Carotid Artery Ultrasound and Longevity

The opposite of longevity is death. If longevity is what we seek we must obsess about death, and those things that increase the risk of us dying.

#1 Killer – Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer on the block claiming the lives of 1 in every 3 people worldwide. Almost 1 million people a year die from cardiovascular disease in the United States alone, often due to events like heart attacks and strokes. The main cause of cardiovascular disease is atherosclerosis. 

Atherosclerosis 

Thickening and hardening of the artery walls caused by the deposition of plaque (made of cholesterol, fats, other materials) into the blood vessel walls. Plaques can slowly grow causing occlusion of a blood vessel (stenosis). Plaques can also rupture, leading to blood clots (ischemic heart attacks, strokes, and other infarctions). Plaques can also break away from the walls, forming emboli (also causing ischemic heart attacks, strokes, and other infarctions).

Infarction: Obstruction of blood supply to an organ or region of tissue (usually from a blood clot or embolis)

Thickening of blood vessel walls, plaques, and restriction of blood flow can all be visualized using Carotid ultrasound. In the body, if blood vessel disease (e.g. atherosclerosis) is seen at one area, it is likely present in other areas as well. As such:

Carotid Ultrasound is a very important Longevity Metric. 

For the complete blog post check out fullscope.org/blog or longetrics.org/blog

Visual Accuity and Longevity

Happy Halloween everybody! Hope everybody is dressing up, My kids are being Spiderman, Boba Fett, and a black cat. I am going out as Darth Vader. If you are new to parenting, you are probably also realizing that candy is an alcohol equivalent for children and they literally become “drunk” after several pieces of concentrated sugar. Sorry Mormon church…..concentrated sugar is a drug.

 But enough about candy!

Today on Full Scope, we are going to talk about a very important Longevity Metric – Visual Accuity, or how clearly a person can see things.

For longevity metrics, we are going to look through 3 lenses

1.        Common-Sense: Does it make sense that a given metric would impact longevity

2.        Clinical: Do I see evidence that a given metric impacts longevity in my clinical practice

3.        Research: Do research studies demonstrate that a metric impacts longevity.

So HERE WE GO

Check out fullscope.org/blog or longetrics.org/blog for the complete post.

To see how visual acuity is measured at Longetrics, check out our youtube channel Longevity Metrics @BillBrandenburgMD.

Health and longevity are measurable, quantifiable, and malleable. The first step toward health optimization is awareness. Awareness starts with measuring. Because:

“What gets measured gets managed” 

-              Said by many, made famous by Peter Drucker (known for modern management theory)

-              This idea is why I moved from primary care to longevity medicine. More about this at the end.

Welcome to Season 6 of Full Scope! This season is all about how to measure health and longevity. We are going to go over:

-              All of the tests utilized at Longetrics to measure health and longevity in Your Longevity Report Card

-              Videos of how to perform each test (https://www.youtube.com/@BillBrandenburgMD)

-              A podcast and a blog about what each of these tests (the longevity metrics) means regarding a person’s health and longevity (+ some tips about how to improve them).

Saddle Up!

Visit Longetrics.org/blog or fullscope.org/blog for the complete post

Your Longevity Report Card

Today on Full Scope, I want to talk to you about Longetrics comprehensive, longevity focused, health screening, Your Longevity Report Card. 

Full disclosure, this service is how I make a living. As such, all of the recommendations and ideas in this podcast contain an inherent conflict of interest. 

But, please understand, I have spent over 1-million dollars, tens of thousands of hours, and shouldered great risk to build this. Hopefully this podcast will be useful for:

-              Patients considering Your Longevity Report Card or another comprehensive health screening.

-              Medical providers building health screenings for their own practice

-              Anyone thinking about how to optimize there health and wondering what strategies and diagnostics to think about.

Why Did I Build Your Longevity Report Card? 

For the complete Blog post, visit Longetrics.org/blog or FullScope.org/blog

There is a buzz about longevity. Many people feel that we are on the brink of a lifespan revolution. There is talk of making living to 100 the new norm. But the reality is just the opposite.  

So, I thought I should.

The truth:

Life expectancy is actually declining. Since its peak in 2014, the average lifespan in the United State has declined about 0.5 years. This may not sound like much. But considering the trend has been consistent and represents the average of a population of over 300 million people, it’s a hug deal. 

My big fear…..This is just the beginning and that this trend will continue. 

Why? Because even though we have more and better medical technology than ever, our environment is increasingly unhealthy. The world has become obesogenic, diabetogenic, and addicted. This is crippling our ability to live long and live well.

Figure 1: Life Expectancy from Birth (2003 – 2023)

Visit Longetrics.org/blog or fullscope.org/blog for the complete post!

The hype around longevity is huge in 2025. Money is pouring into the space. Longevity Start-ups are launching. Big claims are everywhere. But is all the hype justified?

What can longevity medicine actually deliver now? 

Let's start with some quotes: Listen carefully. These come from leaders in the Longevity space. Do these quotes/claims sound true? Do you believe they are possible?

Dave Asprey: “Im going to live to atleast 180 years”

Mark Hyman: “Im 63 years old, but my biological age is 43”

David Sinclair: “Why we age, and why we don’t have to”

Fountain Life: “Live 100 healthy years”

My Responses to these Claims

Check out FullScope.org/blog or Longetrics.org/blog for the complete post!

Thanks for listening!

Bill Brandenburg, MD

Longevity Philosophy

5 Big Ideas That Will Deliver More Years NOW

The longevity space is filled with empty claims! For example:

-              This supplement will extend your life (C15, spermidine, D3, fish oil, etc.)

Truth: 

No supplement has ever been shown to extend human life in all comers (outside of a nutrient deficiency). If your Longevity provider has you on a supplement subscription for life extension…..you are being played. 

-              This drug, peptide, hormone will extend life

Truth: 

No drug, peptide, or hormone has ever been shown to extend lifespan in all comers in a human clinical research trial (outside of a specific clinical indication. E.g. hypertension [referred to as a mortality benefit]). Some commonly used “longevity treatments” like growth hormone, may even shorten life.

-              AI will revolutionize longevity and we are close to longevity escape velocity.

Truth: 

AI is revolutionizing data accumulation, handling, and analysis. However AI is yet to extend lifespan in humans at all. Until AI leads to any measurable life extension, this claim remains unproven. Until we can measurably slow aging (beyond proven lifestyle interventions), longevity escape velocity will remain in the realm of science fiction.

Visit Fullscope.org or longetrics.org for the complete blog post.

Today we are going over the basics of DEXA. This will help patients understand the test and what is being measured. It will also help clinical providers understand this test better. Let's dive in!

The Basics

DEXA stands for Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry

-              Xray machine used for analyzing body composition

-              Great at telling the difference between bone, fat, and lean tissue (mostly muscle)

-              Uses 2 xray beams of different energies for this, hence Dual (via subtracting attenuation coefficients….or something like that)

-              Most studied and widely used tool for looking at bone density

-              USPSTF recommends all women over age 65 get one

-              But 65 is way to late to get your first DEXA. The Cliff of old age is already luming at that point.

-              I recommend getting one in your 20s or 30s to get a baseline and to help plan for the future. This will give you decades to improve things like bone density or get more muscled.

Check out FullScope.org or Longetrics.org for the complete blog posts.

Muscle is your bodies bank account. It is the currency of life. It is biological gold.

Quote: “I lift weights, and I lift weights for 1 reason, to be strong” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Deadlifts

Deadlift: Lifting a weight from the floor to hip level. We use this movement anytime we pick something up off the ground. 

Everyone should know this movement. Everyone should be able to deadlift their body weight, full stop (ideally much more)

Max weight ever Deadlifted: 

Visit longetrics.org/blog or fullscope.org/blog for the complete blog post.

Quote: “In movement, there is life” – Aristotle

“Genius starts with the abs Max” – The Grinch

Muscle is your bodies bank account. It is the currency of life. It is biological gold.

Why Do People Need Nursing Homes?

As a hospitalist I frequently have to place people in nursing homes

. I estimate that the reason why >90% cannot live at home anymore…….NOT ENOUGH STRENGTH. Think: needs help standing, needs help walking, unable to go up steps, unable to lift a dinner plate, etc. Additionally, I have noticed that as soon as muscle goes, cognition follows. Want to maintain your independence as you age? Start by maintaining your physic (aka – muscle)

Most people are concerned about having enough money for retirement. But, what people should be concerned about is having enough muscle. No-one can give this to you. It must be earned over years and decades.

You cant just talk about it, you have to do it. – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Strength peaks in our late 20s and early 30s. After this it declines by about 1-2% per year in most people. This decline is accelerated in the last 1 or 2 decades of life as we literally wither away.

Functions of Skeletal Muscle

-              Movement

-              Posture, Stability, and Joint Health

-              Metabolic Health 

-              Neurological and Brain Health 

-              Store of Nutrients and Protein

-              Heat Production

-              Circulation (particularly venous)

-              Protection and Padding

-              Communication (facial expressions, posture, gesturing, etc.)

-              Attraction and Reproduction

Did you know: 

The best way to prevent dementia is physical exercise.

See https://www.longetrics.org/blog for the complete blog post