DR. DANIEL CHONG
I believe the best approach to preventing cardiovascular disease combines the strongest available scientific evidence with a deep understanding of the individual. It means looking beyond cholesterol numbers, blood pressure readings, and prescriptions to identify and address the underlying factors driving disease.
This philosophy has guided my work as a naturopathic physician for more than 25 years and led me to develop an approach that brings together lifestyle medicine, preventive cardiology, clinical lipidology, and functional cardiometabolic medicine.
My Story
Growing up in Hawaii, I developed a deep connection to nature and an appreciation for healthy living. Being active, spending time outdoors, and living in harmony with the natural world were simply part of life.
As I grew older, I became increasingly interested in how our daily choices influence long-term health and how I could help others live healthier, longer lives. That passion led me to study naturopathic medicine at the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, Oregon, where I graduated in 2000 and began my career as a licensed naturopathic physician.
My goal was to help people prevent disease, restore health, and thrive through approaches that support the body's natural capacity to heal. That goal hasn't changed, but my understanding of how best to accomplish it has continued to evolve.
Why I Focus on Cardiovascular Disease
Over the years, I became increasingly drawn to cardiovascular disease, both because it remains a leading cause of death and disability and because so much of it is potentially preventable.
I also recognized a significant gap in healthcare. Conventional medicine has developed remarkable diagnostic tools and lifesaving treatments, yet often places insufficient emphasis on addressing the underlying causes of cardiovascular disease, and overemphasis on medications. At the same time, natural and alternative medicine sometimes promotes approaches without adequate scientific support.
I didn't want to be limited by either paradigm.
I wanted to understand cardiovascular disease from as many scientifically credible perspectives as possible and bring the best of those approaches together for my patients. That commitment continues to shape my work today.
A Unique Combination of Training and Experience
My professional education brings together four complementary areas of cardiovascular and preventive medicine:
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Naturopathic and Lifestyle Medicine — National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM)
Comprehensive medical training emphasizing nutrition, lifestyle, prevention, and addressing underlying contributors to disease. -
Clinical Lipidology — European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS)
Advanced education in cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular risk, and evidence-based lipid management. -
Cardiometabolic Medicine — American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M)
Certificate training with Dr. Mark Houston and Dr. Joel Kahn, integrating cardiovascular medicine, metabolic health, nutrition, and prevention. -
Advanced Cardiovascular Risk Assessment — BaleDoneen Method and SHAPE Society
Specialized training in identifying cardiovascular disease, assessing risk beyond traditional testing, and preventing heart attacks and strokes.
This unusually broad combination of training allows me to evaluate cardiovascular health from multiple perspectives rather than relying on any single medical philosophy. I also served for four years as a clinical consultant with Boston Heart Diagnostics, helping healthcare professionals interpret advanced cardiovascular testing, and have served as a contributing editor in cardiology for The Natural Medicine Journal.
What Makes My Approach Different?
I consider myself an integrative physician in the truest sense of the term. To me, integrative medicine isn't simply combining conventional and natural treatments. It's evaluating the available evidence, understanding the strengths and limitations of different approaches, and choosing what is most appropriate for each individual.
I don't believe in being rigidly attached to any particular treatment protocol, or medical paradigm. I believe in following the evidence wherever it leads. In cardiovascular prevention, this means looking beyond standard risk factors through advanced lipid and metabolic testing, relevant biomarkers, and imaging when appropriate to identify and monitor atherosclerosis.
For treatment, this also means considering the bigger picture: nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, genetics, metabolic health, and personal circumstances. The goal isn't simply to improve lab results. It's to reduce your actual cardiovascular risk and support your long-term health.
Lifestyle First. Evidence Always.
I believe nutrition and lifestyle are foundational to cardiovascular health, not simply optional additions to medical treatment. They can profoundly influence many of the processes driving cardiovascular disease while benefiting overall health, sometimes so powerfully they are all that is needed, even with atherosclerosis (plaque) having already been diagnosed. However, lifestyle interventions aren't always enough, and for some people, medications and other conventional treatments, in addition to lifestyle medicine not instead of it, can be important, even essential, for meaningfully reducing cardiovascular risk.
My approach is to combine the safest and most effective strategies for each individual, prioritizing lifestyle while incorporating medications when appropriate. Whenever possible, I aim to minimize unnecessary medications and interventions without compromising the effectiveness of care.
My Commitment to You
After more than 25 years in practice, one thing has become increasingly clear: good medicine requires both scientific rigor and an appreciation for the complexity of the individual. No two people have exactly the same cardiovascular risk profile, health history, or goals. Their treatment plans shouldn't be identical either.
My role is to help you understand your cardiovascular health, identify what matters most, and develop a practical, personalized plan grounded in the best available evidence. I remain committed to continually learning, questioning assumptions, and refining my approach as new research emerges.
Ultimately, my goal isn't simply to help you avoid a heart attack or stroke. It's to do so as safely as possible, and to help you live a longer, healthy, active life, with confidence in the choices you are making to do so.
