Medical News

People often tell me about the pressure they feel from doctors to take statin drug medication for their cholesterol. The minute their blood test is above 220, their doctors scare them into taking drugs saying they can get a heart attack if they don’t. Then every chest pain or feeling of tiredness sends them into a panic.

There is so much wrong with this black and white approach to cholesterol that it’s hard to know where to being so I’ll give you some facts in point form.

1. In 1913 a Russian study found that rabbits fed cholesterol developed yellow plaque in their arteries. However, the cholesterol they were fed was rancid and led directly to the abnormal finding. But by the time those facts were revealed, cholesterol’s fate was sealed. It became the bad guy and the “cause” of heart disease.

2. We require cholesterol as the main building block to make all our hormones. When cholesterol is down, so is your libido.

3. Cholesterol coats every cell in the body with a fatty membrane. This is especially important for brain cells. The brain is a very fatty tissue!

4. Cholesterol is an important antioxidant and when it’s elevated that can be a sign of toxicity. If your cholesterol is high, that’s when you go on a detox program. It’s NOT the time to take a toxic drug.

5. Cholesterol becomes elevated due to stress because stress produces toxins in the body that require cholesterol to act as an antioxidant.

6. When I was in medical school the “normal” cholesterol was around 250. The new “normal” cholesterol promoted by drug companies is under 200 with 180 being considered ideal. Hammering cholesterol down with statin drugs is the wrong approach.

7. Statin drug side effects are painful muscles and muscle damage, nerve damage, impotence and memory impairment. Muscle pain is treated with anti-inflammatories-that’s until they are taken off the market for causing heart disease. Impotence is treated with Viagra. And memory impairment is treated with Alzheimer’s drugs. It’s a win win for the drug companies. But what about you…

What do I recommend?

1. Pay attention to your diet. I am not an enemy of eggs – see Point 1 above. Trans fats and rancid fats and oils (in baked goods and fried foods) are the main culprits in raising your cholesterol.

2. Magnesium is a mineral that acts like a natural statin and helps balance cholesterol in the body.

3. Detoxification with clay baths or footbaths.

4. Red Rice Yeast with CoQ10 is a natural plant statin and can lower cholesterol more naturally than statins. I recommend it if detoxification, stress reduction and magnesium aren’t enough.

There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding natural heart remedies that combat high blood pressure. If you are at the risk of developing this condition (ex. Family history of hypertension) then it’s essential that you educate yourself about your options, especially those holistic alternatives that are often dismissed or overlooked.

It’s high time that you consider taking to herbalists or health care providers about hypertension prevention and treatment. More often than not, people with high blood pressure also have increased chances of developing other serious conditions such as strokes or heart attack. To preserve your overall health, it’s vital that you take the necessary steps right away as there is a wide array of natural treatments available. Generally, physicians recommend the intake of prescription drugs instead of evaluating holistic alternatives. These prescription drugs often react negatively to those who have preexisting medical conditions and do more harm than good.

There are lots of natural heart remedies at your disposal, ranging from supplements that directly help alleviate the cause to making lifestyle changes such as exercise and diet. It would be best if you consider the natural route as they will benefit your overall health in the long run and are more cost-effective.

Here are some alternative remedies for hypertension that work:

1. The most popular alternative remedy is not available in pills, rather it aims to make huge changes in a person’s overall wellbeing and health. This involves making lifestyle changes that goes for a healthy diet instead of foods rich in preservatives and additives.

2. Get rid of all unhealthy foods including sugary and fatty foods. This way you are getting rid of one of the major causes of high blood pressure.

3. Raw, organic and fresh vegetables and fruits are an excellent source of the needed nutrients and vitamins that are necessary in maintaining good overall health. Whole grains and lean meats also contribute to an ideal diet. Lots of people are simply unaware of how to eat right, so a visit to a dietician might help solve the problem.

4. Regular exercise also plays a big role in helping treat high blood pressure, because an increased blood flow is essential to keeping the body healthy and happy. Start with any cardio exercise and remember, a good exercise program doesn’t need to be time consuming or extensive. For starters, you can try choosing stairs over elevators.

Natural heart remedies involve choosing healthy alternatives that will benefit you throughout life. With this in mind, how hard can that be?

When the subject of heart disease comes up, you often hear people discussing the heart disease age range. There’s really no such thing.

Certainly, after a certain age, heart troubles can be harder to prevent, harder to reverse, harder to treat and harder to recover from, but the age range for those who can, and often do experience heart disease goes from zero to one hundred years old.

The older the get, the more at risk you are if you don’t take care of yourself, sure. As we get older, our bodies weaken, our bones grow brittle, we slow down, but heart disease is linked to things like genes, cholesterol, fitness level, diet, and so on, and it can hit anyone at any age.

The popular misconception is that heart troubles primarily affect those over the age of sixty five. In truth, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for anyone over thirty five years of age, and one of the leading causes of death for those under thirty five.

It’s not that you are more at risk of cardiovascular disease as you get older, but that you are more at risk of being less able to recover from the disease as you get older, but being seventy years old doesn’t make you any more or less likely of suffering from cardiovascular disease than somebody in their mid twenties.

Somewhere around one million people die each year of cardiovascular disease, and around one hundred sixty thousand of those deaths, in the United States, are suffered by people between the ages of thirty five and sixty five.

Now, to break it down, the statistics show that as you get older, you may be more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, but you are absolutely no more or less likely to suffer from the disease in the first place. The fact of the matter is that you should probably worry about heart disease BEFORE you hit retirement age, not after.

After a certain age, if you start to experience serious health problems, there’s little that can be done. By the time you’re sixty five, you’re typically too old to get into shape, to reverse decades of bad diet and no exercise or to catch or reverse certain conditions early. When you’re younger, you have more time and energy to take care of all of this, and to make sure that you’re still in good shape by the time you hit your sixties.

In short: Cardiovascular disease can affect anyone at all, not just those past a certain age, it’s better to try and prevent heart disease than it is to wait until you’re too old to do anything about it, and there’s no such thing as an individual who’s “safe” from the risk of heart troubles.

With the greatly modernized way of life today, certain diseases and physiological imparities are taking precedence over others. During any change in our immediate environment, our body is the last to adapt, because it has a complete physiological environment of its own. One of the major causes of this is an immediate change in lifestyle, which is instrumental in bringing about certain diseases, many of them actually lethal. The Coronary Heart disease is one of these diseases whose immediate triggering cause is not known.

However, it manifests itself in different forms of diseases, all centered in or about the heart, causing reduced functionality of the heart and blockages and stoppages of the arteries and primary blood vessels. This form of disease is not exclusive to any particular sex, age group or even, for that matter, social group. However, detailed studies have revealed some alarming trends regarding such heart diseases, which annually causes thousands of premature deaths in the conventionally ‘more modernized/urbanized’ regions.

Coronary Heart diseases generally manifest themselves most commonly in the form of a cardiac arrest, where the body goes into a form of seizure and the heart stops pumping blood. The arteries around the heart also constrict, owing to the reduced amount of blood being circulated. These attacks are extremely lethal, and in severe cases, the patient needs to be immediately hospitalized to avert a terminal result. Presently, such attacks may or may not be preceded by certain symptoms, so it’s always advisable to consult a general physician and store some useful medicine at the house to combat any such contingent necessity.

Symptoms of heart attacks include a sense of pressure and heaviness felt in the chest region, dyspnea and continued irregular/painful breathing and chest pain. The Chest pain may come in spasms, or as a blunt sensation that generally spreads across the chest, and is usually accompanied by fatigue, and in some cases, a sensation of angina. Usually, physicians advise immediate hospitalization during these cases.

Coronary heart disease might not be cured by domestically-available means, but it sure could be prevented. The most important step towards its prevention is maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle. While systematically eliminating the primary risk-factors associated with heart diseases like smoking, high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes and obesity, we could easily prevent heart diseases. A healthy, active lifestyle, including a balanced and nutritional diet and lots of exercise could actually strengthen our systems and inhibit the accumulation of excess fat in our body. As a result of which, our basic metabolism rates are bolstered and our body burns more calories.

Also, certain lifestyle changes are needed, like trying to reduce stress, anxieties and taking up activities that keep the body fit while invigorating the mind. Lifestyle experts recommend taking up activities like group sports and yoga, which not only keeps the body healthy but also keeps the body-weight under control. With a well balanced diet (one which includes reduced servings of animal protein except fish, and more of organic protein), plenty of exercises and an active lifestyle, one could easily keep heart diseases away.

Cardiovascular disease affects more than 1 in 3 Americans. And the consequences of heart disease and stroke can be deadly.

While you can’t control your age, race or gender, there are several cardiovascular disease causes within your control.

1- Stop smoking. According to the American Heart Association, people who smoke are 2-4 times as likely to develop coronary heart disease.

2- Maintain a healthy weight. Obesity and diabetes are key factors leading to cardiovascular disease.

3- Get exercise. Not only can regular exercise keep your weight down, but it increases your blood flow through your veins. Since blood carries oxygen to your heart and your brain, it stimulates your body and keeps you alert and healthy.

Exercise has the added benefits of lowering your blood pressure and reducing your stress levels too. Both of these can lead to cardiovascular disease.

4- Lower your blood pressure. High blood pressure and cholesterol are contributing factors to heart disease.

5- Moderate drinking. Moderate is defined as one drink a day for a woman and two for men. Drinking more can lead to higher blood pressure and stroke.

Factors outside of your control are your age, race and gender. More men than woman die of heart attacks. The American Heart Association states 83% of people over 65 will develop heart disease and your heritage plays a role.

If your parents had heart disease, you have a higher risk. Likewise, African American have a higher risk of high blood pressure than Caucasians. Native Americans, Mexican Americans and some Asian Americans have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Partly due to higher levels of diabetes and obesity.

You can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease by not smoking, light or no drinking, getting plenty of exercise and eating healthy foods.

Doctors and nutritionists recommend eating 2-3 meals of fish twice a week. The reason fish is important is because they’re filled with omega 3 fatty acids. Studies show these essential nutrients can protect your heart and lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.

All fish have these fatty acids but salmon, herring, tuna and hoki all have some of the highest amounts.

Diet is a big contributing factor to cardiovascular disease causes.

Making sure you eat less processed foods and plenty of fruits, vegetables and fish will go a long way toward preventing heart disease.

Some doctors recommend fish oil supplements as studies show they’re beneficial to your heart.

If you’re interested in learning more about how omega 3 fish oil supplements can affect your cardiovascular disease risk, please visit my website, where I share what products I have personally been using daily for several years.

If you are concerned about suffering from a heart attack, or if heart disease runs within your family, it is best to know beforehand which signs and symptoms all pinpoint to an impending heart attack.

1. First off, the most common sign is chest pain. Many people who have suffered from heart attack almost always feel chest pain or a tightening of the chest during the onset of an attack. In the event that you feel chest pain, it is important for you to get in contact with a doctor immediately. While pain is often intense there are cases when the pain is mild and tolerable. However no matter how subtle the pain may be, it could be a symptom of a heart attack.

2. Patients also feel a sort of pain from the jaw to the shoulders and the arms. Although oftentimes the pain can come from the chest, you can feel a certain numbness on your shoulders, arms, and jaw which can be intensely painful.

3. Other telltale signs of a heart attack include the following: nausea, fainting, weakness, anxiety, or dizziness. If you suddenly feel apprehensive that you are having all these symptoms, it is best for you to seek help immediately. These symptoms are more common in women.

4. Again, chest pressure is also common, ranging from mild to severe.

5. Palpitations and irregular beating of the heart can also lead to a full-blown heart attack. You can tell this by actually feeling the rapid beating or fluttering of your heart. Oftentimes, people will simply brush this off as an anxiety attack.

6. One obvious symptom is breathing difficulty or shortness of breath. It will be difficult for you to breathe if your heart is not pumping in the right manner. Look for signs of shortness of breath. If you feel breathing difficulties upon waking up or after traveling, consult your physician right away.

7. Heartburn is also a sign. Often the pain is situated in the area where you usually feel pain after eating something incompatible. You should not dismiss the pain of heartburn as simply nothing.

8. Excessive sweating is a sign that you are exerting extra effort without you being fully conscious about it. Thus if you suddenly break in a sweat and you feel somewhat clammy, this could be a real sign.

9. The fist to chest position or the so-called Levin’s Sign is one tell-tale symptom of a heart attack. This is often an automatic response for people suffering from a heart attack.

Considering the drastic consequences that high cholesterol LDL (low-density lipoprotein) can inflict, high cholesterol prevention over cure is the more sensible rule.

According to the World Health Organization, over 15 million around the world die of Cardiovascular Heart Disease (Heart Attack or stroke) each year. And the main contributing factor to this figure is high cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found among the lipids in the bloodstream. These (lips) lipoproteins are either high-or low-density, depending on how much protein and fat they contain, and are important to the healthy functioning of our bodies.

However, all cholesterol is not equal. There’s good and bad cholesterol, and it’s this imbalance that can create the problem

HDL (high-density lipoprotein) is sometimes called “good” cholesterol, because to helps to protect against heart disease. It not only prevents cholesterol from building up in the arteries, it also assists to clear LDL (low-density lipoprotein), or “bad,” cholesterol from the body.

This ‘Bad Cholesterol’ LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, which is the problem, carries mostly fat and only a small amount of protein from the liver to other parts of the body. It’s this high LDL cholesterol level that falls into the ‘high cholesterol risk category’, as it is considered a risk factor for coronary artery disease, because, under certain conditions, it can cause hardening of the arteries, leading to heart attack or stroke

High cholesterol prevention is important because the risk factors of LDL cholesterol associated with coronary heart disease and stroke. come in many disguises. First and foremost, sedentary life style, unhealthy diets, with over weight and obesity following accordingly, and the social (or anti social) effects of smoking and alcohol consumption

Simply getting old is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease; risk of stroke doubles every decade after age 55. Although we can’t halt the aging process, we can help ourselves to perhaps live longer and enjoy good health by following a few simple rules

The number of elderly citizens has increased over the past ten years, so as a result the number of deaths cause by CHD has increased according, and this upward trend is expected to continue as we live longer

High Cholesterol – Prevention over Cure

What are normal blood Cholesterol (lipid) levels? Your lipid levels are dependent on your age, sex, genetic makeup, lifestyle choices, and will vary over the years. This can be quite difficult to work out, but you medical advisor can help

I’m sure you have heard the saying “We are what we eat”. Well there’s some real heard truth behind those words. The human body creates cholesterol and we also consume it when we eat animal food and dairy products We can also make cholesterol from foods that do not contain cholesterol, such as Trans fats, often used in processed foods, cakes and cookies

The lack of any physical inactivity can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke as high as 50%. A change of life style, and healthy diet is the first step to high cholesterol prevention and protecting yourself against increased levels of bad LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and the danger of CAD (Cardiac Heart Disease)

Chest pain, heart palpitations or extreme fatigue can all be signs of cardiovascular disease.

Now, before you panic, know there are actually tons of symptoms relating to more than 60 different types of cardiovascular disease. They range from very rare childhood diseases to the very common heart disease.

In fact, heart disease is the #1 killer of American adults. So, cardiovascular disease is a big issue.

Big factors in the development of serious heart disease include obesity and diabetes. You should know that hypertension or high blood pressure can often turn into major heart disease too. If you smoke, are a heavy drinker and don’t get any exercise-that’s more strikes against your heart.

But the only way to really detect cardiovascular disease is to have a thorough check up from your physician. If you catch it early-before it’s moved into full blown heart disease, you can probably control it through diet and exercise.

Eating plenty of fruits, veggies, lean meats and fish are good for your cardiovascular system. Fried and fatty foods are not. In particular, fish are rich sources of omega 3 fatty acids which are essential for your heart health. Some studies show fish oil may lower your blood pressure and keep your arteries clean.

If you go through the full check up and find you have lots of plaque build up in your arteries, you’ll need to make some lifestyle adjustments to reduce this build up.

Plaque in your arteries is dangerous because it can reduce your blood flow to your heart and your brain. In fact, it can lead to a form of cardiovascular disease called “atherosclerosis”, otherwise known as a “hardening of the arteries”. This can lead to blood clots that effectively block your arteries completely.

The American Heart Association recommends eating fish 2-3 times a week to get the omega 3 fatty acids you need for your healthy heart. Many doctors also recommend fish oil supplements to ensure their patients get these necessary nutrients.

Research shows fish oil supplements can help prevent cardiac arrest. Plus, getting the omega 3 nutrients you need protects you from other signs of cardiovascular disease.

One Harvard researcher says these supplements consistently show up in clinical trials as preventing cardiac death-and they’re the only dietary supplement that does.

For years the idea persisted that women were unlikely to experience a major coronary event due to the protection afforded by certain female hormones. While there is shred of truth is this long held view we now know that by age 65 women are just as likely as men to have a serious heart problem, and more likely to die from it. With the average age of a heart attack being 66 years of age one could quickly come to the conclusion that women and men are both equally at risk.

A heart attack occurs when near to total blockage of one of the coronary arteries occurs, this condition is known as myocardial infarction. In most cases this event comes to a crescendo when a blood clot forms in a part of the coronary artery which has already been narrowed by the accumulation of arterial plaque. This would explain why an unexpected heart attack can occur in women without any warning signs or symptoms.

Heart attack symptoms in women are generally severe with some describing the event as someone sitting on their chest. Generally, the pain and tightness starts in the chest, quickly spreading through the upper body into the neck, arm, shoulder, or jaw, and does not go away with rest. Symptoms in women more often than not consist of generalized pain rather than the more specific and localized variety seen in men.

For women who are over the age of 60, or those with diabetes a heart attack may occur with no pain. This phenomenon is known as a silent heart attack.

With or without pain symptoms in women will almost always include one or more of these heart related symptoms: sporadic or constant pressure or squeezing in the chest; pain emanating from the chest to the shoulders, neck, arm, and jaw; shortness of breath or difficulty breathing without chest pain; a fast or irregular heart beat (palpitations); an abnormally fast or weak pulse; a change in facial coloring (graying); extreme fatigue, anxiety, or weakness with no apparent cause; cold sweats; dizziness; and stomach upset.

Note: One of the of a serious coronary blockage in women listed above is jaw pain. This is a common heart attack symptom in women and often overlooked both by caregivers and doctors alike. If you are experiencing jaw pain and no reason can be found for your discomfort, you should seek immediate medical attention to determine whether or not you are having a heart attack.

If any of the signs above are noticed seek immediate medical attention. It is important to point out that when a severe heart attack occurs your cells are deprived of oxygen and will begin to die in 4 minutes or less.

Lowering LDL Cholesterol, also known as the bad cholesterol, is certainly important, as many people are in the pursuit to do just that. However, increasing HDL Cholesterol, the good cholesterol, is also imperative for a healthy body. When HDL cholesterol is at an increased level, it significantly lowers the risk of heart disease. There are considerable ways to increase good cholesterol naturally.

Eating right is an important factor when it comes to good and bad cholesterol levels. Avoid foods that contain saturated fat and especially trans fat. According to many doctors, trans fat, is by far, the worst. Trans fat lowers HDL and increases LDL. Most fast food restaurants use vegetable oil that contain trans fat. Other sources of trans fat are; packaged foods, cakes, cookies, donuts, margarine, chips, pizza, ice cream, ready made frozen meals, and other processed foods. Intake of these foods should be limited. Reading the labels on food products at the grocery store should be put into practice. These labels will tell whether or not they contain any saturated or trans fat and how much.

Incorporating more monounsaturated fat into a diet is a healthy way to raise good cholesterol. It is found in canola, peanut, olive, sunflower, and sesame oil. It can be used to replace vegetable oils containing trans fat. This particular fat also contains many nutrients the body needs. Some examples of food containing monounsaturated fats are; avocados, peanut butter, nuts and seeds.

Exercise is not only good for HDL cholesterol levels, it is also beneficial at boosting cardiovascular condition. Exercise should be started out slow and built upon. Establish a routine of walking or other aerobic or cardiovascular exercise. Always consult with a doctor before starting any exercise regiment.

Smoking is not only detrimental to a healthy body, but is bad on the wallet also. Smoking effects body functions. Smoking increases bad cholesterol and therefore will decrease the good cholesterol. The decision to stop smoking should be made. This decision will aid in the production of good cholesterol and may also help out the wallet.

Eating more fish is another great option. Fish contain adequate amounts of the fatty acids, Omega-3 and Omega-6, which are great nutrients for HDL cholesterol. However, there are many that are not fish eaters, therefore, a fish oil supplement should be taken for a substitute.

Drinking one glass of wine a day can help increase levels of HDL cholesterol. Red wine seems to be a better choice, as it has more levels of phenolic antioxidants than white wine. Phenolic antioxidants help maintain healthy levels of LDL cholesterol. A glass of wine may possibly help lower blood pressure as well.

An enjoyable way to build up HDL cholesterol is by eating dark chocolate. This delicious treat will enhance HDL production when eaten on a regular basis. Just eat in moderation.

Plainly, there are numerous ways to develop good cholesterol. Educating oneself is a great tool when attempting to improve your over all health. Important measures should always be taken when trying to balance LDL and HDL cholesterol levels. It is a key factor in maintaining a healthy body.