Category Archives: Heart Disease

The Medical Myths of Heart Disease

Cardiovascular disease kills almost one million Americans each year. This number accounts for 41 percent of all deaths in the United States. In fact, cardiovascular disease claims more lives than the next eight leading causes of death combined, including cancer, accidents, and AIDS. And, despite an aggressive campaign launched by the American Heart Association to counter the epidemic of heart disease, one person dies every 33 seconds. For nearly four decades, we have relied on medical myths to guide us in our attempts to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease. We have been told to reduce our cholesterol, saturated-fat intake, and to take lipid-lowering medications. Unfortunately, these recommendations have been shown to actually increase the risk of premature death, strokes, heart attacks, anxiety and depression, suicide, senile dementia, and congestive heart failure.

Medical Myth Number One
Most health organizations and the public at-large are sold on the idea that high cholesterol is the main cause of arteriosclerosis and heart disease. However, a growing body of research is dispelling this medical myth. The prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, reported in 1994 that most individuals with coronary artery disease have normal cholesterol levels! Forty percent of all heart attacks occur in individuals with normal cholesterol levels. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that there is no evidence linking high cholesterol levels in women with heart disease. In fact, low cholesterol levels, especially after the age of forty-five, increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, depression, and early death. As reported in The Journal of Cardiology, “low cholesterol increases the risk of a heart attack.” Yes, you read this correctly. Low cholesterol increases the risk of a heart attack. To cite the medical experts from the famous Framingham study: For each 1 mg/dl drop of cholesterol, there was an 11 percent increase in coronary and total mortality (death from all sources).

Your body needs cholesterol. Cholesterol makes up eight percent of brain-matter. It is essential for proper brain function. The importance of cholesterol is far reaching. Cholesterol is the precursor to Vitamin D and other hormones that are needed for sustaining a healthy life. Cholesterol is one of the key substances at nerve synapses needed to transmit information. Cholesterol helps regulate brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters. Low cholesterol can cause depression, fatigue and neurological disorders (nerve pain, tingling, and numbness). Individuals with low cholesterol are three times more likely to suffer from depression as normal adults. The lower the cholesterol, the more severe the depression.

Medical Myth Number Two
The American Heart Association recommends you follow a low-fat diet. Individuals are encouraged to eat polyunsaturated fats (vegetable oils) and avoid saturated fats (animal fats). They also recommend eating 11 servings of grain a day.
This is a recipe for disaster. Excess grain consumption leads to insulin resistance and increases inflammatory chemicals, the real cause of heart disease. Research shows that there is evidence that saturated fats are bad for your health, but there is plenty of evidence that saturated fats actually help prevent heart disease and strokes.

Medical Myth Number Three
Cholesterol-lowering drugs are a safe and effective way to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Over the last twenty years, the pharmaceutical companies have promoted cholesterol-lowering statin drugs with such fervor that they’ve become household names: Lipitor, Crestor, Vytorin, Zocor, and others. Sixteen million Americans take Lipitor, the most popular statin drug. Statin sales in the U.S. alone are over $12.5 billion a year.

No doubt, the statins lower cholesterol levels and perhaps do lower the risk of dying from a heart attack–at least in patients who already have had one–but the size of the effect is unimpressive. For instance, in one of the experiments, the CARE trial, the odds of escaping death from a heart attack in five years for a patient with manifest heart disease was 94.3 percent, which improved to 95.4 percent with statin treatment. This difference of 1.1 percent is surely not worth all the hype these medications have received, especially since the potential side effects from these drugs may include congestive heart failure.

The acknowledged side effects of statins include muscle pain and weakness, nerve damage, and a potentially fatal muscle-wasting disorder called rhabdomyolysis. One statin, Baycol, has been withdrawn because it was linked to 31 deaths from rhabdomyolysis. Interference with production of Co-Q10 by statin drugs is the most likely explanation. The heart is a muscle and it cannot work when deprived of the essential nutrient, Co-Q10. A deficiency of CoQ10 can lead to nerve damage and congestive heart failure.

While heart attacks have slightly declined, CHF (congestive heart failure) has more than doubled since Lipitor and other statins were first prescribed in 1987.

Taking statins for one year raised the risk of nerve damage by about 15 percent. Researchers studying CoQ10 have estimated that as little as a 25 percent reduction in bodily CoQ10 will trigger various disease processes, including high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer, immune dysfunction, and fatigue.

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Hypertension or high blood pressure is a major cause of coronary heart disease. Over 50 million Americans suffer from hypertension. Almost 43,000 Americans died from hypertension in 2002. To much pressure exerted on the arterial walls can cause a host of unwanted cardiovascular problems including:

Enlarged heart and possible congestive heart failure (CHF).

Formation of small arterial bulges or aneurysms.

Narrowing of the blood vessels in the kidney leading to failure.

Atherosclerotic arteries.

Blood PressureBlood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Each time the heart beats (about 60 to 70 times a minute at rest), it pumps out blood into the arteries. Your blood pressure is at its highest when the heart beats, pumping blood. This is known a systolic pressure. When the heart is at rest, between beats, your blood pressure falls. This is known as diastolic pressure.The systolic number is listed above the diastolic number. 120/80mm Hg is considered normal.
Pre-hypertension blood pressure is 120-130/80-90. Hypertension is when the systolic pressure is above 140 or when the diastolic pressure is above 90.

Stage I hypertension occurs when the systolic pressure is between 140 and 159 or diastolic is between 90 and 99.

Stage II occurs systolic is above 160 or when diastolic is above 100.

Individuals who are in stage I have a 31% greater risk of heart attack, almost twice the risk of stroke, and a 43% increase in death rate, compared to individuals with normal blood pressure.

Conventional Medical TherapiesTraditional medicine uses beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, and other drugs to treat the symptoms of high blood pressure. All of these medications have potential side effects. Studies show that for two-thirds of individuals taking hypertension drugs, diet therapy alone will result in normal blood pressure. All of these medications have potential side effects.

Natural Therapies for Hypertension
Niacin, or vitamin B3, has been used as an effective anti-hypertensive medicine for decades. Although most doctors know about niacin and its role in reducing cholesterol, most don’t usually recommend this vitamin for hypertension. Niacin when taken in high doses helps dilate (expand) the blood vessel. Regular niacin is associated with an uncomfortable histamine flush and is not recommended. A special form of niacin, known as niacinate or inositol hexaniacinate (IHN), doesn’t produce the flush associated with regular niacin.

Recommended dose is 400-500mg twice a day for 5 days then double the dose.

Magnesium A magnesium deficiency leads to muscle spasm or contraction. It acts like a beta-blocker by inhibiting stimulatory hormones including norepinephrine and epinephrine (hormones that increase heart rate). Fortunately, magnesium doesn’t cause fatigue or the other symptoms associated with prescription beta blockers.

Calcium and magnesium help regulate the heart rate. Magnesium relaxes smooth muscle, including the heart, and calcium constricts or tightens smooth muscle. The more calcium within a muscle cell, the more tense or tight muscle becomes. The calcium channels are guarded by magnesium. This magnesium valve helps prevent too much calcium from entering a cell. However, if a person is deficient in magnesium calcium ions are able to infiltrate cells and cause muscle contraction. Magnesium acts as a natural calcium-channel blocker. It prevents too much calcium from entering the cell membrane. The more magnesium within a muscle cell, the more relaxed the muscle.

CoQ10 Research also shows that CoQ10 is able to reduce blood pressure in high risk heart disease patients. In one study CoQ10 lowered systolic pressure from an average of 141 to 126 and diastolic from 97 to 90.

Fish Oil Fish oil reduces blood pressure, inflammation, fibrinogen, irregular heart beats (arrhythmia), atherosclerosis, triglycerides (blood fats), and platelet aggregation (blood clot formation). Typically, between four, and seven grams of fish oil are needed to reduce high blood pressure. However, when fish oil is combined with other synergistic supplements like magnesium, CoQ10, taurine, and B vitamins, less is needed.

Along with IHN, I have my patients with hypertension take a good optimal daily allowance multivitamin/mineral formula (with minimum of 500mg of magnesium), 1-2 grams of fish oil, and 100mg of CoQ10.

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Congestive heart failure occurs when the muscle fibers of the heart become damaged from arteriosclerosis (and blockage), coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, inflammation, faulty vales (regurgitation), or heart infections. The ventricles of the heart become bloated with blood that can’t be properly expelled. The heart fails to pump blood through the 60,000 miles of arteries and veins. This causes increased pressure in the circulatory system. The increased pressure causes fluid to escape from the blood stream and to accumulate in the tissues and organs. The symptoms of congestive heart disease include fluid-retention, shortness of breath, chronic non-productive cough, exertion induced fatigue, and generalized lethargy.

There are two types of heart failure; right-sided and left-sided.
Right-sided heart failure occurs when the right atria and ventricle can’t keep pace with the left atria and ventricle. Left-sided heart failure occurs when the left atria and ventricle can’t keep up with the right side. Right-sided heart failure causes blood to accumulate in the vessels leading to the heart. Excess fluid (peripheral edema) and swelling occurs in the legs, ankles and feet.

In left-sided heart failure blood accumulates in the veins leading from the lungs and the lungs become filled with fluid (pulmonary edema). The person may experience shortness of breath on exertion or paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea (shortness of breath that occurs after several hours of sleep). Salt intake should be restricted since sodium worsens the symptoms of CHF.

Conventional medical therapy for CHF includes diuretics, ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, and calcium channel blockers. These medications only treat the symptoms and actually accelerate the rate of CHF.

Diuretics are used to help reduce excess fluid and decrease the amount of blood the heart pumps with each beat. When taking these medications a person should at the very least increase their magnesium intake. Even netter is to add a good comprehensive multivitamin/mineral supplement with a minimum of 400-500mg of magnesium. If you’re taking diuretics , you’ll need to add additional 200-500mg of magnesium. Remember if you take to much magnesium you’ll have a lose bowel movement. If this does occur simply reduce the amount of magnesium you’re taking. Diuretics can cause a magnesium deficiency. As discussed earlier, magnesium is essential for proper heart function.

Nutritional therapies for managing CHF include the following nutrients:
Magnesium may prove to be the most important nutrient in facilitating optimal cardiovascular health. Studies have demonstrated that low magnesium levels decrease the survival rate in those with CHS, by almost 50 percent. Individuals with CHF should be taking a minimum of 500mg of magnesium citrate or chelate each day. I recommend all of my CHF patients start on my Healthy Heart Formula with 500mg of magnesium.

Hawthorne has been proven in double blind studies to help reduce the symptoms associated with CHF.

The recommended dose is 200 mg 3 times a day.

Numerous double-blind studies have demonstrated the importance of using the amino acid L-Carnitine in the management of CHF. L-Carnitine delivers long chain fatty acids to the heart. These fatty acids provide 70 percent of the energy needed by the heart. Studies involving carnitine replacement therapy have shown that it helps reduce cardiac arrhythmia, angina (chest pain), total cholesterol (by 20%), triglycerides (by 28%), while increasing HDL (by 12%). Recommended dose is 500mg 3 times a day on an empty stomach.

Arginine, an amino acid, helps dilate (relax and open) blood vessels that have been unresponsive to drug therapy. Studies involving arginine have shown it acts like the drug nitroglycerine, which increases nitric oxide. Because of its vasodiolating abilities, arginine is recommended for the management of angina. It also helps boost blood flow to the extremities (legs) by up to 29 percent. Recommended dose is 1,000-12,000gm a day.

CoQ10 has an impressive track record in regards CHF and should be recommended to those suffering from congestive heart failure.
In one study patients were administered a modest 30mg of CoQ10 a day. All the participants in the study showed improvement and 53 percent were asymptomatic after 4 weeks.

The largest study to date on CoQ10 involved 2,664 patients with congestive heart failure and was conducted in Italy. The results showed that individuals who took an average of 100mg of CoQ10 a day for 3 months noticed a drastic improvement in their symptoms.

Percentage of those with improvement follows:
cyanosis- 78% improved
edema (fluid retention) – 78.6%
vertigo -73%
insomnia – 66%
sweating – 79.8%
shortness of breath – 52%
pulmonary edema (fluid on the lungs) – 77.8%
enlarged liver – 49%
heart palpitations – 75%
arrhythmia (abnormal heart beats) – 63%
venous congestion – 71.8%
CoQ10 reduces exercise induced angina (chest pain) by 53% percent.

I typically use the following combination for my CHF patients: Healthy Heart Formula, an extra 100mg of CoQ10, Hawthorne Extract, and L-Carnitine.

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Statin Medications
No doubt, the statins lower cholesterol levels and perhaps do lower the risk of dying from a heart attack, at least in patients who already have had one, but the size of the effect is unimpressive. In one of the experiments for instance, the CARE trial, the odds of escaping death from a heart attack in five years for a patient with manifest heart disease was 94.3 %, which improved to 95.4 % with statin treatment. This is a difference of 1.1 percent. Surely not worth all the hype these medications have received.

The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology reported on an analysis of all the major controlled trials before the year 2000 and found that long-term use of statins for primary prevention of heart disease produced a 1 percent greater risk of death over 10 years compared to a placebo.

Potential Side Effects
The acknowledged side effects of statins include muscle pain and weakness, suppression of the body’s formation of Co-enzyme Q10, and, rarely, a potentially fatal muscle-wasting disorder called rhabdomyolysis. One statin, Baycol, has been withdrawn because it was linked to 31 deaths from rhabdomyolysis. Interference with production of Co-Q10 by statin drugs is the most likely explanation. The heart is a muscle and it cannot work when deprived of Co-Q10. See more about heart disease and solutions.

Calcium-channel blockers
Calcium-channel blockers include the drugs Diltiazem (Cardizem CD®, Cardizem SR®, Dilacor XR®), Nifedipine (Procardia XL®), and Verapamil (Calan®, Calan SR®, Isoptin®, Isoptin SR®, Verelan®).

Calcium-channel blockers slow the rate at which calcium passes to the contractile fibers of heart muscle and into the vessel walls, a sequence that relaxes the vessels. Relaxed vessels allow the blood to flow more easily, thereby reducing blood pressure. Calcium channel blockers are used to treat chest pain (angina), high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and irregular heat beats (arrythmias).

In 1995, the Public Citizen’s Health Research Group filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration to add a warning to the labeling of all calcium channel blockers. This action was in light of observational studies which revealed that calcium channel blockers increase the risk of heart attack and death.

Common side effects associated with calcium channel blockers are fatigue, flushing, swelling of the abdomen, ankles, or feet, and heartburn. Less common side effects are changes in heart rate, either tachycardia or bradycardia (slow heart rate), shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, and dizziness, numbness in hands and feet, and gastrointestinal bleeding. Chest pains, jaundice, and fainting are rarely reported

Beta- Blockers
Beta-blockers “block” the effects of adrenaline (and norepinephrine) on cells beta-receptors. This slows the nerve impulses stimulate the heart so that the heart does not work as hard. Beta-blockers are generally prescribed to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), congestive heart failure (CHF), abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), and chest pain (angina). Beta-blockers are sometimes used in heart attack patients to prevent future attacks. Commonly prescribed beta- blockers include: Atenolol (Tenoretic®, Tenormin®), Metoprolol (Lopressor®, Toprol XL®), Nadolol (Corgard®), and Propranolol (Inderal®).

Beta blockers have several potential side effects including congestive heart failure, shortness of breath, heart block, fatigue, lethargy, drowsiness, depression, insomnia, headaches, dizziness, tingling in the hands and feet, wheezing, bronchospasm, increases severity of asthma or chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, decreased sex drive, muscle fatigue, reduces HDL (good cholesterol), increases LDL and triglycerides.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors
Commonly prescribed ACE inhibitors include Captopril (Capoten®), Enalapril (Vasotec®), and Lisinopril, (Prinivil®, Zestril®).
Drugs that inhibit the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) decrease sodium and water retention, reduce blood pressure, improve cardiac output, and typically decrease heart size.

ACE inhibitors are used to treat congestive heart failure (CHF), arrhythmia and hypertension. Following a heart attack, patients may be prescribed ACE inhibitors to prevent further damage to the heart. ACE inhibitors may also be prescribed for kidney problems associated with diabetes.

Potential side effects include a dry cough, gastrointestinal disturbances, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, joint pain, fever, lightheadedness, and fatigue.

Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers
These drugs are known as ARBs and are better tolerated than the older ACE drugs. ARBs prevent angiotensin II from binding to the receptor sites that allow it stimulate arterial blood vessel constriction. It is also prevented from releasing aldosterone. These medications which include Diovan, Benicar, Micardis, Avapro, Cozaar, Teveten, and Atacand, are used to treat hypertension and CHF.

Potential side effects to these medications include headache, upper respiratory infection, cough, dizziness, sinusitis, throat inflammation, diarrhea, fatigue, back pain, viral infections, and abdominal pain.

Direct Vasodilators
Apresoline, Vasodilan and Loniten (Minoxidil) are direct vasodilating drugs. Vasodilating drugs act on blood vessels, opening the vessel by relaxing the muscular walls. These medications are used along with other cardiovascular drugs; used alone they can cause increased heart rate, fluid retention and swelling. These drugs have potential side effects which include systemic lupus erythematosus, headache, fatigue, low blood pressure, palpitations, increased heart rate, fluid retention, nasal congestion, weight gain, and increased body hair.

Cardiac Glycosides/Anti-Arrhythmics
Cardiac glycosides are obtained from the plants digitalis purpurea and digitalis lanata or their semi-synthetic derivatives. These medications are commonly used for CHF because they increase the force of cardiac contraction without significantly affecting other cardiovascular mechanisms. Cardiac glycosides include Digoxin®, Digitoxin, Lanoxin®, Purgoxin®, and Crystodigin®.

Potential side effects include arrythmia (abnormal heart beat), heart block, confusion, weakness, blurred vision, mental disturbances, and apathy.
Digoxin causes over 28,000cases of life-threatening or fatal adverse reactions each year.

Diuretics
Diuretics reduce edema (fluid retention) and lower blood pressure by reducing sodium and water retention. The three types of diuretics (thiazides, potassium-sparing diuretics, and high-loop diuretics) all work differently, but the goal is to lower blood pressure and or heart fluid (CHF). These medications include Oretic, Euduron, Reneses, Hygroton, Bumex, Lasix, Anhydron, Diuril, Edecrin, Demadex, Dyrenium, Aldactone, Midamor, Zaroxolyn, and Lozol.

They may cause the following side effects; Excessive uric acid in the blood (gout), magnesium deficiency, potassium deficiency, electrolyte imbalance, muscle cramps, fatigue, headaches, lowered HDL, excessive sugar in the blood (diabetes), fever, rash, irregular menstrual cycles (Aldosterone), impotence (same), and excessive urination and thirst.

Diuretics have been shown to cause an eleven-fold increase in diabetes.
Coumadin is an anticoagulant medication. It is used to prevent blood clots from forming within the arteries. This is the same drug used to poison rats! It can cause several adverse reactions all associated with internal bleeding, including loss of consciousness, bloody or tarry stools, headaches, joint pain, muscle pain, constipation, abdominal pain, swelling in the ankles and feet, blue or purple toes, rashes, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, unusual weight gain, nose bleeds, bleeding gums, and sores or white spots in the mouth.

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