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The Weill Cornell Longevity Medicine program was designed for adults of all ages. It’s never too early or too late to make health a priority. Our program incorporates the most up-to-date and evidence-based diagnostic and treatment options. Your team will ensure that you understand the rationale behind each test we perform for you, how the results impact our recommendations, and how to maximize your well-being.
Health is about much more than lab tests and medication regimens; it emerges from, and is determined by, our day-to-day habits and decisions. Better fitness means better function in body and mind, better ability to combat the effects of disease, and improved overall health at all ages. It’s for this reason that the program’s central focus is on progressively optimizing your fitness in a manner that is feasible and sustainable for you. With parallel attention to your diet and other aspects of your health, our program leaves no stone unturned.
The examples below highlight a few typical situations for which the program was designed:
The structure of the program will ensure that you learn where your greater fitness opportunities are, what to do, how to adapt to changing circumstances and how to monitor your progress. We will always keep your safety, limitations, and preferences in mind. Whether you complete one year of our program or remain a member for years to come, your future self will be grateful you made the decision to sign up with us.
Our longevity medicine program is situated within Weill Cornell Medicine’s vast network of expert specialists. As a result of your participation in our program, if we uncover a need for you to see a specialist, referrals will be provided. Your team will help to ensure that you get the care you need in a timely manner. Our approach goes above and beyond what is conventionally offered. Your longevity medicine team will collaborate with your other doctors to ensure that care coordination and alignment occur periodically during your participation in our program. Our exercise physiologists have worked with everyone from professional athletes to individuals of advanced age with complicated medical histories who had no prior exercise experience. We have all of the exercise equipment you need on site and you will receive personalized guidance and support. Our registered dietitians have years of experience working with individuals of diverse backgrounds and dietary preferences. From your dietary habits to your medical history, your medication regimen to your prior imaging studies, everything will be under one roof. We develop a complete picture of who you are as a patient and as a person to inform our shared goals and strategy. As the picture changes for the better, so too does the program.
Executive health physicals generally involve a single round of extensive testing and do not assess for strength. Our longevity medicine program includes quarterly visits, and this structure is better designed to support progressive health improvements.
The strength and performance aspects of our program are comprehensive.
Each visit will include time with a longevity medicine physician, exercise physiologist and registered dietitian.
No. This program has a focus that is separate from, but supportive of, care from your PCP and other specialty (e.g. cardiology, endocrinology, etc.) providers. If you do not yet have a PCP or wish to transition care to a new one, recommendations will be provided. If establishing care with a specialist is recommended by your longevity medicine physician, a referral will be provided; you will receive support from our staff to set up an appointment with one of Weill Cornell Medicine's world-class specialists in a timely manner.
While the use of certain medications or supplements may be recommended by your longevity medicine physician, prescribing medications and managing your existing medication regimen remain outside of the scope of your providers within the program. Your physician is the director of care as it pertains to your participation in the program. As a result of your participation in the program, your longevity medicine provider may provide recommendations that pertain to your care from your other providers. Each of these recommendations will be shared with you and, provided you grant permission, communicated to your other providers.
Our goal is to be transparent with you about potential benefits and potential harms to help you reach a personalized decision about whether this test is appropriate for you. One benefit of having a Full-Body MRI (FBMRI) procedure at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) as opposed to a private facility is that the scan is read by a team of WCM radiologists and you can be connected with one of our specialists for further management of any abnormalities detected.
Yes. The Galleri test is included as part of your participation in the program. This test uses a single blood sample to assess for the presence of cell-free DNA fragments. The information gained from the test provides an assessment for 50 types of cancer. The results of the Galleri test will be communicated to your providers when appropriate and will be used to inform recommendations to establish care with specialists for additional workup when necessary.
You will have quarterly meetings with a Registered Dietitian (RD) as well as a Lumen breath test and 30 days of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM). The Lumen breath test provides information about your metabolism, such as the percentage of energy that your body achieves from burning fat and carbohydrates. This fraction is influenced by both dietary and activity habits. Blood glucose levels fluctuate significantly according to dietary habits and other factors. The CGM data provides insight into these fluctuations and will be used to better inform optimal dietary recommendations for you. Another piece of information used by your RD will be a Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), which is obtained as part of cardiorespiratory fitness assessment. The RMR can be understood as the number of calories required to maintain your weight. If weight loss is part of your goal for health improvements, knowing your RMR can add detail to your daily calorie consumption target.
Despite its name, CardioRespiratory Fitness (CRF) provides information about much more than your heart and lungs. It represents a measure of the body’s ability to sustain physiologic stress. Numerous studies across millions of patients consistently find that CRF correlates with length of life to a much greater extent than any other health metric. CRF is measured most precisely and objectively by a VO2max assessment. VO2max pertains to the maximal amount of oxygen the body can extract from the atmosphere and improves progressively with greater fitness. VO2max assessments are included in the cost of the program. To accomplish the VO2max test, a mask is worn during an exercise activity to measure gas exchange. The program is equipped to measure VO2max as part of exercise on either a treadmill or a stationary bike, and is supervised by your exercise physiologist. This test takes about 30 minutes to complete after accounting for warm-up and cooldown phases. Your VO2max will be measured directly during your first visit. You will receive feedback on your VO2max result, including where it ranks relative to your age and gender, and how to improve it. Your VO2max will be tracked with your quarterly visits to provide information on the effectiveness of your endurance training routine.
Genetic testing ranges from Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) to more targeted testing for certain inheritable conditions. Targeted testing for the risk of select conditions (breast cancer, Alzheimer’s and others) is included in the longevity medicine program. The results of these tests will inform whether additional cancer-specific testing is indicated for you, and referrals will be provided as appropriate/necessary. For individuals interested in performing more extensive genetic testing, Weill Cornell Medicine has a separate program specialized for this purpose. More information about this program can be found here.
