IriMeta's Blog

The REAL Cause of Heart Disease

Kasandra Harfield — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:15:51 +0000

The biggest myth fueled by mainstream medicine is the cholesterol myth – that cholesterol is the major cause of heart disease. The good news is many doctors are starting to wise up. The main culprit behind heart disease is inflammation. Dr. Paul Ridker of Harvard University puts it this way: “We have to think of heart disease as an inflammatory disease, just as we think of rheumatoid arthritis as an inflammatory disease.” If you’d like to get a good idea of your heart health, ask your doctor to do a blood screen of C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is released by the liver when your body experiences inflammation. Normally, your blood contains no CRP. Elevated levels indicate a problem.

The British Journal of Urology published a study that examined the levels of almost 400 people. They found that once the CRP levels reached twice the normal level, the participants were 150 percent more likely to suffer heart attack! Another study found that risk of heart attack increased by 6- to 7-fold in patients with elevated CRP.

Maintaining healthy levels of good and bad cholesterol is important. But even more important is keeping inflammation and your CRP levels at bay.

Immune system cells collect at the site of the problem in order to guard against infection and speed recovery. This is perfectly normal and harmless. The problem starts when you experience a chronic state of inflammation. And it’s more common than you may imagine. There are triggers in your environment that get into your body and irritate your blood vessels to the point of injury.

Cigarette smoke, vegetable oils, and the poor nutrient quality of the food we eat all contribute to small tears and injuries to your heart and blood vessels – injuries that cause a tidal wave of inflammation. In response to the inflammation, your body uses oxidized LDL, the so-called “bad” cholesterol, to “patch” the crack or tear in your blood vessel wall. Over time, chronic inflammation causes small lesions in the arterial walls leading to the heart and brain. These lesions, or bumps, are formed when plaque and other deposits “stick” to the walls of your blood vessels instead of simply flowing through as is normally the case with smooth, healthy arteries. This buildup leads to clogging and hardening of the arteries. And that spells big trouble for your health.

Arteries are the main food source for your vital organs. This includes your heart, your brain, your eyes, and kidneys. As the arteries harden, blood can’t get to the organs as easily. The end result is life-threatening disease. But that’s not all…

Because inflammation affects your entire system, it’s also directly linked to asthma, obesity, and even depression. That’s why it’s become such a hot topic these days. Successfully reducing inflammation in your body means preventing and, in some cases, even reversing a wide array of diseases.

(excerpt from Al Sears, MD)

Nutrients for Lowering Blood Pressure

Kasandra Harfield — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:03:56 +0000

High blood pressure may aggravate the build up of plaque (atherosclerosis) on the artery walls, and cause damage to the heart structures. Fortunately, certain nutrients have been shown to naturally lower blood pressure. Here are some suggestions:

Magnesium, Calcium, and Potassium

Essential Fatty Acids: Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids

Garlic

Hawthorn

Horse Chestnut

Resveratrol

Definitions

Kasandra Harfield — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:14:25 +0000

Atherosclerosis (ath-uh-roh-skluh-roh’-sis) is a disorder of large to medium arteries and the circulatory system. The largest of these arteries are the Coronary Arteries which provide the muscles of the heart with oxygenated blood. Also, arteriosclerosis can affect the Carotid Arteries which bring blood and oxygen to the brain. Atherosclerosis is characterized by a buildup of fatty deposits, called plaque, on the inner walls of the affected arteries. This yellowish plaque material is made up of LDL-Cholesterol, lipids and cellular debris. During this process the involved arteries become progressively narrowed. This can lead to a loss of tissue elasticity and loss of oxygen to the arterial tissues, heart muscles and brain tissues. Both Coronary Atherosclerosis and Cerebrovascular Atherosclerosis are extremely dangerous. As the damage increases there is increased reduction of blood flow to vital organs, such as the heart or brain, even kidneys and lower extremities.

Arteriosclerosis (är-tîr’ē-ō-sklə-rō’sĭs)

“Hardening of the arteries,” or arteriosclerosis (as distinct from atherosclerosis), is a progressive dysfunction of calcium metabolism resulting in the walls of blood vessels becoming stiff. This is caused by (1) cross-linkage of collagen, the protein which makes up the connective tissue of artery walls, and (2) by the slow steady diffuse deposition of calcium in the walls of the arterial tree.

With arteriosclerosis, calcium builds up and becomes concentrated in the wall of the normal artery. We are not talking about plaque formation but rather a diffuse deposition of calcium in the walls of arteries, finally resulting in an arterial system that is said to be as stiff as a lead pipe. Calcium content is what atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis have in common, but in atherosclerosis it occurs in concentrations called plaques; in arteriosclerosis it occurs diffusely.

Of course, the most well known result of calcium deposit is heart attack, also called myocardial infarction. In most heart attacks both atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis are present. Atherosclerosis provides the plaque which narrows the artery and arteriosclerosis stiffens the arteries so that they cannot expand with each heart beat to compensate for the blockage caused by plaque formation.

Happy Valentine’s

Kasandra Harfield — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:02:52 +0000

Love Calls You By Your Name

You thought that it could never happen

to all the people that you became,

your body lost in legend, the beast so very tame.

But here, right here,

between the birthmark and the stain,

between the ocean and your open vein,

between the snowman and the rain,

once again, once again,

love calls you by your name.

The women in your scrapbook

whom you still praise and blame,

you say they chained you to your fingernails

and you climb the halls of fame.

Oh but here, right here,

between the peanuts and the cage,

between the darkness and the stage,

between the hour and the age,

once again, once again,

love calls you by your name.

Shouldering your loneliness

like a gun that you will not learn to aim,

you stumble into this movie house,

then you climb, you climb into the frame.

Yes, and here, right here

between the moonlight and the lane,

between the tunnel and the train,

between the victim and his stain,

once again, once again,

love calls you by your name.

I leave the lady meditating

on the very love which I, I do not wish to claim,

I journey down the hundred steps,

but the street is still the very same.

And here, right here,

between the dancer and his cane,

between the sailboat and the drain,

between the newsreel and your tiny pain,

once again, once again,

love calls you by your name.

Where are you, Judy, where are you, Anne?

Where are the paths your heroes came?

Wondering out loud as the bandage pulls away,

was I, was I only limping, was I really lame?

Oh here, come over here,

between the windmill and the grain,

between the sundial and the chain,

between the traitor and her pain,

once again, once again,

love calls you by your name.

- LEONARD COHEN

Protective Factors

Kasandra Harfield — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:33:18 +0000

The heart and coronary blood vessels are highly susceptible to oxidative stress caused by the buildup of free radicals: damaging compounds formed by various body functions or taken in from the environment. Nutrients such as vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 have powerful antioxidant capabilities that enable them to prevent the initial free radical damage that contributes to the development of CVD.
Vitamin E: Over the past few decades, research has continuously shown that vitamin E offers significant protection against CVD. In fact, vitamin E has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack and atherosclerosis. Since vitamin E is an antioxidant, it plays a significant role is lessening the harmful effects of oxidative stress.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10): CoQ10 is found highly concentrated in organs that require a large energy supply, including the heart. However, individuals with cardiac disorders have been identified as having abnormally low levels of CoQ10. Like vitamin E, CoQ10 has antioxidant properties.

Stress and CVD

Kasandra Harfield — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:48:38 +0000

Recent studies offer compelling evidence that stress contributes significantly to the development of CVD. For instance, animals who were exposed to varying levels of mental stress demonstrated an increased number of injured cells in the aorta as well as increased buildup of cholesterol-rich plaque in the arteries. In other mental stress studies, it was shown that stress may cause poor blood circulation and elevated homocysteine in humans.
Stress management, along with nutritional support, can help reduce levels of daily stress and their effects on the body. Studies have shown that the stress on the cardiovascular system may be reduced through group psychotherapy, health education, and behavioral and lifestyle adjustments. In addition, supplementation with antioxidants, magnesium, B vitamins, as well as herbs such as dong quai root
and schisandra fruit may help alleviate and protect against the psychological and physiological effects of stress.

Get out your tapemeasure

Kasandra Harfield — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:09:07 +0000

For decades, the major cause of death in many industrialized Western countries has been cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes heart disease and stroke. In North America, CVD accounts for more deaths than from all cases of cancer, pulmonary disease, pneumonia, influenza, diabetes, and AIDS/HIV combined. It is currently estimated that over 60 million North Americans suffer from some form of CVD.
Generally, CVD is the result of multiple genetic, metabolic, behavioral, and environmental influences. These may include elevated stress levels, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, poor diet, and diabetes. Fortunately, research suggests that the presence and impact of certain CVD risk factors can be reduced through nutritional support and a healthy lifestyle.

Let’s first determine your risk factors and we will later discuss ways to reduce those risks. Metabolic Syndrome is a group of factors that significantly increases your risk of cardiovascular disease. You have metabolic syndrome if you have 3 or more of the following:

1. Waist circumference over 102 cm in men and over 88 cm in women

2. Triglyceride level of at least 1.7 mmol/L

3. HDL-cholesterol level less than 1.0 mmol/L in men and 1.3 mmol/L in women

4. Blood pressure above 130/85 mmHg

5. Fasting glucose (blood sugar) level of 5.7 to 7.0 mmol/L

Heart Beats

Kasandra Harfield — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:27:55 +0000

Optimizing heart health helps ensure that this amazing muscle is up to the job of pumping blood through the 60,000 miles of blood vessels that nourish the 100 trillion cells which comprise the body. Persons with an average pulse of 72 beats per minute need their hearts to beat 103,680 times per day.

Matters of the Heart

Kasandra Harfield — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:09:50 +0000

Given that February is the month to focus on the heart, let’s discuss how to protect this vital organ and keep it healthy. And no, it is not because we lack statin drugs that we develop heart disease. Over the next few weeks, we will look at the real culprits and what to do to prevent or reverse their effects on our amazing cardiovascular system.

My first post

Kasandra Harfield — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:03:10 +0000

Post will be updated by tonight