scientific rigor, compassionate care, and whole-person medicine to improve health outcomes at scale.
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About the Guest:
Dr. James Carter is an interventional cardiologist and serves as Director of the Center for Functional Medicine and Vice Chair of Clinical Services within the Department of Wellness and Preventive Medicine at Cleveland Clinic.
After spending much of his career in community-based cardiology practice, Dr. Carter returned to academic medicine before being recruited to lead Cleveland Clinic's functional medicine program. His work focuses on integrating functional medicine principles into large-scale healthcare delivery systems while improving access to preventive and whole-person care.
Dr. Carter's clinical and educational interests include cardiovascular disease prevention, inflammation and cardiometabolic health, lifestyle medicine, shared medical appointments, community-based health initiatives, and the integration of functional medicine within conventional healthcare settings.
He is a leading advocate for addressing the biological, environmental, and social factors that contribute to chronic disease and believes that understanding the patient's story is essential to delivering effective healthcare.
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Social Handles:
Website: https://www.jamesmaskell.com/
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamesedwardmaskell/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesmaskell
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/FunctionalForum
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