Heart Disease

Overview

Heart disease, also known as cardiovascular disease, is the number one killer of Americans each year accounting for more than one million annual deaths, and affecting another sixty-million individuals. Although heart disease is more commonly thought of as a disorder that primarily affects men, the fact is, it strikes slightly more women every year than it will men (52% women/ 48% men). Someone in the United States dies from a heart attack every minute, while three people will experience a heart attack during that same time span. Regardless of this grim number, heart disease is one of the most easily preventable degenerative health conditions, despite the fact that conventional medicine is largely a failure in this area.

The reason conventional medicine fails when treating heart disease is because it places emphasis on the wrong factors such as cholesterol levels, which are much less important to overall heart health than other factors. This unwillingness on the part of cardiologists and conventional practitioners to admit this causes Americans to spend nearly $60 billion each year to treat heart disease using methods that are frequently ineffective and are often fraught with severe unwanted side effects. In contrast, alternative physicians and other practitioners of natural healing techniques, have a higher overall success rate when dealing with and stopping heart disease. The methods they employ not only work better but they are also safer and often less expensive.

Today, an abundance of scientific proof exists which verifies what holistic doctors have noted for many years. Not only is heart disease imminently treatable and reversible when the proper treatment methods are employed, it’s also something that is very easy to avoid in the first place.

Types of Heart Disease

Various conditions fall under the group of heart disease. These include angina pectoris, arrhythmia, arteriosclerosis (also known as atherosclerosis), cardiac arrest, congestive heart disease (also called cardiomyopathy), coronary stenosis, heart attack (myocardial infarction), hypertension (hypertension), and stroke.

Angina pectoris—This condition is associated with feelings of discomfort, heaviness, and/or pressure in the chest and throat, as well as, in some instances, pain in the left arm and shoulder. These sensations are caused by deficiencies in the flow of oxygen and blood to the heart muscle, usually because of lesions in the arteries or valves of the heart.

Arrhythmia—Arrhythmia is a condition characterized by irregular or abnormal heartbeat. Though typically not severe, it requires regular monitoring because in many cases it can result in more severe forms of cardiovascular disease if not correctly treated.

Arteriosclerosis (Atherosclerosis)—Arteriosclerosis/coronary artery disease is characterized by a loss of elasticity and abnormal solidifying and thickening of the arterial walls, that cause the arterial blood vessels to narrow, making blood flow to the body’s various internal organs, including the brain and the heart, much more difficult. It often follows or results in heart attack and stroke.

Cardiac arrest—Cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart stops beating. Unless treated immediately, it can result in death.

Congestive heart disease (cardiomyopathy)—Situation characterized by congestion of blood within the heart, and weakness of the heart muscle. It is often accompanied by shortness of breath without physical exertion. Left untreated, it can result in total failure of the heart muscle (congestive heart failure).

Coronary heart disease—Coronary heart disease refers to atherosclerosis of the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart’s muscles. It is one of the most typical forms of heart disease in the United States and can frequently result in angina and heart attack.

Coronary stenosis—Coronary stenosis is a situation in which the heart’s pumping capacity becomes suppressed due to the arterial blood vessels and/or valves of the heart muscle becoming constricted or narrowed, making normal blood circulation difficult, and resulting in a diminished supply of oxygen and nutrients to the heart and throughout the body.

Cardiac arrest (myocardial infarction)—Heart attacks strike millions of Americans each year, resulting in the death of over 500,000 individuals. They occur as a result of reduced flow of blood and oxygen to the heart. As a result, part of the heart literally dies. In serious cases, the outcome is cardiac arrest and death. Although up to 50% of all instances of heart attack occur without warning or noticeable symptoms, in most cases the factors leading to a heart attack are set in motion years prior.

High blood pressure (HBP)—High blood pressure is one of the most common health conditions in the United States. People affected by this condition have higher than normal blood pressure levels when their hearts pump blood through the body’s arteries. This greater than normal force can damage the walls of the arteries, which can result in dangerous deposits of harmful (Low density lipoprotein) cholesterol and various poisonous substances on the arterial walls. If this process is left unchecked, the outcome can be cardiac arrest, stroke, and any other cardiovascular problems.

Stroke—Stroke is the third cause of death in the United States. Every year, over 500,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke, with 2/3 of all victims becoming incapacitated to some extent. Many survivors of stroke suffer from diminished, and in some cases, total loss of vision, physical movement, and/or speech. Stroke occurs as a result of reduced blood flow to the brain, blood clots, and/or internal hemorrhaging and ruptured blood vessels, all of which deplete the flow of oxygen to the brain, causing areas of the brain to wither and die. To a lesser degree, stroke can also be caused by chemical defects, hereditary disorders, and rare forms of blood disease.

Symptoms of Cardiovascular Disease

Symptoms of heart disease can often stay hidden and go unnoticed until the later phases of cardio degeneration. As many as half of all cases of deadly heart attacks display zero symptoms before death. Consequently, it is important that you be tested for signs and symptoms early and on an ongoing basis to minimize risk.

Telltale signs that you may be suffering from cardiovascular problems include dizziness, fainting, and leg discomfort while jogging that fades with subsequent rest, all of which can be signs of arteriosclerosis (atherosclerosis). Other signals are mild to severe heart pains, tightness in the chest, numbness in the arm, and pain in the upper body or throat that worsens following exercise or eating, all of which are associated with angina pectoris. Difficulty breathing can be related to congestive heart failure or even angina pectoris.

Symptoms of cardiac arrest include crushing chest pain, profuse perspiration, sudden decrease in blood, nausea, vomiting, and pain in the left arm, jaw, neck, and shoulder blades.

Caution: If you encounter any of the above symptoms, seek instant medical attention, even if the symptoms diminish and are not long lasting.

Causes of Heart Disease

There are many causes of heart disease. These include poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, hereditary predisposition, chronic infection, chronic inflammation, anxiety, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid problems, insulin resistance, obesity, tension, gum (periodontal) disease, mercury and other environmental toxins, poverty, and oxidized cholesterol. However, the most crucial and usually undiagnosed cause of most types of cardiovascular disease is vulnerable plaque.

Vulnerable Plaque: The role that vulnerable plaque plays in heart disease first came to light with the publication of a monograph by the American Heart Association in 1998, which was edited by its president, Valentin Fuster, M.D., Ph.D. Director of the Cardiovascular Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. According to research data cited in the monograph, vulnerable plaque is the primary cause of 85% of all heart attacks and stroke. Despite this discovery, most traditional cardiologists and conventional doctors continue to disregard vulnerable plaque, choosing instead to focus on secondary and far less severe causes of heart disease. It is primarily this reason that conventional medicine continues to lose the fight against cardiovascular disease.

Unlike harder, crystalline plaque associated with arteriosclerosis, vulnerable plaque is a mixture of blood cells, cholesterol, and fats that accumulate inside the arterial walls, and is encapsulated by a thin fiber-like as coating. What makes vulnerable plaque dangerous is the fact that it contains effective clotting agents or coagulants that when they are released to the blood stream, can cause large and potentially fatal thrombus to form. Compounding this problem is the fact that the body responds to susceptible plaque as if it were an infection. As a result, the immune system attacks it by unleashing white blood cells and enzymes that can cause the fibrous cap that contains vulnerable plaque to rupture quite easily, spilling the coagulants out to the blood stream to form clots. Vulnerable plaque buildup, as well as all other forms of plaque that can build up inside the arterial blood vessels, is actually created by the body to repair harm caused by tears and lesions to the arterial blood vessels that can result from such elements as hypertension, stress, and smoking.
Alternative physicians, who treat heart disease, believe for the most part, vulnerable plaque buildup makes the medicines and surgical procedures typically advised for cardiovascular disease both unneeded and ill-advised because of their failure to address the underlying cause of most incidents of heart disease. Moreover, various conventional analysis techniques, such as angiograms, are also usually useless for discovering vulnerable plaque. Alternative physicians recommend extremely-high-speed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) testing, which is much better able to identify vulnerable oral plaque buildup, as well as other alternative diagnostic techniques, such as darkfield microscopy, a technique in which a live blood sample is viewed through a special microscopic lens, and is illuminated with specifically angled halogen light.

Although the pharmaceutical industry is currently exploring the possibility of creating drugs to target vulnerable plaque, for now they primarily rely on cholesterol lowering drugs such as statins (Lipitor) and blood thinner medicines such as Warfarin (Coumadin), each of which can cause severe side effects and even death. Fortunately, there is no need to wait for further drug developments, because for over 50 years alternative doctors have used nutritional supplements which directly tackle vulnerable oral plaque. These supplements help breakdown vulnerable plaque by providing the body with what it needs to restore the overall health of the entire cardiovascular system.

Infections: Chronic infection is another often ignored cause of heart disease. The onset of bacterial and viral infections in your body can trigger a corresponding buildup of vulnerable plaque as the body tries to halt the spread of infection. According to researchers, the primary infectious agents related to heart disease are Chlamydia (particularly Chlamydia pneumonia, which 95% of all individuals come in contact with at some point in their life), cytomegalovirus (CMV), the herpes virus family of viruses, and Helibactor pylori. (Also commonly associated with stomach ulcers)

The link between infection and heart disease can be seen in various scientific reports, including one published in the Journal of American Healthcare Association (JAHA), which indicates that as much as 55% of possible heart attacks can be prevented when patients receive antibiotic treatment. Further research has found that 70% of cardiac arrest patients test positive for Chlamydia pneumonia, while CMV has been found in the heart muscle of 85% of all heart disease sufferers.

Chronic Inflammation: Recent research has shown that chronic, low-grade inflammation is another serious cause of heart disease, increasing the risk of heart attack by 300-800%, and the risk of heart stroke by 200%. Your doctor can determine if you suffer from low-grade inflammation through the use of a relatively inexpensive blood tests that measures levels of D-reactive protein (CRP), a marker for inflammation in the body. Although CRP is always present in the body, its levels rise in direct proportion to elevated inflammation amounts. Normal CRP levels are less than 36mg. Amounts higher than this are a powerful indicator that chronic inflammation exists.

Oxidized Cholesterol: For years, conventional doctors have warned about the perils of high cholesterol levels in relation to heart disease, especially high levels of low density lipoprotein, or “bad” cholesterol, when compared with HDL, or “good” cholesterol. However, it’s not the amount of cholesterol you have—good or bad—that determines your risk of heart disease, however, the determining factor is whether or not cholesterol becomes oxidized. Otherwise, cholesterol plays a valuable role in your overall health, not only maintaining the health of your cells, but also by helping maintain correct immune function, kidney performance, and producing and regulating the body’s natural supply of sex and steroid hormones.

Cholesterol, especially in the form of low density lipoprotein, only becomes a health risk when it combines with oxygen, a procedure known as oxidation. Oxidation of cholesterol can occur as a result of toxin damages, overexposure to chlorinated water or fluoride (in many cases contained in public drinking water) and the amino acid homocysteine. Other triggers of cholesterol oxidation include eating commercialized or processed foods, excessive consumption of dairy products, exposure to environmental toxins and pesticides, infection, stress, and physical trauma. Whenever oxidation of cholesterol happens, it often leads to the formation of hard plaque buildup associated with arteriosclerosis, potentially setting the stage for cardiac arrest and/or stroke to occur, and elevating blood pressure levels.

Conventional doctors ignore oxidized cholesterol, focusing instead simply—and all too often dangerously—on lowering general cholesterol levels, especially LDL cholesterol. This improper emphasis has resulted in the explosive growth of a new type of cholesterol-decreasing drug known as statins. Not only do statins do nothing to protect against oxidation of cholesterol, but they can also cause a variety of severe side effects, including inflammation of the liver. In addition, their ability to cause harm significantly increases when they are used in combination with other pharmaceutical drugs.

Genetic Predisposition: Through genes can genetically predispose an individual to develop heart disease, such a predisposition doesn’t make heart disease a certainty. In fact, knowing if you have a genetic predisposition for heart disease, or other illness, can actually improve your ability to prevent it by taking the correct preventive measures discussed below.

The biggest danger posed by genetic predisposition in relation to heart disease has to do with uncommon, but severe, hereditary factors related to abnormal metabolic processing of cholesterol. Men with this type of predisposition can suffer cardiac arrest as early as in their twenties. A genetic predisposition to improperly metabolize the amino acids cysteine and methionine can also increase heart disease risk, but not as considerably. Such a condition is known as hyperhomocysteinemia. Elevated levels of fibrinogen, an additional risk factor for cardiovascular disease, can also be influenced by a person’s genes.

High Blood Pressure: High blood pressure may dramatically increase the risk of cardiac arrest and other types of heart disease due to the ability of elevated blood pressure levels to harm and damage arterial walls. Frequently high blood pressure can be present without any symptoms, it is therefore advisable to get regular blood pressure tests (at least once a year).

Pharmaceutical drug Drugs: A number of pharmaceutical medicines can improve your risk of heart disease, including commonly recommended heart medications, such as statins used to lower cholesterol, and blood thinners such as Coumadin. Other medicines that have been shown to increase cardiovascular disease risk include COX-2 inhibitors (Bextra, Celebrex, Vioxx), Emcyt, Ethmozine, Lupron Depot Shots, Novantrone Shots, Rythmol, Tambocor, Tonocard, as well as Zoladex.

Poor Diet: Diets high in commercially processed foods, sugars, simple carbohydrates, and unhealthy fat have long been implicated as serious risk factors for heart disease. These types of diets not only lack vital nutrients essential for overall cardio health, but also, they are low in fiber and significantly increase the risk of other associated factors of cardiovascular disease, such as insulin imbalance, immune deficiencies, persistent inflammation, and chronic infection.

Nutritional Deficiencies: Insufficient amounts of essential nutrients such as vitamins C and E, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), magnesium, selenium, essential fatty acids, and amino acids such as lysine, can play a role in the development of heart disease.

Lack of Exercise: Neglecting to exercise regularly can lead to a host of health problems, such as heart disease. Proper exercise not only strengthens the heart muscle, but additionally, it improves your body’s ability to digest and absorb essential nutrients in the foods you consume. Regular exercise also helps increase proper oxygen and blood flow within the body.

Diabetes: Diabetes, especially in early adulthood, or Type II, diabetic issues can also contribute to heart disease because it causes arterial walls to degenerate. This, in turn, may cause impaired blood circulation and a higher level of toxins within the system which can trigger the oxidation of cholesterol. Diabetic issues can also result in higher levels of biochemical stress and the increased manufacture of dangerous adrenal cortical steroids, a class of hormones that can keep the body in a perpetual state of tension.

Insulin suppression, which can aid in the onset of type ll diabetes, may also cause cardiovascular disease because the chemical imbalances associated with it may negatively affect the arterial walls and create blockages. In addition, when levels of insulin rise in the body due to insulin resistance and/or type ll diabetes, these cause biochemicals such as fibrinogen and triglycerides to increase too, while also lowering HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels, which can further increase the likelihood of heart disease.

Gum Disease: Gum or periodontal disease, has been shown by research to increase the risk of heart disease, especially stroke, because the bacteria associated with gum disease can enter the bloodstream, causing harm to arterial walls and increasing the risk of unhealthy blood clots.

Thyroid problems: Hypothyroidism, or even underactive thyroid function, may contribute to heart disease because of the various imbalances which are created in your body when thyroid function is inadequate. Low thyroid function can significantly impair your body’s overall metabolism, in addition to adversely affecting your heartbeat and blood pressure, each of which can result in severe cardiovascular problems if left untreated.

Smoking: Smoking and regular exposure to cigarette smoke are both dangerous factors that contribute to heart disease. Each year, more than 190,000 Americans die of heart disease as a direct result of smoking, and another 37,000-40,000 more die as a result of exposure to cigarette smoke. Additionally, people who are frequently exposed to second-hand smoke possess a 90% higher risk of dying due to cardiac arrest compared to nonsmokers who are not exposed to tobacco smoke. Even occasional exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke can be dangerous because the risk of cardiovascular disease can increase by as much as 58% when people are around cigarette smoke.

The 4,000 plus chemical toxins contained in cigarette smoke cause cardiovascular disease by damaging the walls and internal lining of the arteries and increasing bloodstream stickiness and the likelihood of susceptible plaque. This increases the likelihood of developing unhealthy thrombus and heart attacks. Nicotine constricts the arterial walls increasing the chance of high blood pressure. Moreover, due to the numerous toxins in tobacco products, smoking and exposure to cigarettes can weaken immune performance making it easier for infectious agents to take hold that can also trigger heart disease.

Mercury and Other Environmental Toxins: Mercury, and other heavy metals and environmental toxins, can significantly increase the chance of heart disease in a number of ways. Included in this are unhealthy changes in heartbeat due to poisonous interferences with enzymes essential for proper contraction of the heart muscle, disturbances in the body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients, elasticity of arterial muscle, and interference within the body’s ability to process and remove cholesterol deposits via the fats causing oxidation of plaque. In addition, research has proven that the presence of heavy metals in the body makes it far easier for contagious agents to live in the body, further increasing the probability of heart disease developing.

Mercury toxicity is a widespread problem in the United States due to its presence in dental amalgam teeth fillings, many vaccines, in the environment and in certain fish. A number of other environmental toxins are also widespread throughout our country’s air, water, and dirt. Because environmental toxicity is so common, alternative health practitioners routinely screen for such poisons and make detoxing a part of their overall remedy approach for treating and stopping heart disease.

Poverty: Recent research indicates that those who are impoverished are more at risk for heart attacks than people who are well-to-do, even if all other risk factors regarding heart disease are taken into account. This is especially true of people who live in neighborhoods characterized by poverty, given that they are more apt to live in an atmosphere with more environmental toxins, as well as greater levels of garbage and debris. Additionally, living in this kind of neighborhood may increase tension levels, which can also bring about heart disease.

Stress: Chronic, conflicting stress is a well-known risk factor for heart disease. During times of stress, blood pressure levels rise and, if left untreated, can cause damage to the blood vessels supplying the heart with vital nutrients and air. In addition, during times of stress, damaging hormones known as corticosteroids are released into the blood stream, causing problems that can lead to heart disease.

Diagnostic Techniques to Screen for Heart Disease

Conventional physicians often rely on blood tests which measure cholesterol (HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol) and triglyceride amounts, and blood pressure levels, to gage a person’s danger of developing heart disease. What follows are the ideals for normal readings for those four of those tests:

Complete Cholesterol—165-200 mg/dL

LDL Cholesterol—below 130 milligrams/dL

HDL cholesterol—less than a hundred and fifty mg or dL

Triglycerides—less than 150 mg/dL

Other commonly used diagnostic tests include angiogram, echocardiogram ultrasound, electrocardiogram (EKG), brachial catalog blood circulation, arterial tightness index (ASI), carotid artery ultrasound, as well as abdominal aortic aneurysm test.

An angiogram helps to measure the overall size and shape of the arterial blood vessels and veins, and is useful for detecting solidifying of the arteries.

An echocardiogram is an ultrasound examination performed to detect conditions such as enlargement of the heart and other heart abnormalities. In addition, an echocardiogram can potentially identify blood clots, tumors, stenosis, and fluid develop around the heart.

The electrocardiogram, or EKG, provides an image of the electric activity responsible for the heart’s cycle of contraction as well as relaxation. A single EKG “strip” shows the electrical modifications (up and down) with time (left to right). Generally, several leads or electrodes are placed on our bodies so that the heart can be “viewed” from a number of angles. Through evaluating the actual tracings from the heart’s electrical activity, physicians can see if the heartbeat is actually irregular (if any arrhythmia is present), discover whether the heart is bigger and identify the telltale signs of damage from a heart attack.

The actual ankle/brachial index blood circulation (ABI) test utilizes pressure cuffs to measure extremities for peripheral artery disease, and is useful in detecting arteriosclerosis.

The arterial tightness index (ATI) test measures the degree of stiffness, or hardening of the brachial artery, which has been demonstrated in studies to correlate with heart disease.

The carotid artery test utilizes an ultrasound to look inside the carotid arteries of the neck, which supply blood and oxygen to the brain. If there is a build-up of greasy plaque or any clot formation, this can cause a heart stroke.

The abdominal aortic aneurysm test (AAA) uses ultrasound to look for the presence of an aneurysm or an increase in the coating of the circulatory system. The vast majority of people with an abdominal aortic aneurysm have no symptoms, becoming aware of the situation can save lives.

Although all of the above assessments can be useful for determining overall cardiovascular health, they are of little use in detecting some of the primary causes of cardiovascular disease, such as chronic inflammation, chronic infections, and, most especially, vulnerable plaque buildup. For this reason, alternative health practitioners utilize a variety of additional tests, as well. These include ultra-higher-pace Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), darkfield microscopy, electrodermal testing, and bloodstream tests that measure D-reactive protein (the marker for chronic inflammation), homocysteine (which can increase plaque formation within the arteries), lipoprotein(a) (an indicator of LDL cholesterol), fibrinogen (high levels of which could indicate a risk associated with both stroke and coronary artery disease), apoliprotein A-1 and apoliprotein B (both are predictors of a person’s risk of heart disease), sugar and insulin (when elevated, can symbolize a danger of cardiovascular disease due to diabetic issues and/or blood insulin resistance), and iron amounts (excessive iron in the body results in increased free radical production and oxidative damage, including in order to cholesterol).

An Ultra-High-Pace MRI is among the most effective diagnostic tools for detecting vulnerable plaque. In addition to providing high quality images from inside the arteries and blood vessels, this procedure is relatively quick.

Darkfield Microscopy involves using a darkfield microscope. Unlike conventional microscopes, a darkfield microscopic lens is specifically adapted to examine live blood tissue which is magnified onto a video screen. This allows doctors to detect disease and abnormalities via distortions within the walls of the blood cells, and to spot vulnerable plaque, as well as parasites, viruses, and other potentially harmful organisms in the blood stream, where they don’t belong.

Electrodermal Screening (EDS) is a noninvasive diagnostic technique that measures the electrical output of specific points on the fingers, face, or even feet which correlate to acupuncture meridian points at the start or end of power meridians. The electrical signals given off at these points provide details about the health status of a patients organs and tissues, and may also be used to identify the presence of toxins, energy imbalances, and dangerous microorganisms, all of which can contribute to the onset of heart disease. At the disposal of a highly experienced EDS practitioner, EDS can often detect cardiovascular abnormalities, even when other sophisticated testing methods fail to do this because of the fact that both health and disease are the result of unbalanced energy.

What follow are the normal blood pressure measurements for the blood tests mentioned above:

D-reactive protein (CRP)—less than32 mg/dL

Homocysteine—less than 10 mg

Lipoprotein(a)—less than 32 mg/dL

Fibrinogen—less than 300 mg

Apoliproprotein A-1—125-215 mg/dL

Apoliproprotein B—55-125 mg/dL

Glucose—80-110 mg

Iron—less than 150 mg/dL.

Dangers of Traditional Treatments for Heart Disease

In addition to failing to tackle the primary elements that cause cardiovascular disease, such as vulnerable plaque, chronic inflammation, chronic infection, and oxidized cholesterol, conventional remedies for cardiovascular disease can cause very serious side effects, including death. Such dangerous treatments include aspirin, non-steroid anti-inflammation drugs (NSAIDs), blood loss medications, and cholesterol-reducing drugs.

Aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): Aspirin and other NSAIDs are generally prescribed to safeguard against heart attack and stroke. However, low dosages of pain killers taken daily—something that is frequently recommended by conventional doctors to prevent heart attack—can have serious outcomes, as an estimated 2,000 or more people die every year in the U.S. as a result of stomach bleeding caused by normal aspirin consumption. Overall, NSAIDs kill more than 20,000 Americans each year due to gastrointestinal bleeding, and cause another 125,000 hospitalizations. As with all other pharmaceutical drugs, NSAIDS are able to also cause severe renal system and/or liver damage. These drugs can also increase the risk of stomach ulcers, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

Blood Thinning Medications: Blood thinning or anticoagulant medications are generally prescribed to lower the formation of unhealthy blood clots, counteract blockages in the arterial blood vessels, and to prevent heart disease. One of the most commonly recommended blood thinners is warfarin, which is marketed under the brand name Coumadin. In addition to their expensive cost, this kind of medication may cause a wide range of side effects. These include serious allergic reactions, such as difficulty breathing, involuntary closing of the throat, hives, swollen lips, swollen tongue, black, bloody, or even tarry stools, blood in the urine or even vomit, coughing up blood, bloody gums, mouth sores, reduced urine production, yellowing of the eyes and/or skin, blood loss or bruising of the skin, staining of the toes or fingers, unusually heavy menstruation, extreme gas or bloating, looseness of the bowels, nausea, vomiting, hair loss, decreased appetite, and unhealthy weight loss.

Cholesterol-Lowering Medicines: This class of drugs is widely prescribed by traditional physicians to prevent and treat heart disease, especially a newer class of cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins, such as Lipitor and Crestor. As discussed above, reducing cholesterol levels is not nearly as important as preventing and stopping the oxidation of cholesterol, which is something these types of drugs don’t do. Not only do statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs fail to address one of the most substantial risk factors for cardiovascular disease, they can dramatically increase (by as much as 46%) the probability of heart attack or even stroke, in addition to increasing amounts of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Additionally, they reduce our body’s ability to soak up and make use of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a vital heart nutrient. Other side effects of these drugs include amnesia, serious fatigue, kidney or liver damage, muscle pain, neuromuscular degeneration, symptoms associated with Lou Gehrig’s disease, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and and Parkinson’s disease.

Angioplasty and Coronary Bypass: One of the most common surgical procedures for treating cardiovascular disease is balloon angioplasty, which accounts for 250,000 procedures in the U.S. every year. Another common surgical treatment for cardiovascular disease is coronary bypass, which accounts for another 300,000 yearly operations. Although both treatments are very common in traditional medicine, many scientists, such as Nortin Hadler, M.D., of NYU School of Medicine, consider angioplasties to be an unjustifiable operation in every instance, with only 3-5% of coronary bypass surgeries being necessary. The American Heart Association has also made similar statements since the 1980’s.

Although heart disease sufferers are usually told that angioplasty and bypass surgery may extend their lives, the facts speak otherwise, as has been shown in a 1997 statement by the New England Journal of Medicine, which states that the vast majority of angioplasty and bypass surgeries provide no substantial degree of life extension, in spite of their high price tags. Additionally, more recent scientific evidence implies that nearly half of all patients who undergo bypass procedures exhibit significant diminished intellectual and mental function within five years after the operations are performed due to brain damage caused by the procedures. Furthermore, bypass surgical treatment carried out shortly after heart attack or angina has been shown to also increase the risk of heart stroke within months after the surgery is performed.

Heart Catheterization: An investigation conducted in 1996 showed that heart catheterization, which is a conventional analysis procedure, can greatly increase the risk of death. The procedure is performed by inserting a catheter tube into the mouth, down the throat, and into the heart to measure blood pressure levels . Though it has never been adequately tested to guarantee safety and effectiveness, every year over half a million Americans go through heart catheterization. Moreover, the use of heart catheterization has been shown to result in more angioplasty and bypass surgical procedures, despite the fact that research shows that when catheterization is followed by either of these procedures, the chance of death among heart attack survivors increases by 36%.

Natural Cures

The following recommendations are effective for reversing and stopping heart disease:

Aromatherapy: The essential oils of garlic clove, lavender, pepper mint, marjoram, rose, and rosemary oil can help to strengthen heart muscle mass, while lavender, melissa, neroli, and ylang-ylang are useful for balancing abnormal heart palpitations.

Chelation Treatment: Chelation treatments are an effective and safe natural option for angioplasty and coronary bypass surgery. Scientific research shows that chelation treatments are effective for healing and preventing heart conditions caused or amplified by arteriosclerosis, including angina, heart attack, and stroke due to its ability to decrease blockages in the arteries. Studies have shown that chelation therapy enhances overall artery health by more than 95% when it comes to its ability to remove plaque and calcium debris from the arteries’ inner lining. Chelation treatments are up to 85% more effective than bypass surgery.

The main reason chelation therapy works effectively is because it is able to remove heavy metals which contribute to vulnerable plaque from within the arteries. Vulnerable plaque causes 85% of cases of heart disease. The removal of vulnerable plaque not only reduces the risk of heart disease but also increases the delivery of oxygen to heart tissues. Leading chelation expert, Garry Gordon, MD, developer of the modern chelation therapy, recommends a combination of intravenous (I.V.) chelation treatments combined with ongoing oral chelation dietary supplements.

Diet: In order to prevent heart disease it is important to take care of yourself, this includes eating a healthy diet, proper nutritional supplements, regular exercise, not smoking, and managing and reducing stress. Unfortunately, poor diet is one of the most common health problems in the United States. To safeguard yourself from heart disease, you must eliminate your consumption of all unhealthy fats, particularly trans-fatty acids and hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated fats and oils. This means not eating meals that contain margarine, vegetable shortening, or lard, and any fried or commercially prepared foods which are typically full of unhealthy fat. Avoid all meals that contain additives, preservatives, as well as foods grown with the use of pesticides, herbicides, anabolic steroids, and antibiotics, and all meals that contain powdered eggs or powdered whole milk. Eliminate all refined sugars and simple carbohydrates, which reduce immune function, and therefore decrease the body’s ability to fight off infections linked to heart disease. In addition, remove all processed salt from your diet which will dramatically lower your overall sodium intake, and instead use Himalayan Mountain, or Krystal Sea Salt. Reduce your intake of red meat, dairy products, and caffeine (a maximum of two cups of coffee per day). Limit your alcohol intake to a maximum of one cup of red wine per day, preferably with a dinner.

Emphasize a diet rich in organic whole foods, especially plenty of clean raw fruits and vegetables, oats, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and organic, free-range poultry and wild-caught fish, such as halibut, mackerel, orange roughy, and salmon (avoid farm raised fish). Beans and legumes are also advisable because of their high fiber content. Additionally, be sure to use healthy natural oils such as extra- virgin olive oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, and omega-3-fatty acids which are contained in the fish listed above. Selecting organic, rather than conventionally produced foods provides you with a definite advantage.

Throughout the day, drink plenty of pure, filtered water, and avoid drinking—as well as bathing in—unfiltered tap water, because tap water contains heavy metals and pesticide residues that can contribute to and aggravate heart disease.

Studies have shown that one of the best nutritional approaches to a healthy heart is the Mediterranean Diet, which includes large servings of vegetables with garlic, onions, extra virgin olive oil, and moderate amounts of whole grains, seafood, and poultry, with an occasional glass of red wine with dinner. The nearly vegetarian “reversal diet” developed by health writer and researcher Dean Ornish, M.D., has been proven to help improve overall heart health. It emphasizes meals composed primarily of vegetables and whole grain products, and removes nearly all LDL cholesterol containing foods, such as animal fats and oils. Dr. Ornish suggests that, for the best results, patients also commit to an exercise program and stress reduction techniques, such as meditation.

Enzyme Therapy: The use of digestive nutrients with your meals, as well as a particular enzyme known as Wobenzym-D is also suggested. Digestive nutrients aid the body in processing the foods you consume, as well as improving your body’s capability to absorb and make use of the nutrition they include. Wobenzym-D which is taken away from meals, is a potent molecule-bioflavonoid product that enters the bloodstream, where it will help to attack infectious pathogens, reduce chronic irritation, and regulate markers of heart disease, such as C-reactive protein and fibrinogen. It can provide all of the same benefits as aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), with none of their side effects, including death by bleeding within the digestive system.

Exercise: Regular exercise can reduce harmful high blood pressure, reduce unhealthy low density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride amounts, increase levels of healthy high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, enhance oxygen flow to the body’s cells and tissues, and improve immune function, which helps to protect against the infectious organisms that can cause heart disease. Additionally, exercise is an excellent way of improving overall health and decreasing stress, each of which are important in safeguarding yourself against heart disease. What follows are a handful of tips for making regular exercise easier to achieve.

1. Make it your goal to walk, go swimming, skate, jump rope, dance, run, or ride the bike, at least 3 times every week for at least 30 minutes each time.

2. To enhance lean muscle mass, and also improve the health of your heart, engage in a strength-training program 2 times per week. For best results, make sure the program includes a mix of calisthenics and weight lifting workouts which focus on all of the main muscle groups of your body.

3. To help yourself follow a regular exercise program, do one or more of the following: Ask a buddy to participate with you; make scheduling each exercise program a high priority; and exercise while listening to music or a motivational tape to make your regular workout more enjoyable.

Note: If suffer from poor health or are over the age of 40, seek advice from your physician before beginning an exercise plan.

Herbal Treatments: Useful herbal treatments for protecting the health of the cardiovascular system consist of: Foxglove, from which the heart medicine digitalis is derived; hawthorn fruit, which has been shown to enhance blood circulation to and from the heart and also to relieve arterial spasms; garlic clove helps to dissolve clots and acts as both a potent antioxidant and organic antibiotic; ginger root has antioxidant properties and can reduce cholesterol and decrease the actual stickiness of blood platelets; olive leaf extract, a powerful antioxidant, helps to lower hypertension and maintain the capillary walls; motherwort helps to prevent and calm an abnormal pounding heart; ginkgo biloba acts as a natural blood slimmer and can enhance blood flow, as well as aid cognitive memory function for those whose mental faculties have been diminished as a result of stroke and/or surgical surgery such as bypass surgery.

The following herbal tonic can also help protect against cardiovascular disease: Combine equal parts ginkgo biloba, hawthorn fruit, and linden flower, taken as a tincture. Add ½ tsp. of this mixture to a few ounces of pure filtered water and consume 3 times per day. For more powerful effects, you can simply take it straight without having water.

Juice Therapy: The following juice combos act as wholesome heart herbal medications: Carrot, celery, cucumber, and beet, along with small amounts of garlic and/or hawthorn berries; the juice of blueberries, blackberries, black currant, and/or red grapes.

Lifestyle: If you smoke, stop immediately. Also avoid all exposure to second-hand smoke, and reduce your contact with environmental contaminants. In addition, learn to effectively manage stress, by, for example participating in a meditation or even biofeedback program, and dedicate yourself to exercising at least 3 times per week, for at least 30 minutes each time. If you are obese, attempt to shed a few pounds in a healthy manner.

Nutritional Supplements: The significance of specific nutrients to general heart health has been clearly established scientifically for at least half a century, due to the work of pioneering researchers such as two time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, Ph.D., whose research showed that cardiovascular disease is mainly due to a lack of nutrients. Dr. Pauling maintained that heart disease was one of the most avoidable of all illnesses, despite its huge financial and personal cost each year. His own personal dietary heart disease defensive remedy is as follows: 6-18 mg of vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid, divided into three daily doses and used just before or with foods, along with 3-6 grams of the amino acid lysine, used once daily. In addition to this treatment, Matthias Rath, M.D., among Dr. Pauling’s associates, suggests adding the amino acid proline once per day at a dose of between ½ -2 grams.

Other important nutrients for preventing and helping to reverse cardiovascular disease include: Beta carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, which has been shown to decrease the risk of heart disease by as much as 50 % (for best outcomes, supplement with a mixed carotenoid formula for additional antioxidant protection);vitamin B3 (niacin), which reduces cholesterol and overall heart disease risk, and helps to increase the longevity of those that have already experienced a heart attack; supplement B6 (pyridoxine), which helps in order to neutralize homocysteine and hinder platelet stickiness, thus protecting against arteriosclerosis; vitamin B12, which helps to protect against homocysteine; ascorbic acid, which safeguards against LDL cholesterol oxidation, infection, and irritation, all main risk factors for heart disease, and can also help to dissolve unhealthy blood clots; vitamin E, which can significantly decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and also protects against irregular blood clots and LDL cholesterol oxidation, in addition to helping to restore the cellular coating of blood vessels and to inhibit platelet stickiness (Caution: High dosages of vitamin E are not recommended for people with high blood pressure, rheumatic heart disease, or even ischemic cardiovascular disease unless taken under healthcare supervision); folate, which is essential for decreasing and correctly metabolizing homocysteine; coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an important nutritional supplement for maintaining heart power, providing energy for the overall cardiovascular system, as well as for inhibiting oxidation of cholesterol due to its powerful antioxidant properties; proanthocyanidan (PCA), which is contained in pycnogenol and grape seed extract, and which helps to prevent cholesterol oxidation while protecting the actual inner artery walls and inhibiting platelet stickiness and abnormal blood clots; calcium, which helps to reduce platelet stickiness and unhealthy levels of cholesterol; chromium, which helps to reduce triglyceride and low density lipoprotein (“bad”) cholesterol levels, while increasing HDL (“good) cholesterol; magnesium , which keeps arteries clean and properly dilated, improves blood flow, helps the heart pump blood, protect against arrhythmia, inhibit arterial calcification, inhibit platelet stickiness, and maintain healthy general cholesterol levels; potassium, which protects against hypertension much more safely and successfully than blood pressure level medications; selenium, another potent antioxidant which helps to reduce platelet stickiness.

In addition to lysine and proline, certain other amino acids can also be helpful for protecting against heart disease. This is especially true with L-arginin and L-carnitine. L-arginine helps to protect against high blood pressure, and has been scientifically shown to enhance overall heart function in patients with congestive heart disease. If taken immediately after a heart attack, it can also help repair damaged heart muscles. In addition, M-arginine helps the body produce nitric acid, which helps to maintain the smoothness and shape of the blood vessels.

In addition to helping to reduce triglyceride amounts, L-carnitine also enhances the heart’s ability to properly pump blood, significantly reduces the risk of angina and arrhythmia, and helps speed recovery following a heart attack.

Other useful nutrients include omega-3-fatty acids that protect against chronic inflammation, behave as natural bloodstream thinners, and help to reduce dangerous cholesterol and triglyceride amounts; gamma linoleic acid, which helps to eliminate chronic inflammation and elevated C-reactive protein levels; policosanol, which decreases LDL cholesterol and lipoprotein and speeds recovery from angina; trimethylglycine (TMG), which is very effective for decreasing homecysteine.

Air Therapy: A variety of oxygen treatments have been shown to provide significant benefits for patients with cardiovascular disease. Hydrogen peroxide treatment, administered intravenously, can reduce the buildup of plaque in the arteries, in addition to improving the heart’s ability to properly contract and receive air. The late Charles Farr, M.D., Ph.D., a pioneer in the use of hydrogen peroxide therapy, helped numerous patients struggling with high-output heart failure (a condition in which the heart is unable to function properly despite pumping high levels of blood) by administering I.V. peroxide therapy in an alternating rotation with chelation therapy. He reported success alternating treatments of I.V. diluted peroxide and chelation therapy to bring patients out of higher-output heart failure (where the heart fails though it may be pumping blood).

Oxygen therapy has been shown to improve overall cardiovascular health. It is especially useful for dealing with problems in the circulatory system and for dissolving plaque in the arteries and veins. Usually, oxygen is injected directly into the arterial blood vessels for this purpose.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) is another form of air therapy. It’s most useful for helping patients to recover from stroke. For this function, stroke sufferers are placed in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Once inside, the atmospheric pressure is elevated, so that a higher level of air can flood into the body’s cells and tissue, making it easier for that body to restore itself by reducing swollen tissues and improving oxygen supply towards the brain. According to David A. Steenblock, M.S., D.O., an expert in using HBOT for stroke, HBOT applied within 24 hours after a stroke can help to eliminate damages by as much as 80%. Subsequent ongoing treatments can reduce stroke signs and symptoms even further, and in many cases result in a complete recovery. Dr. Steenblock reveals that patients have experienced significant improvement in their symptoms despite receiving HBOT for the first time many years after they have a stroke.

In addition to the above advantages, all forms of oxygen therapy are highly effective for getting rid of the persistent infections that can play such an important role within the onset of heart disease. In this capacity, oxygen therapy may also help protect against vulnerable plaque, which is created in part because of such infections.

Stress Management: Learning how to reduce and properly manage stress is essential for helping to protect against heart disease, especially for anyone who is suffering from high blood pressure. Investigation conducted by Dr. Dean Ornish, has found that stress reduction not only helps prevent heart disease, but could also help to reverse it, especially when utilized in conjunction with a healthy diet and regular exercise program.

Tension reduction methods are also very useful for dealing with emotions such as anger, depression, and hopelessness. Such emotions, if not dealt with, can considerably increase the risk of heart disease when they become chronic. Research has shown, that people who are habitually angry and prone to lose their temper have nearly twice as high a likelihood of developing heart disease, compared to people who do not have anger issues. In addition, homocysteine levels in many cases are twice as high in people who are constantly angry, compared to normal people. Similar increases in cardiovascular disease risk have also been found in those who are habitually stressed and/or beset with emotions of hopelessness, especially men and seniors.

Holistic health practitioners help their patients accomplish tension reduction by using various mind/body medicine techniques, such as biofeedback, hypnotherapy, and relaxation workouts. Meditation is yet another form of tension management that can be highly effective for reducing hypertension levels, thereby protecting general cardiovascular health. So much so, in fact, that since 1984 it has been recommended by the National Institute of Health (NIH) more than conventional blood pressure medications for cases of mild high blood pressure. There are many ways to meditate. One of the easiest is simply to sit in a chair with your eyes closed as you focus on your breathing. Initially do this for 5-10 minutes twice each day and then gradually extend each session to 20-30 minutes. To enhance your efforts, concentrate on mentally repeating the same peaceful phrase each time you inhale and exhale, allowing other thoughts to arise and pass without becoming involved with them. At first, this may seem difficult, but with committed practice you will eventually find yourself able to do so while experiencing greater degrees of calm as well as peace.

Alternative Professional Treatment

The following therapies are also ideal for treating and preventing heart disease: Ayurveda, Psychophysiological feedback Training, Neurotherapy, Natural Dentistry (with regard to removal of tooth amalgams that contain mercury), Bodywork (acupressure, Alexander Technique, reflexology, shiatsu, massage), Chiropractic Care, Detoxification Therapy, Environmental Medicine, Led Imagery, Hydrotherapy, Hypnotherapy, Magnetic Therapy, Mind/Body Medicine, Naturopathic Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Yoga. (See Resources for additional information regarding these and other Alternative Treatments)