LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Heart Disease

Taking Care of Your Heart? 7 Habits You Need NOW

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Prevent heart disease
McCarony/Dollar Photo Club

I’m going to go out on a limb and state that death from heart disease is almost 100% preventable.  So why is it still the #1 killer in the US and other industrialized nations?

Doesn’t this seems like a contradiction?  If it’s so easy to prevent and research has shown what you need to do to protect your heart, so why the disparity?  Maybe the researchers are all wrong and heart disease is just genetic.  Given how often I hear this in my office, the “genetics” excuse has got to be at least partially correct, right?

Maybe the things you need to do to protect your heart are just too extreme to adopt.  A lifestyle along the lines of the Dalai lama hidden in the mountains of Tibet?  Running with the Hazda hunter-gatherers in east Africa?  Hunting seals with the Inuit Eskimos of Greenland?  Spending every waking moment in the gym on the treadmill or chanting a mantra in a yoga class?

Not even close.  The American Heart Association have identified 7 key factors for ideal cardiovascular health (termed “Life’s Simple 7”).  NONE of these are even remotely impossible to obtain.  You just need to make the choice.  Here they are:

  1. Being a non-smoker
  2. BMI < 25 (it is actually better to go by body fat percentage or waist-to-hip ratio–any “buff” weightlifter will have a higher BMI than this)
  3. Physical activity  at least 150 min/wk moderate intensity or 75 min/wk vigorous intensity or combination (regular readers will know I’m a big fan of short-burst aerobic, which has been shown to have better cardiac benefits)
  4. At least 4-5 components of a Healthy Diet Score (a pretty simple task, actually…details by clicking here)
  5. Total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dl (UNMEDICATED!!!!)
  6. Blood pressure less than 120/80
  7. Fasting blood sugar less than 100 mg/dl

With this in mind, this particular study looked at 1,731 adults (average age 56.8) to see how much these 7 factors had an effect on plaquing of the arteries feeding the heart muscles (specfically measured as coronary artery calcium, or CAC, scores as measure by cardiac CT).  The CAC rating goes from 0 to 400, with anyone having a score of 100 or more to be considered as having heart disease.  Using this scale, here’s what they found:

  • The average number of ideal cardiovascular lifestyle factors was 3.
  • Not a sinlge participant (out of 1,731) met all 7 factors.
  • Those who had 2 factors were 63% less likely to have a 100 CAC score.
  • Those who had 3 factors were 62% less likely.
  • Four or more factors had a 73% lower chance of having a CAC of 100 or more.

Now, I’m not saying that a 73% lower chance means heart disease has been prevented.  There are other ways to check for heart disease besides CAC.  But it sure has to be a good thing.  Keep in mind that these 7 factors are really the low hanging fruit of prevention.  When you get into more specific heart-healthy lifestyles (avoiding chemical exposures like BPA and Teflon, short-burst aerobic, a good night’s rest, etc…) these numbers will skyrocket.  For those really interested in learning more, you can check out my Heart Disease eBook on Amazon by clicking here.

To me, though, the sickening part is that NONE out of 1,731 adults were meeting all 7 factors for heart disease prevention.  NONE.  As in ZERO.  Is our society that incredibly sick that making lifestyle choices to protect our heart is out of the question?

Until we wake up as a society, stand up and say “enough is enough,” heart disease, a completely preventable condition, will continue to top the charts as the #1 killer.

 

Cholesterol Lowering Drug (Jupiter) Trial Shenanigans

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ARE THE DATA FROM ASTRAZENICA, CRESTOR JUPITER TRIAL ON STATINS LOOKING FISHY?

Wow.  I really think if most of the American public knew the real story of what goes behind some of these trials we’d all be sickened.  In it’s essence, the Jupiter trial looked at the prevention of heart disease in patients who had NORMAL cholesterol, but elevated inflammation.  Essential understanding that the “cholesterol blame game” was going away and they needed to find a new lab value that they could use the drug for.

The study was stopped early and declared a rousing success.  Much fanfare was heard and the medical journals and editorials sung it’s praise.  Oops.  A little too soon.  A closer look at the data raises some serious suspicions.  Basically, the trial was stopped early when predetermined events occurred just 2 yrs into the trial.

Furthermore, when you look at a population, certain statistics are expected.  Here’s the quick details:

  • The study found that statin drugs did NOT protect against deaths from heart attack and stroke.
  • In the general population, cardiovascular deaths account for about 40% of the total number of deaths.  Of these heart attacks, around 50% of these are fatal.

But in the Jupiter trial?  Apparently miracles occurred.  Cardiovascular mortality accounted for under 20% (instead of 50%) of the deaths, and the fatality rate of these heart attacks was very low (instead of the expected 50%).  This raises serious questions about the validity of the data and suggests that funding of the trial may have had a strong influence on the interpretation of the data.

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Calcium Channel Blockers Increase Heart Failure Risk

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ANOTHER DRUG FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE INCREASES RISK OF DEATH??

Seriously.  First we see a meta analysis several years back of 95,000 patients on beta blockers that had increased risk of diabetes and stroke and no lowered risk of death.  Now, in a review of almost 157,000 patients (that’s a big review, by the way) we see another large class of drugs used to treat HTN that actually increase the risk of heart failure18% higher risk), especially in diabetics (a substantial 71% increased risk)??  These are the times that I think I read TOO much medical literature.  The reality is, with drugs, it is a race to see whether side effects kill you before the disease you’re trying to prevent does.

The bottom line?  Lifestyle is the ONLY answer.  So many times I hear patients tell me that their blood pressure is “controlled.”  This is a false sense of security because the “numbers” look better.  Rarely is their risk truly reduced without making the right lifestyle choices.

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Statins and Your First Heart Attack

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IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF STATINS (LIPITOR, CRESTOR, ZOCOR, VYTORIN, etc…)?

It should come as no surprise to regular readers of my posts that the research just does not support the use of statins to prevent a first heart attack.  The data is very, very weak.  Which would be fine if it didn’t cost the US alone some $20 BILLION per year.  Talk about money wasted.  And not a shred of evidence to suggest that they help prevent a heart attack, and plenty to suggest they harm.  But, despite the evidence, our country and medical system is absolutely convinced that statins are the savior for heart disease.

This meta analysis, reviewing over 65,000 patients over 11 studies with patients at a HIGH RISK of heart disease (forget those with only elevated cholesterol…), found NO EVIDENCE FOR THEIR USE IN PREVENTING THAT FIRST HEART ATTACK!!!  Seriously.  What more information do we need?  Any why do I have to spend hours educating patients that the drug they are taking is worthless to them?  Help!!

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Worried About Your Heart? Did Your Cardiologist Check This?

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YOU MUST ADD THIS TO YOUR LABWORK!!

I personally do not check this lab value, but these numbers are very strong.  Troponin T (cTnT) is a protein that helps cardiac muscles contract.  Any level of heart damage can increase the level of this compound in the blood stream.  In this particular study, those with the highest levels of cTnT had almost an 800% increased risk of dying from a fatal heart attack!!!  800%!!  Even those with mild elevations had increases in risk of dying.  It is becoming more and more frequent to hear of people suffering fatal heart attacks that “had no history of heart disease.”  This is actually very misleading as I’ve said that someone can drop dead of a heart attack leaving a perfect stress test and cardiac screen.  Maybe if these now deceased patients had their cTnT levels checked it would’ve be a wake up call for the path they were on.

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Cholesterol Lowering Drugs and Diabetes: Just How Bad is It?

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aspirin to protect your heart
Sergey Yarochkin/Dollar Photo Club

It is now clear that cholesterol lowering drugs cause diabetes. But the proponents have clearly stated that the risk was in those already at risk.

Ironically, pretty much everyone with cholesterol issues is, to some degree, already on his or her way to developing diabetes. Giving a drug that is now proven to push patients along this pathway faster just seems a wee bit on the crazy side.

This article is not about the fact that statins suck at preventing heart disease. Because they do. Across the board statins pretty much lower your risk of having a heart attack by a paltry, sad 1%. High cholesterol, low cholesterol high CRP….doesn’t matter. One percent is the magic number. Your protection from heart disease will really not go above this level of protection.

Patients will respond by saying that the cholesterol drug he or she is taking lowered his or her cholesterol. Big deal. Do you REALLY care what your cholesterol is??? No. You just don’t want to have a heart attack or stroke. Well guess what—your cholesterol level dropping has very little to do with whether or not you are going to have a heart attack.

THAT is the big problem with statins. This delusional idea that artificially lowering your cholesterol with a drug (as opposed to lifestyle changes) will protect the heart is dangerous.

For those of you who would like to know more, I elaborate quite a bit in my Cholesterol Lowering eBook that can be found on Amazon by clicking here.

Back to this particular study. In it, researchers looked at the statin / diabetes link in greater detail. They looked at 4,645 patients who already had vascular disease but no diabetes. Of this group, 3,057 of them were taking statins at the beginning of the study, and 1,608 of these were on high-doses (intensive statin therapy–statin therapy theoretically lowering LDL cholesterol more than 40%).

Here’s what they found:

  • Statin use increased the risk of developing diabetes by 63%.
  • Those on intensive statin therapy had an even higher 22% risk of developing diabetes.
  • Here’s the shocker: the increase in risk had NO relationship to whether or not the statin user was already at risk for diabetes or not.
  • As a matter of fact, the greatest risk was in those patients who were LESS likely to on their way to diabetes (baseline glucose levels less than <120 mg/dl or 5.6 mmol/L).

Less just review this a second. People with elevated cholesterol are, in almost all cases, already on the way to developing diabetes. These patients are then put on drugs to lower cholesterol levels but do almost nothing to actually prevent a heart attack or stroke (which, BTW, is the main reason that diabetics leave this planet).

These drugs will then, paradoxically, further increase the risk of diabetes that the patient already had.

But, if you’re one of the luckier ones who was NOT on your way to diabetes but had high cholesterol, the drug you are put on will now pretty much ensure that you ARE on your way to diabetes.

Umm…am I the only one who seems to think this is a problem? Especially considering that the new ACC/AHA guidelines will drastically increase the number of patients who will be given prescriptions for statins.

No wonder heart disease is still the #1 killer in the industrialized world.

Cholesterol Lowering Drugs & Your Good Cholesterol–Bad News

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aspirin to protect your heart
Sergey Yarochkin/Dollar Photo Club

Despite all the less-than-stellar research on cholesterol lowering drugs, the powers-that-be want us to take even more of it.

The latest “cholesterol guidelines” released late in 2013 have drastically increased the number of patients who would potentially be given a statin.  They have finally dropped the fallacy that total cholesterol has any value (you know–total cholesterol–that lab value that you were taught to pay attention to so doctors would know when to put you on a cholesterol lowering medication..) and basically state that you should be given a statin if your doctor THINKS you might be at risk for a heart attack.

I have certainly been a vocal opponent of the statin class of drugs because the numbers just don’t make any sense.  Treat 1,000 people for 5 years to prevent 11 heart attacks (instead of 22 people who would’ve had heart attackes without the drugs), while at the same time causing diabetes in 8 more.  A net gain of 3.  Out of a thousand.  In 5 years.

That just sucks in my book.

And “they” think we should use it more on more patients.  None of this takes into account the very long list of side effects from this class of drugs (other then the already mentioned increased risk of diabetes).

And, as we treat more and more patients with cholesterol lowering drugs, the amount of people experiencing side effects is just going to skyrocket.  But at least they are not going to have a heart attack because of the statin drugs.

Right?

I guess that all depends.

This particular study looks at one of those little-known secrets about drugs to lower cholesterol.  While they all lower cholesterol levels (for whatever that is worth), in some individuals the drugs also lower HDL (the “good”) cholesterol.  This is generally not a good thing.  Specifically, researchers looked at 724 patients who had just started treatment with statins after having a heart attack and followed for 6 to 9 months.

Eighty-six percent (620) of these patients had his or her HDL-C level increase during the course of the study, while 14% (104) of patients had his or her HDL cholesterol go down.  Here’s what the researchers found when they looked closer at the group that had HDL levels drop:

  • Both groups had their LDL cholesterol levels drop below 100 mg/dl.
  • Adverse cardiovascular events (including death from all causes, heart attacks and stroke) happened more frequently in the decreased HDL group.
  • To be precise, this lower HDL group had these events at over TWICE the rate (15.4% vs 7.1%).
  • Overall, those who had lowered HDL as a result of the statin drugs (to protect the heart, I might add) were 95% more likely to have a cardiac event.

Let’s get this straight.  A drug given to lower cholesterol levels actually lowered good cholesterol levels in 14% of those patients taking them.  In this 14%, they were 95% MORE likely to have a cardiac event??

THIS is the wonder drug that seemingly all of medicine is hanging their hats on to save the world from heart disease?  I‘ll take lifestyle changes, thank you.