Your Healthy Heart  

It is critically important to have the mindset of a  Medical Detective to achieve proper evaluation and successful treatment (leaflady)

Blood Pressure Care Naturally©, the first book in our Road to Health Natural Care Series, on what you can do naturally to help lower and maintain a healthy blood pressure level is available.
Print Copies of Blood Pressure Care Naturally© are now available, $10.95 includes USPS delivery.

Women and Heart Dis-ease - I can not encourage you enough to evaluate the Oral Chelation / Longevity Plus formula.

This formula is effective: IV (intravenous) chelation doctors have been offering this exact formula to their patients for over 7 years with effective results.

Many women report using this formula as a cardiovascular health prevention measure. Other women have improved their health conditions while taking these formulas resulting in their doctors reducing or eliminating prescription medications.

Oral Chelation / Longevity Plus Formula has the ability to address many symptoms. 

"Beta Blockers Can Raise the Risk of Stroke Say Scientists"
Blood pressure drugs prescribed for 2 million Britons increase the risk of a stroke, researchers said last night. A major study found that patients taking the most common beta blocker face a 26% higher chance of suffering a stroke than if they were on other medicine.

Beta blockers have been prescribed for 3 decades, but researchers say doctors should no longer prescribe them as a first-line of treatment for high blood pressure.

The latest study pooled data from 13 trials involving over 105,000 patients & is on 'The Lancet' online version. The beta blocker drug atenolol had the highest stroke risk at 26%. Those on other beta blockers had a 19% increased risk. Last year the NHS spent 23million on atenolol.

Last year a study found beta blockers were no better than placebos at preventing heart attacks.

Vegetarians - Caution  Folic Acid has been extensively studied for its role in reducing Homocysteine levels, and has more scientific documentation supporting its role as a Homocysteine inhibitor than any other ingredient. Folic Acid neutralizes the formation of Homocysteine in the bloodstream, thereby helping to lower concentration levels. Vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine) affects both mental and physical health, and plays an integral role in the healthy functioning of most of our body systems. Studies have demonstrated this vitamin's association with inhibiting the formation of Homocysteine. Vitamin B-12 (Cyanocobalamin) aids both Vitamin B-6 and Folic Acid in regulating the formation of Homocysteine. It is interesting to note that vegetarians often have mildly high Homocysteine levels, possibly due to Vitamin B-12 deficiency, and the lack of healthy fat in the diet. 

Radiation-Induced Heart Disease
Posted 02/11/2004, J. Willis Hurst, MD, MACP

I believe it is generally known that radiation to the chest can cause pericarditis, coronary artery disease, and myocardial disease. It is not generally appreciated that radiation of the chest may cause aortic valve disease.

Heidenreich and his colleagues studied 294 asymptomatic patients who had radiation of the mediastinum for Hodgkin's disease.[1] They found that a greater percentage of patients who received radiation 20 years before evaluation had a higher incidence of aortic regurgitation than those patients who had received irradiation within 10 years. 

the above is of specific importance to women who subject themselves to annual mammography, when less harmful detection methods are available (leaflady).

Blood Pressure Treatment Usually Fails - More than 43 million Americans have high blood pressure (hypertension), but less than one third of them have achieved targeted levels of blood pressure. Even among the 23.4 million who take antihypertensive medications, only 42.9% of these patients actually get their blood pressure down to acceptable levels. This failure to adequately treat high blood pressure could cost $1 billion in excess health costs due to stroke, heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure and other illnesses, according to the study.  from the American Society of Hypertension May 2000

Unfortunately, the authors of the study only recommend that blood pressure be treated more aggressively using standard medications. Nothing is said concerning diet, exercise, stress reduction, or any natural supplements to help reduce blood pressure.

Lifestyle (British Medical Journal January 29, 2000;320:273-278) is very influential on blood pressure. Also, several supplements, including vitamin C (Lancet December 18, 1999; 354 ) and magnesium might be of benefit. Of course most important of all is diet modification.

Rhabdomyolysis is a fatal side effect of cholesterol lowering statin drugs that was responsible for the eventual recall of the Baychol in August 2001. Defined as a disorder involving injury to the kidney caused by toxic effects of the contents of muscle cells, rhabdomyolysis can become fatal. Rhabdomyolysis is a very rare side effect of prescription drugs but had been associated to statin use. Baycol was the first statin directly linked to death because of rhabdomyolysis.

When the muscle is damaged from rhabdomyolysis, it releases pigments from the muscle and blood into the bloodstream. The kidney then filters the pigments out of the blood and it accumulates in the kidney and blocks up the filtering portion of the kidney, causing kidney failure. At the time of the Baycol recall, there had been 32 FDA reports of Baycol deaths attributed to severe rhabdomyolysis in the U.S. in addition to 20 Baycol deaths outside of the U.S. Presently, there have been over one hundred deaths due to rhabdomyolysis and Baycol use, but Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the Public Citizen consumer group thinks that hundreds of Baycol patients have suffered from rhabdomyolysis attacks. Only about a fraction of the actual drug adverse effects are likely reported.

Rhabdomyolysis pain as a result of Baycol use can occur in specific muscles or more generalized, but most often rhabdomyolysis pain occurs in the calves and lower back. Rhabdomyolysis was often mistaken for symptoms of the flu, further postponing proper treatment and allowing the potentially deadly condition to progress into more advanced stages. Rhabdomyolysis is diagnosed through a blood test to measure the creating kinase levels. An elevated level of creatine kinase in the blood indicates skeletal muscle necrosis, and when myoglobin is found in the urine, rhabdomyolysis and kidney failure may be present.

Severe rhabdomyolysis symptoms may include:
* Muscle pain
* Weakness
* Malaise
* Fever
* Dark Urine
* Nausea
* Vomiting

Folic Acid Supplementation Improves Coronary Blood Flow
In a recent doubled-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of individuals with coronary heart disease, researchers found supplementation with high-dose folic acid (30 mg per day) improves blood flow to the heart muscle via the coronary arteries. Using positron emission tomography (PET scanning), researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital noted significant improvement in coronary blood flow with folic acid supplementation compared to placebo. The improvement was especially enhanced in areas of the heart that had shown reduced blood flow prior to supplementation. Folic acid supplementation also significantly lowered the study participants’ blood pressure. Folic acid is already known to increase peripheral blood flow by increasing nitric oxide in vascular endothelial cells and to reduce homocysteine levels in the blood. Homocysteine is an amino acid that is an independent risk factor for heart attack, stroke, miscarriage, and Alzheimer’s disease. The findings from the high-dose folate study demonstrate another significant way this nutrient benefits the cardiovascular system. J Am Coll Cardiol 2005;45:1580-1584.

Kelly GS. Folates: supplemental forms and therapeutic applications. Altern Med Rev 1998;3(3):208-220.

"Homocysteine (H), is a toxic substance produced by your body. Your H level is the best single indicator of whether you are going to live a long and healthy life, or die young. A high H level is a greater risk factor for heart disease than cholesterol. High Homocysteine has been directly linked to over 100 diseases including: 

Alzheimer's • Arthritis • Cancer • Chronic fatigue • Depression • Diabetes • Headaches • Heart attacks • Infertility • Obesity • Pregnancy problems
• Rapid ageing • Strokes • Thyroid problems • Ulcers

You might appear fit – you exercise, don't smoke and probably eat a 'well balanced diet'. So why the heart problem? It's all to do with the single most important risk factor for heart disease, called homocysteine, which your doctor has probably never checked. Homocysteine levels are not only raised by stress, but they are very strongly linked with repressed anger. Being under stress depletes the body of the mineral magnesium, the major symptom of which is atrial fibrillation. The combination of high homocysteine and low magnesium increases a person's risk of a heart attack eight-fold. Too much coffee also raises homocysteine and lowers magnesium. If this is your situation ask your health care provider about supplementing your diet with magnesium, folic acid and B12 immediately; eat more seeds, dark green vegetables – the best being spinach, Tender stem broccoli and beans; quit all caffeine; make your life less stressful!

One in two people dies from preventable dis-eases, and one in two people has a high H level. The question is, which one are you?

To maintain a healthy homocysteine level, you need to supplement a good diet with a combination of special nutrients. These are the B vitamins B2, B6, B12 and folate, the mineral zinc, plus TMG. The amounts you need of each nutrient will depend on your H level. Once you know this, refer to see your ideal dose. Notice that as your H score drops closer to and is maintained at the super-healthy range, your daily need for these supplemental nutrients also decreases accordingly." from Patrick Holford 

Doctors report that you can reduce your risk of a heart attack as much as 26.1% --simply by taking a garlic supplement

Thyroid malfunction and heart irregularities can be related.  Get a complete thyroid panel, and adrenal function testing, to insure proper health evaluation.

"B Vitamins Reduce Cardiac Events After Angioplasty" 6 months of vitamins B6, B12 &  folic acid to reduce homocystiene can substantially reduce the risk of heart attacks, death or repeat surgery, say Swiss researchers.
553 patients received folic acid at 1mg a day, B12 at 400 ug a day & B6 at 10mg a day, or a placebo. Although researchers don't know the optimal doses of each B vitamin, these results support other studies showing that simple nutritional therapy is among the most effective ways to preserve heart health. (JAMA, 2002: 288: 973-9)

Remember to take a complete B complex as a foundation, then add B6, B12 and Folic acid as extras to prevent loss of B vitamins, and lowered effectiveness.

Risk Levels Based on Resting Heart Rates
*Below 64 beats/minute = In the healthy range,
*64 to 69 beats/minute = Mild risk,
*70 to 75 beats/minute = Moderate risk,
*Over 76 beats/minute = High risk.

One in two people dies from preventable dis-eases, and one in two people has a high H level. The question is, which one are you?To maintain a healthy homocysteine level, you need to supplement a good diet with a combination of special nutrients. These are the B vitamins B2, B6, B12 and folate, the mineral zinc, plus TMG. The amounts you need of each nutrient will depend on your H level. Once you know this, refer to see your ideal dose. Notice that as your H score drops closer to and is maintained at the super-healthy range, your daily need for these supplemental nutrients also decreases accordingly." from Patrick Holford 

"Honey Could Keep Your Heart Sweet"
 A study by Dr. Nicki Engeseth at Illinois Univ, of 25 men aged 18-68 found drinking a mix of (raw) honey & water improved antioxidant levels in their blood. This helps prevent narrowing arteries in the way that apples & spinach do.

Cholesterol - Two tablespoons of (raw) honey and three teaspoons of cinnamon powder mixed into 16 ounces of tea water, can aid in the reduction of cholesterol levels in the blood by 10% within a two hour period. As mentioned above for arthritic patients, if this mixture is ingested 3 times day, chronic cholesterol can be lowered. Pure honey, also ingested daily without cinnamon, taken together with food, is an aid in lowering cholesterol levels.

Using sesame oil instead of other cooking oils helps reduce high blood pressure and lower the amount of medication required to control high blood pressure, said a study by researchers in India. The study looked at the effect of sesame oil on 328 people with hypertension who were taking 10 to 30 milligrams a day of the calcium channel blocker drug nifedipine, which lowers blood pressure by relaxing arterial membranes. They consumed an average of 35 grams of sesame oil a day for 60 days. The study found using sesame oil as their sole cooking oil lowered their blood pressure levels from 166 mm Hg systolic to 134 mm Hg and from 101 mm diastolic to 84.6 mm Hg.

Niacin for lipid disorders. Indications, effectiveness, and safety. A Review - Brown WV. Postgraduate Medicine. 98(2):185-9, 192-3, 1995 Aug. Abstract: Niacin can be very effective and safe in lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels and also in increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. In combination with other lipid-lowering drugs (eg, bile acid sequestrants), it has reduced the incidence of cardiovascular events and stopped the progression of coronary artery lesions. It may be the most cost-effective lipid-lowering agent currently available. At lower doses, sustained-release forms of niacin may also improve patient compliance.

Eating one carrot daily slashes stroke risk 68%.  

Eating three stalks of celery daily lowers blood pressure.

"Homocysteine (H), is a toxic substance produced by your body. Your H level is the best single indicator of whether you are going to live a long and healthy life, or die young. A high H level is a greater risk factor for heart disease than cholesterol. High Homocysteine has been directly linked to over 100 diseases including:  

Alzheimer's • Arthritis • Cancer • Chronic fatigue • Depression • Diabetes • Headaches • Heart attacks • Infertility •  Obesity • Pregnancy problems • Rapid ageing • Strokes • Thyroid problems • Ulcers

You might appear fit – you exercise, don't smoke and probably eat a 'well balanced diet'. So why the heart problem? It's all to do with the single most important risk factor for heart disease, called homocysteine, which your doctor has probably never checked. Homocysteine levels are not only raised by stress, but they are very strongly linked with repressed anger. Being under stress  depletes the body of the mineral magnesium, the major symptom of which is atrial fibrillation. The combination of high homocysteine and low magnesium increases a person's risk of a heart attack eight-fold. Too much coffee also raises homocysteine and lowers magnesium. If this is your situation ask your health care provider about supplementing your diet with magnesium, folic acid and B12 immediately; eat more seeds, dark green vegetables – the best being spinach, Tender stem broccoli and beans; quit all caffeine; make your life less stressful! 

Hawthorn helps Chronic Heart Failure - According to JAMA (2003; 114:665-674).  Hawthorn extracts have potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory functions and the ability to dilate blood vessels supplying the heart. In this study hawthorn increased endurance, relieved fatigue and shortness of breath, as well as improving heart function, with almost non side effects.  (I guess medicine is beginning to get back to its roots, where herbalists have always been).

Other heart helping herbs include motherwort, cactus grandiflora, mistletoe, linden...

Coenzyme Q 10 - an important supplement needed to replace the lost ability of the body to make it when you take the statin drugs for lowering cholesterol.  You'll need 100 mg to 300 mg daily.

Magnesium is nature's Beta Blocker - Magnesium is crucial for maintaining arterial health, normal blood pressure, and normal heart rhythm. 80% of Americans do not receive even the RDA for magnesium in their diet, and hundreds of published studies have implicated magnesium deficiency as a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and stroke. 

Vitamin C has long been considered the premier antioxidant and now a major study conducted by researchers at Cambridge University School of Clinical Medicine in the U.K. offers evidence that Vitamin C saves lives. They observed how many people died of cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease, cancer, and all causes in the groups studied. In every case, death rates were significantly lower among those with higher serum ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) levels. People with the highest ascorbic acid levels had half the risk of dying from all causes combined.

Don't forget your salt: About half of all people with hypertension are "salt-sensitive".  Their systems over react to salt by raising blood pressure.  The sensitive population is increasing.  More potassium, magnesium, and calcium seem to control the sensitivity.  So taking adequate amounts of these minerals in foods or supplements might be a better idea than drugs.  Use moderate levels of real salt, not processed salt from a box.

If you are scheduled to have an x-ray contrast study so your doctor can look at your vascular system, ask for a pre-test of the dye to be done 48 hours before the test.  This was standard medical practice when I worked in ICU many years ago. It might save your life by preventing respiratory arrest and anaphylactic shock if you are allergic to the dye.  This applies not only to your heart, but any test where a contrast dye is used.  Not too long ago I saved a man from respiratory arrest within 20 minutes of being sent home, following an arthrogram at a well known Seattle hospital.

Had your renin level checked lately?

Free Atherosclerosis Self-Test: 
Despite the fact that atherosclerosis is the number one cause of death in this country, very few screening procedures have been developed for the disease. Most doctors still rely on what is called the stress test.

You may have had a stress test yourself. It usually involves either walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bicycle while being hooked up to an electrocardiograph. By monitoring electrical impulses in the heart before, during and after exercise, doctors attempt to evaluate the efficiency of the small arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood. Unfortunately, stress tests are not that reliable and have more than their share of shortcomings.

Dr. Anne Newman of the Medical College of Pennsylvania has discovered a noninvasive screening tool for the early development of atherosclerosis. She has been testing what she calls the "ankle-arm index" or AAI. 

To determine your AAI or ankle-arm index you'll need a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope. If these aren't available, ask your doctor or nurse to take the pressures for you.

1. Take the blood pressure in the arm using the normal procedure. (As an example let's say this reading is 140 over 92. For the AAI we are only interested in the top number of 140.)
2. Next, take the blood pressure in the ankle. To do this step, you'll probably need some help. Lie down flat on your back, wrap the blood pressure cuff around the ankle just above the bony knot on the inside of the ankle (the medial malleolus). The chest piece of the stethoscope is placed below the cuff and just behind the inside bony knot. The cuff is inflated and the pressure taken just as it would be in the arm. 3. Make a fraction by using the top (systolic) blood pressure readings. The number from the ankle goes on top and obviously the one from the arm is on the bottom. Divide the bottom number into the top one.
Example:
Ankle Pressure --> 110
Arm Pressure ----> 140 = 0.78 Ankle-Arm Index
4. In a normal healthy individual the blood pressure is about the same or just slightly higher in the ankle and so a normal index would be 1.0 or greater.
What the results mean - Atherosclerosis is rare in the arm, but often begins to show up as poor circulation in the legs, which results in higher ankle pressures. Dr. Newman feels the breakpoint is about 0.9. Anything below 0.9 indicates atherosclerosis and an increased risk of dying from heart and artery disease. Someone who already has symptoms of poor circulation will have an index of less than 0.8 or 0.7. However, she has found that there is a large group of individuals whose indexes of 0.8 to 0.9 indicate an increased risk of disease, but whose physical examinations appear normal.

Pulse Pressure Determines Risk For Heart Disease 

Although current guidelines for the management of high blood pressure (BP) rest almost completely on the measurement of systolic (top) and diastolic (bottom) blood pressure, a new study has found that something known as the "pulse pressure" may actually be a better predictor of heart disease risk.

The pulse pressure is the difference between the systolic and diastolic pressures. For example someone with a blood pressure of 120/80 has a pulse pressure of 40.

This study was a meta-analysis combining the results of several studies, including nearly 8,000 elderly patients.

A 10-mm Hg increase in pulse pressure was found to increase the risk of major cardiovascular complications and mortality by nearly 20%

The authors contend that this association of pulse pressure to risk of heart disease helps to explain the apparent elevations in risk associated with low diastolic pressure.

The authors of the study note that some high blood pressure medications may actually increase the pulse pressure. For example, if someone has an elevated BP of 150/95 (pulse pressure = 55) and medication brings it down to 140/80 (pulse pressure = 60), then according to this study's findings, this person may actually be at GREATER risk of heart disease than before.

Pulse pressure is usually high with a condition known as aortic regurgitation, and low with aortic stenosis. Arch Intern Med. 2000; 160: 1085-1089.