LifeCare Chiropractic

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CVD

Study provides new evidence that cranberry juice may help fight CVD – (04-16-03)

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Study provides new evidence that cranberry juice may help fight CVD.

This is good news to know. 2-3 glasses per day lowered CVD risk by 40% and contains some of the highest levels of protective compounds among its fellow fruits. It is interesting to note that some of these compounds found in fruits are designed to protect the fruit from pests and insects. These fruits produce more levels when threatened by these pests. So, when pesticides are used, these fruits will have lowered levels of protective compounds. This may be one of the reasons why organic fruits and veggies are much higher in these compounds.

American Chemical Society News Service

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Six-Year Effect of Vit C, E on Atherosclerotic Progression – (03-04-03)

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Six-Year Effect of Vit C, E on Atherosclerotic Progression.

Whenever a study comes out showing no benefit of antioxidants on progression/prevention of CVD, one has to look at the totality of the evidence. The evidence (not to mention that it makes sense from a physiology/pathology standpoint) is quite plentiful that antioxidants protect against CVD.

Circulation — Abstracts: Salonen et al. 107 (7): 947

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Ascorbate Restores Vasodilation Impaired by Acute Hyperglycemia – (04-30-01)

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Ascorbate Restores Vasodilation Impaired by Acute Hyperglycemia

Where do we start with this one? It’s always good to see our old friend Vit C supported in the medical literature. In this study, Vit C protected against the vasoconstriction caused by high glucose levels in the bloodstream. This information can have a major impact on the risk of CVD in diabetics with poorly controlled blood sugar. A few things to take home…the glycosylation of proteins from high blood sugar has consistently shown to be a factor in aging and that the damage from these high blood sugar may in part be due to oxidative damage (which can be prevented or reduced with antioxidant therapy).

Circulation — Abstracts: Beckman et al. 103 (12): 1618

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S-adenosylhomocysteine more sensitive for CVD than homocysteine (11-29-01)

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S-adenosylhomocysteine more sensitive for CVD than homocysteine

Remember where you heard it first!! The laughable part of this is that few physicians have accepted homocysteine as a risk factor for CVD (and lowering therapies with Vit B12, B6 and folic acid) and yet the rest of the research field is moving on to bigger and better stuff. Just accept that mainstream medicine is typically several decades behind the research and move on.

AJCN — Abstracts: Kerins et al. 74 (6): 723

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Infectious Burden and Long-Term Prognosis of Atherosclerosis – (01-03-02)

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Infectious Burden and Long-Term Prognosis of Atherosclerosis

I think it is safe to add an infectious mechanism to the list of contributors to cardiovascular disease. A few interesting things here. H. pylori is included in the list of possible infectious agents. Could it be that the infectious agent is there because of some depression in the immune system? Much evidence points to a reduction in gastric Vit C as a risk factor for H. pylori infection. Considering that Vit C has definite benefits in CVD, it may actually be the Vit C and not the H. pylori infection…

Circulation — Abstracts: Espinola-Klein et al. 105 (1): 15

 

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Vitamins Use in a Male Physicians and Subsequent CVD – (07-18-02)

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Vitamins Use in a Male Physicians and Subsequent CVD

This article found no protective effect for multivitamins or vitamins C or E on cardiovascular disease. Before you run to the cabinet and throw away your Centrum multis (on second thought…if you are taking Centrum….) consider a few things. These articles rarely look into the type of multivitamin that the participant is taking. Multi quality varies incredibly, and my biased opinion would be that the researchers would have a hard time identifying characteristics of a high quality multivitamin. Just because a multi has 100% of the RDA does not mean it will be absorbed. Many nurses in the past have referred to Centrums as “bedpan bullets.” And ask any radiologist if they have identified intact vitamins on Xray.  My guess would be that a good, high quality multivitamin WILL lower risk of many diseases, CVD included.

Vitamin Supplement Use in a Low-Risk Population of US Male Physicians and Subsequent Cardiovascular Mortality

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Effect of Homocysteine-Lowering Therapy With Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin B6 – (09-12-02)

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Effect of Homocysteine-Lowering Therapy With Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin B6 on Clinical Outcome After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Isn’t it a little disappointing that, while many clinicians don’t even realize that homocysteine is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, we have moved beyond acceptance to clinical outcomes. The fact that an intervention as simple, cheap and safe as specific vitamin supplementation lowering risk of CVD makes this a no-brainer from a clinician’s standpoint.

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Novel Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Do They Add Value to Your Practice? – (01-27-03)

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Novel Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Do They Add Value to Your Practice?

These people never cease to amaze me. Here is the overview of this editorial: CRP is known to be a risk factor for CVD…There is not enough evidence to support interventions to lower CRP levels….We don’t know how to lower CRP levels….So, overall it’s a worthless approach and we should focus of stuff that has been proven (i.e. pharmaceuticals to lower cholesterol levels). Maybe I’m being a little cynical here, but I am now checking CRP levels whenever I order labs on patients and using approaches such as avoidance of refined carbs and exercise to lower levels. In my opinion, there is a large body of evidence suggesting that inflammation plays a major role in CVD and CRP is just one marker of inflammation. Evaluatiog and addressing CRP levels makes alot of sense to me.

Editorials – January 15, 2003 – American Family Physician

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