Cardiovascular Disease and Scary Clowns

I wrote a blog about cardiovascular disease (CVD) many years ago and thought it might need some updates.

CVD Big Killer but Low on Fear List

First, I find it curious that although CVD is the most likely killer (heart disease # 1 and strokes #3), fear of CVD is not on the top 30 list of fears. Instead fear of things that aren't necessarily dangerous like flying, heights, spiders, dentists, clowns and the like.

About 800,000 people in the U.S. are stroke victims each year with about 140,000 of those people dying. Too many of the people who don't die are left with permanent impairment. This problem is common enough so you no doubt know someone so affected.

Heart disease affects about 28 million American adults. Number of deaths is about 614,000 per year.

Spiders and Clowns

Just think if any of the top fear items actually caused this kind of problem. What if spiders killed 140,000 people a year and maybe left 3 or 4 times that number permanently impaired? What if avoiding certain foods lowered your risk of these deadly spider bits?

What if clowns hurt 28 million people and killed 600,000 per year. I know these are silly comparisons, but I think you get the idea.

So maybe it is better to think of heart disease and stroke like a bunch of scary clowns and spiders and if you take certain steps, you can dramatically decrease the probability of encountering them.

Start By Avoiding Cigarette Smoke

Let's start with the basics that is maintain a decent weight, eating a prudent diet and cut out the smoking (and second-hand smoke too). These measures will eliminate about 80% of the CVD problems.

Sounds easy enough but eating a decent diet will probably mean giving up some of your favorite foods. One person I know ate himself into a stroke eating too many conveniences store hot dogs and a large bag of Cheetos each day. If he had thought about a stroke as fear of heights or fear of dentists, maybe he would have had the motivation to make some dietary changes.

We Don't Measure Cholesterol in a Blood Test

We can't talk about CVD without cholesterol. First, I need to point out that I will be using the conventional terms LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol etc. I want you to know that I know that we don't actually measure cholesterol but the lipoproteins (HDL and LDL etc.) that transport cholesterol in the blood. HDL and LDL are like train cars. We look at the type of train car and assume they are all full.

Cholesterol plays a very important role in the formation of CVD. The risk of heart attack is highest in men and women who have low HDL levels and high total cholesterol levels. A 10% decrease in cholesterol levels can result in a 20%-30% decrease in CVD.

Lipid Measurements Are Telling

Approximately 20% of Americans have high blood cholesterol levels and 31% have borderline high levels. About 40.6 million Americans have total cholesterol levels of 240 mg/dl or above, which is considered high risk in adults. Although some variations in laboratory reference ranges may exist, you are considered to be at high risk of heart disease if your cholesterol levels are above 240 mg/dl. You are at moderate risk if your levels are between 200 mg/dl and 240 mg/dl and low risk if your levels are below 200 mg/dl.

Is Cholesterol the Primary Villain?

Cholesterol is vital and necessary for many normal functions in the body including hormone production and brain health. One problem with cholesterol occurs when too much of it is oxidized. It is thought that free radicals can cause this oxidation or breakdown to the structure of the LDL cholesterol. The oxidized LDL cholesterol can then affect processes that lead to CVD. For example, it can speed up the damage to the blood vessels and change the diameter of the blood vessel, both of which lead to the formation of heart disease. It does this through endothelial damage, reperfusion, and ischemia.

Oxidized LDL Is a Start of the Problem

Oxidized LDL cholesterol can also enter the blood vessel walls, which is considered to be an essential step in the formation of CVD. Oxidized LDL has been shown to increase uptake of LDL by foam cells, alter vascular tone and formation of autoantibodies, and accelerate endothelial damage. It is not so much the cholesterol that is bad, it is the breakdown that occurs to it from free radical attack that makes it bad. What makes the situation even worse is that the heart appears to be very susceptible to damage from free radicals. Therefore, cholesterol levels need to be controlled and the amount of cholesterol that is exposed to free radicals need to be kept to a minimum. Remember that antioxidants can help destroy free radicals and thus keep the cholesterol from being broken down.

Keep Your NO Levels Up

Role of NO (nitric oxide) in cardiovascular health is becoming ever more obvious. In 1992 the journal Science declared NO as ""Molecule of the Year"". Six years later three scientists were awarded a Nobel prize for their work on the gas NO and its role in CVD. As is typical clinical applications lag far behind the research discoveries.

NO helps regulate blood pressure, artery elasticity and also aids in keeping your arteries free of plaques and hardening of the arteries.

As with many valuable chemicals in the body, as we age, the body's ability to produce NO tends to decline. You might not notice anything specifically as this happens, but your clinical picture will begin to change slowly as your arteries clog up, become less flexible and your blood pressure begins to climb. Men might notice a decrease in erectile tissue function. Turns out that Viagra works by inhibiting the enzyme that breaks down NO keeping more of it available for its effect. Also, nitroglycerin pills under the tongue help angina by increasing NO to the heart blood vessels.

So how do we keep NO levels at healthy levels? The main strategy is to increase L-arginine levels. The body readily converts L-arginine to NO. We are always looking for the best way but for years we have been using Pure Encapsulations Nitric Oxide Support. This is a 3:1 L-arginine and L-citrulline. L-citrulline is readily converted to L-arginine especially in the areas of the body where it can be immediately used to stimulate production of NO.

You Test Your Own NO

We are now carrying NO test strips that is an excellent way of tracking your NO and the effectiveness of your treatment program. Look for these under the Berkeley brand. These are easy to use saliva test strips. You will pay the price of chronically depleted NO levels.

With the test strips, we are experimenting different ways of keeping your NO levels up. Currently we like a combination of beet root powder and L-arginine and L-citrulline. We have been mixing our own and testing is in early stages. In the meantime, you can get started on the Pure Encapsulations Nitric Oxide support formula (one to two scoops a day is typical) and add a couple of beet root powder capsules. You can give us a call for our recommendation of a trusted brand.

Hopefully these tips will help you stay away from strokes and heart disease. Our goal here at OVitaminPro is to help you keep your health moving forward.