Naturopathic Medicine

The Trouble with Heart Disease

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Herat Health

According to the Centers for Disease Control, heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death in the United States for both men and women. This equates to more than 35% of all deaths. It is estimated that more than 80 million Americans have one or more types of cardiovascular disease. The bottom line: 920,000 people will die of a have a heart attack this year and 780,000 will have a stroke.

Do I have your attention? The CDC estimates the price tag of heart disease and stroke to be more than $448 billion in 2008. And, as baby boomers age, the economic impact will only grow. The costs are high and we cannot afford to keep this up. So where do we go from here? In a word: prevention. We know the mantra: stop smoking, lower your cholesterol, control your blood pressure, lose weight and exercise. Great! We all agree. However, holistic practitioners have long treated the process of cardiovascular disease as a manifestation of chronic inflammation. It is only in recent years that conventional medicine has started to understand this, and yet some Western medical practitioners still do not recognize inflammation as part of the process.

So what do you do? First, read my posting on inflammation, and start making lifestyle changes right away. Second, get a thorough evaluation in the form of a physical exam and laboratory testing. I recommend the following blood tests:

  • Total Cholesterol, HDL, LDL & Triglycerides: We will discuss this at length next month.
  • Fibrinogen: This substance is responsible for platelet stickiness and is an integral part of blood clotting. Increased fibrinogen is a sign that your blood is thick, and thus, you are at increased risk for heart attack and stroke.
  • C-Reactive Protein (CRP): This is a marker for inflammation in the body, including the inflammation in blood vessels. It can be used to assess risk for cardiovascular disease. In the process of coronary artery disease, the atherosclerotic plaques rupture and ulcerate, which creates increased CRP.
  • Homocysteine: This is a fancy word for a snippet of an amino acid called methionine. Elevated levels of methionine come from a diet rich in meat. If there is not enough vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folic acid present when methionine breaks down, it forms homocysteine. Unfortunately, homocysteine is not too nice to arteries. I won’t bore you with all the biochemistry, but in short, it produces chemicals that damage arteries.
  • Lipoprotein-a… aka Lp(a): Like cholesterol, Lp(a) is a fatty, sticky substance made in the liver in response to damage in arterial walls. By producing cholesterol and Lp(a), the body is trying to “patch up” the arteries. Because it is so sticky, however, Lp(a) is very effective in its ability to patch by attracting even more Lp(a); the buildup forms plaques which can ultimately block blood flow in the arteries. A high Lp(a) is genetically linked.

There is no time like the present. Cardiovascular disease is a disease of inflammation, and inflammation is the result, in large part, of lifestyle choices. Make smart choices. Get your labs done. Let’s meet back in a month to discuss cholesterol and the trouble with cholesterol lowering medications. Until then…

Take care of your (whole) self—

Amy Bader, ND

Posted in Anti-inflammation Diet, Healing Through Diet, Holistic Health, Naturopathic Medicine: Amy Bader, Nutrition, Tips for Healthy Living

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