beating heart disease – public enemy number one

Atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease are the #1 killers of all men and women in North America. This remains a fact despite the presence of various heart medications, heart operations, and the billions of dollars spent in the campaign against cholesterol. However, heart disease and atherosclerosis are highly preventable, and by doing so, we can add many more quality years to our life expectancy. If so, how is it possible that heart disease remains the #1 cause of death in North America? Are we chasing the wrong enemy? I believe that the answer is simple: in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and other degenerative diseases of aging, there are no magic bullets. The time has come to go to the root of the problem. The approach to cardiovascular disease is much more complex than simply seeing a doctor to renew a prescription for cholesterol-lowering medications, or having an angiogram, stress test or heart operation, or being told to follow a particular diet when the blood vessels to your heart (coronary arteries) may be more than 70% blocked. In order to prevent and treat heart disease a complex approach is required, and you have to be an active participant in your own care. You should ask many questions along the way, and be taught about the various aspects of cardiovascular disease, from prevention and reversion, to treatment. You, the customer, are the best doctor. In order to achieve results, we need to change our approach to health and disease, and this requires learning and education. It is important to recognize that cardiovascular disease starts at a young age, and is a diffuse (damages many blood vessels) and progressive disease. It can manifest differently in men and women – unfortunately, by the time it manifests itself clinically, the disease is already far advanced. Cardiovascular disease requires a complete assessment, reviewing the multitude of risk factors – these risk factors must be addressed, and treated accordingly. At Longevity Healthy Aging® (LHA®), we will teach you about risk factors for atherosclerosis, provide diagnosis and treatment, and instruct you on how to avoid inappropriate testing. The risk factors we target go beyond the traditional Framingham Study list (such as age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking), and include toxic element exposure, unstable plaques, oxidative stress, inflammation, hormonal imbalance, endothelial damage and an imbalance of essential fatty acids. You will also learn about the appropriate use of hormones, vitamins and nutrients in various medical conditions (and in conjunction with different medications), how to avoid their side effects, and how to monitor their effectiveness. You must understand that inappropriate vitamin and nutrient use may be harmful. For example, selenium, copper and iron, and products containing methionine (used to treat elevated homocysteine) can increase the risk of disease if not used correctly. In addition, we will educate you on the type of diet to follow and why it is important to exercise, but at the same time why the wrong diet or too much exercise can cause more harm than good. Bypass surgery and angioplasty have been used and are considered accepted treatments for cardiovascular disease. Before undergoing such procedures, you must know of their possible complications, and risk of reocclusion of vessels after surgery. These operations do not necessarily prolong life in many patients, and they deal with only a local manifestation of a diffuse disease. At times, there is no choice but to proceed with heart surgery, however, this is what we try to prevent. What we have described above may initially seem complicated because we have been conditioned to automatically accept certain behaviours: that acetaminophen is good for headaches, statins for cholesterol, pizza or fast-food for an empty stomach, make-up for wrinkles, heart surgery for cardiovascular disease, and a nursing home for the elderly. Once you overcome this way of thinking, you can be a part of a new type of medicine which aims to prevent, reverse, and treat the degenerative diseases of aging.