The Important Truth About Cardiovascular Health

• Know Your Heart Health Profile
• Natural Solutions 
• Symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure and Promising Experimental Treatments

Did you know that most “heart” problems have nothing to do with the heart? In many cases, what is being labeled a heart problem is actually a plumbing problem—or a dysfunction within the circulatory system. Over time, your blood becomes overcrowded with excess clotting factors, proteins, fats, and other substances that create irritation and plaque buildup in arteries and veins, and potentially, clots that can starve your heart.

Cholesterol

You’re probably familiar with one of the warning signs of “polluted” blood—elevated cholesterol, particularly low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol. And, while it’s true that a high level of LDL cholesterol is associated with a higher risk for heart disease, the mere presence of LDL is not the problem. In fact, LDL is as important to the healthy functioning of your body as the cholesterol-removing “good” HDL. It’s the oxidation of LDL that moves you into the danger zone.

LDL carries much-needed cholesterol through the body. It helps digest fats, strengthen cell membranes, insulate nerves, and make hormones. LDL gets a bad rap because it is easily oxidized and derailed by free radicals—molecules with an unpaired electron looking to steal a mate from the next molecule down the line. When LDL cholesterol is damaged, its cholesterol delivery is impaired and arterial plaque build-ups are formed and can eventually break up and leave debris in the blood.

Lipoprotein A

Lipoprotein A or Lp(a), a cholesterol particle, is coming to the forefront as a substantial marker for potential heart problems. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) states that Lp(a) appears to regulate clot formation and inhibit blood thinning. It also repairs damaged or leaky blood vessels. The downside is that Lp(a) can also build up as deposits on arterial walls, which appears to increase in unstable diabetics and menopausal women, probably due to its relationship to estrogen.

JAMA has reported a study involving 2,191 men, ages 20 to 54, in which elevated levels of Lp(a) appear to be a strong predictor for the development of heart disease. Other studies have indicated that people with high Lp(a) levels have a 70-percent greater risk of developing heart disease over a ten-year period. Lp(a) does not respond to treatment with traditional cholesterol-lowering drugs, and is not as easy to control as other cholesterol factors.

Inflammation

Recently, cardiologists have focused on what may be the underlying factor in most heart-related incidents—chronic inflammation. And it’s not a moment too soon. A 1997 study carried out at Harvard and other leading medical schools found that chronic inflammation increased the risk of heart attack threefold and doubled the risk of stroke.

While a normal inflammatory response is one of our natural healing mechanisms, it is usually short-lived. But over time, our bodies can become chronically inflamed—losing the ability to regulate the inflammatory process. In this constant state of inflammation, small blood vessels stay dilated to allow for white blood cell activity. This has the potential to cause fluid to leak into surrounding tissue that can lead to swelling—congesting, constraining, and decreasing nutrients. Sensing a "wound," immune cells rush in to help, releasing free radicals in the process. Antioxidants try to respond but are inhibited by the inflammation.

The body then releases fibrin and other blood-clotting agents to try to mend the problem. The clotting factors start covering the wound like a bandage—trapping an abscess of inflammatory products underneath—rather than healing it. With each new flare-up, these products can become activated and burst the bandage, sending more debris into the blood and creating more inflammatory response.

Homocysteine

Homocysteine is a normal byproduct of protein metabolism, specifically of methionine, an amino acid found in red meat and milk products.

When homocysteine levels are high, oxidized LDL and free radical activity increases, blood vessels are irritated, and blood clots occur more easily.

High homocysteine levels can be caused by many factors including low levels of B vitamins; high consumption of caffeine and alcohol; excessive protein intake from meat and dairy sources; low intake of fruits and vegetables; low levels of thyroid hormone; kidney disease; some medicines; and deficiencies in enzymes used to process homocysteine in the body.

Elevated homocysteine levels have been implicated in 42 percent of strokes, 28 percent of peripheral vascular disease, and 30 percent of premature cardiovascular disease. JAMA reported a study showing that men with the highest five percent of serum homocysteine levels were 3.1 times more likely to have had a myocardial infarction than those in the bottom 90 percent.

Hypertension

Roughly 40 million Americans battle with hypertension. When blood pressure is too high, it pounds through the circulatory system, weakening blood vessels and making them vulnerable to toxins and oxidized LDL. Its symptoms can be subtle or non-existent. Having your blood pressure routinely checked is the best way to monitor this problem.

Be on the alert for headaches, chest pain or tightness, nosebleeds, numbness, tingling, excessive perspiration, muscle cramps, weakness, palpitations, frequent urination, ringing or hearing your heartbeat in your ears, and loss of peripheral vision.

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Know Your Heart Health Profile

While everyone should make heart health a priority, it certainly helps to know if you’re really facing a challenge in this area. Enlist the help of your doctor to help you determine your heart health profile. There are a number of tests your doctor can use to do this. Your doctor will certainly know the traditional tests, but be sure to ask about testing your level of Lipoprotein A and your inflammation markers. These markers are natural substances that serve necessary functions, but their chronic or elevated presence is of concern. (See The Important Truth about Blood Tests for Heart Disease)

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Symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure and Promising Experimental Treatments

What CHF feels like depends on which side of the heart is affected, and how it affects blood flow. Additionally some experimental treatments for CHF-from high-tech diagnostic tests to herbal remedies being tested in the East-are producing some encouraging results. For more information on the various symptoms of CHF and some potential treatment options in the future, click here.

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Natural Solutions

Once you’ve determined your heart health profile, you’ll have a better idea of what level of action you should take. Here are some safe, natural, effective, and drug-free therapies that can place you at low-risk for heart problems.

Raise your antioxidant level

• Take 2–3 g vitamin C (use buffered ascorbate if your stomach is sensitive), 400–800 IU vitamin E, 100–200 mcg selenium, 100 mg alpha lipoic acid, 30–90 mg coenzyme Q10, and a high-potency B-complex. Note: CoQ10 is particularly important if you’re taking statins, because these drugs rapidly decrease your supply of this protective nutrient.

Cut your cholesterol

• Supplement with 200–300 mg of pantethine (a form of B5) three times per day. Pantethine significantly lowers total cholesterol and LDL, and raises HDL by blocking its production and reducing the number of LDL carriers required to process cholesterol. Studies have shown that on average, pantethine can lower LDL cholesterol levels by 14 percent.
• Take 400 mg supplemental plant sterols three times daily—plant fats that fit neatly into cholesterol receivers, reducing the absorption of cholesterol without ever resorting to drugs.
• Add 600 mg artichoke leaf extract two to three times per day with meals. This extract has been studied for decades as an effective heart helper and more recently as a cholesterol-controlling plant extract. A 1996 double-blind study on its cholesterol-lowering effect on 44 healthy individuals, resulted in a significant decrease in cholesterol levels in those who had the highest starting levels of cholesterol.
• Take 500 mg gugulipids twice daily with meals (use a product standardized to 2.5 percent guggulsterones). Gugulipids increase the liver’s ability to break down cholesterol. Several clinical studies have shown supplemental use of gugulipids can effectively regulate total cholesterol, triglyceride, and HDL levels. Take 500 mg twice daily, with meals, of a product.
• Supplement with 10-15 mg of policosanol with dinner. Policosanol is an all-natural waxy derivative from sugar cane and other sources that act on the liver to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. In 13 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies conducted on patients with high cholesterol levels, policosanol consistently lowered LDL levels while boosting HDL levels. Five different clinical trials have shown policosanol’s effectiveness compared to simvastatin, lovastatin, and pravastatin. Make sure to adjust your dosage as your cholesterol begins to stabilize.

Lower your Lp(a)

• Supplement with 2–3 g of high-quality fish oil per day with meals. These essential fatty acids (EFAs) help block the inflammatory and blood-clotting abilities of Lp(a). Make coldwater fish such as salmon, halibut, Chilean sea bass, sardines, or mackerel part of your weekly diet. Nuts are also high in EFAs.
• Take 100–200 mg of inosital hexaniacinate (a close cousin of niacin without the uncomfortable side effects), four times a day with food. A study from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences reported a 35 percent decrease in Lp(a) after 26 weeks of using inosital hexaniacinate. It proved even more effective when combined with vitamin C.
• Avoid soy products. Although these foods have been found to be beneficial in preventing heart disease, the opposite is true when it comes to elevated Lp(a). A study published in July 2001 showed that soy protein raised Lp(a) levels by 15 percent.

Deflate inflammation

• Proteolytic enzymes are specialized proteins found in all living matter—there are over 3,000 in the human body. The enzymes that can help reduce inflammation are enteric-coated digestive enzymes, specifically proteolytic enzymes. They also help break down clotting factors in the blood, make red blood cells more flexible, and remove excess fibrin.
• Balance your intake of all the fatty acids, and if at all possible, avoid trans fatty acids. Anti-inflammatory fats are the omega-3s in dark, leafy green vegetables; flaxseed; walnuts; cold-water fish; wild game, and free-range, grass-fed beef. Omega-9 fats are found in olive oil, macadamia nuts, and avocados.
• Reduce acidic foods. If you consume more acids than your body can excrete, it will simply store the extra acid in surrounding tissues, agitating the area and triggering an inflammatory response. Acidic foods include most stimulants and processed snacks as well as sugar, alcohol, vinegar, coffee, meat, and dairy products. Extreme stress, pollutants, and strenuous physical activity can also produce acids that the body must deal with.
• As a general rule of thumb, the greener the vegetable, the more it will help increase alkalinity in the body. You can also take one-quarter to one-half teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate three to four times per day to help bring your acid levels under control.

Reduce your homocysteine

• Lower your homocysteine naturally within three months using three B vitamins. I recommend: 800 mcg folic acid, 400 mcg B12, and a high-quality B-complex plus 25–50 mg of B6 daily. After 8 to 12 weeks, have your levels retested. If they’re still high, you may need to increase your supplement intake or investigate other possible health concerns.
• Add dark leafy green vegetables, legumes, oranges, orange juice, and fortified cereals to your daily diet.
• Reduce your consumption of caffeine, alcohol, and protein (from meat and dairy sources).
• Consider getting your thyroid tested. Low levels of thyroid hormones are associated with high homocysteine.

Other heart-helping solutions

• Eat one to two cloves of garlic a day, or supplement the equivalent. Studies have shown an inverse relationship between high garlic consumption and low rates of heart disease. Garlic is indeed a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant that can reduce blood pressure and decrease cholesterol and the likelihood of internal blood clots.
• Keep aloe vera in the house. This time-tested wound healer is an excellent anti-inflammatory—both internally and externally. In addition to speeding up healing, aloe vera fights virus and infection by boosting the immune system, thereby reducing the need for your inflammatory system’s emergency reactions. When choosing an aloe product, look for one with Active Aloe™.
• Supplement with 100–120 mg of Pycnogenol. Pycnogenol is a natural antioxidant made from pine trees that has been found to be as effective as aspirin in reducing dangerous blood clotting. Due to its free radical fighting properties, it also helps reduce inflammation and the oxidation of LDL, and helps the body resist infections.
• Stop smoking. Smoking is a leading, controllable risk factor for heart disease. The toxic effect agitates tissues and is a given for chronic inflammation. All the supplements out there can’t protect you from its harmful effects.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Carrying excess weight, especially around the stomach, has been connected to inflammation in the body. Maintaining a healthy weight will not only help control inflammation, but will also reduce your risk for many other degenerative diseases.