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ALMARK PUBLISHING The 30-Day Heart Cure A Revolutionary Breakthrough On Treating Heart Disease… Learn How To Keep Your Heart Healthy For Years To Come! Ron Blankstein, M.D. Published by: Almark Publishing PO BOX 17108, Bridgeport, CT 06673 All right reserved. No part of this book may be republished in any form without the permission of Almark Publishing. © Copyright 2013 Warning-Disclaimer: Almark Publishing has written this book to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is offered with the understanding that the publisher and the author are not liable for the misconception or misuse of the information provided. Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and accurate as possible. The purpose of this book is to educate. The author and Almark Products Inc. shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss, damage, or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book. The information presented herein is in no way intended as a substitute for medical counseling. Pregnant or nursing women especially should consult their physician for proper nutritional guidelines. Meet The Author: Ron Blankstein, M.D. For over 30 years, Dr. Ronald L. Blankstein, M.D. has been practicing as a Board Certified leading Cardiologist in both Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease. He received his Medical Degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Blankstein has discovered various safe and natural ways of healing. He knows the importance of good medical care and is dedicated to bringing the latest and best in health solutions to his patients. Education Medical School: University of Miami School of Medicine Internship & Residency: Montefiore Hospital, Bronx, New York Board Certification Certified in Internal Medicine 1976 Certified in Cardiovascular Disease 1977 Fellowship: American College of Cardiology 1980 Professional Appointments American College of Cardiology American College of Physicians American Society of Nuclear-Cardiology Society of Internal Medicine American Heart Association Appointments Chairman of Special Care, Miami Heart Institute Member of Executive Committee, Miami Heart Institute Medical Staff, Miami Heart Institute Director of Nuclear Cardiology, Treasure Coast Medical Medical Staff, Boca Raton Community Hospital Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: Are You Living With a Hidden Killer? ........................................... 4 How Did I Get Arterial Plaque? ........................................................ 5 The Critical Risk Factor..................................................................... 7 Lifestyle-Risks That Create Dangerous Plaques ............................. 11 Summary ......................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: The 30-Day Heart Cure................................................................. 16 The All-Natural 30-Day Heart Cure ............................................... 17 What Is Oral Chelation? .................................................................. 18 Benefits of Oral Chelation................................................................ 20 How Is Oral Chelation Done? ........................................................ 23 How Successful Is Oral Chelation? ................................................ 25 What Has Research Shown About Oral Chelation?......................... 26 Natural Heart Helpers Lower Cholesterol, Put Out The Flames of Inflammation.............................................. 29 Chapter 3: Don’t Get Heart Disease In The First Place! .............................. 36 Smoking – Don’t Send Your Heart Up In Smoke............................ 36 Helpful Hints To Quit Smoking....................................................... 38 Obesity – That Toxic Chemical Plant On Your Belly...................... 40 How To Prevent, Eliminate Obesity ............................................... 43 Lack of Exercise – Move It Or Lose Your Heart! .......................... 46 High-Fat Burning Zones Chart........................................................ 48 Diet – Are You Feeding A Killer? ................................................. 49 What Does a Heart Healthy Diet Look Like Anyway? .................. 51 Lifestyle – Is How You Live Your Life Killing Your Heart?........... 53 Appendix: .......................................................................................................... 57 Lab Tests For Heart Disease............................................................ 57 Glossary Of Terms............................................................................................ 65 References ..........................................................................................................69 FOREWORD My name is Ron Blankstein MD and I’m currently a cardiologist in South Florida. I decided to write this book “The 30-Day Heart Cure” because it was necessary to give the thousands of folks who are faced with heart complications an alternative to drugs and surgery. In my 30 years of practice I’ve seen a lot of suffering that was a result of misdiagnoses, surgical mistakes, and unexpected infections. Sadly, many of these patients could have looked into alternative therapy before subjecting themselves to more invasive treatments. In this book you’ll discover some of the underlying risk factors associated with heart health. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn about one of the most significant natural cures for reversing heart disease. I’m sure most of you are already aware of the common factors leading to heart disease. Lots of information has been written in the past dealing with normal lifestyle decisions (smoking, lack of exercise, alcohol), obesity, genetics, medications, and nutritional deficiencies. But what you must realize is that there’s always a cause and effect when it comes to many of your medical issues. Many of the factors mentioned above will definitely have an influence on your cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and blood pressure. But in the end it’s really the lack of blood flow being pumped through your arteries that counts. The strength of your heart is your lifeline to years of longevity. Once you accumulate arterial plaque buildup in your blood vessels and arteries, you become in danger of blocking blood flow to your heart and brain. As the years pass by this situation only gets worse. By the time you reach 45-50 years old you may have already acquired the beginnings of coronary artery disease. Unfortunately, for most folks heart disease comes without any warning. Even with frequent doctor visits the onset of heart attacks or strokes can happen at anytime. When the shoe falls it doesn’t always send you a memo. The 30-Day Heart Cure 1 Here’s one story that drives home what can easily happen to you. I remember the details of the story very well. I hope it makes a clear case why you should never ignore the importance of good heart health. The Retirement of Jack’s Running Shoes! The story I’m sharing with you is about a great guy and family man who’s only 56 years old. For the sake of the story I’ll call him Jack. Jack was every doctor’s ideal patient, normal weight, good cholesterol levels, and a picture of perfect health. Jack also was a dedicated long distance runner. He would wake up every morning at 7 a.m. sharp, down a glass of orange juice, take his vitamins, and lace up his sneakers. He would then run for an hour, shower, eat a full breakfast and was off to work by 9 a.m. Then one Saturday morning, Jack was taking his normal trail run and it happened! According to Jack it was like a heavy bowling ball pushing down on his stomach and his shoulder was going numb. His body was overheating and he was short of breath. Yes, Jack was suffering a heart attack on the running trail. Jack was able to pull out his cell phone and dial 911, which most likely saved his life. Paramedics arrived within minutes and gave him a spray of nitroglycerin in his mouth. The chest pains subsided and Jack thought he was out of the woods. Not quite yet! Once he arrived at the hospital the doctors and nurses administered the appropriate tests. Soon after they discovered that Jack had three main arteries that were 60 to 70% blocked. Yes…Jack had to have surgery but within weeks he was on his feet and feeling better. Now Jack has taken up walking and his dream of running a marathon had to be put on hold. 2 The 30-Day Heart Cure Jack’s Story Doesn’t Have To Be Your Story! The reason I’ve told you this story about Jack is so his problems don’t become yours. Every day, across America, people lose family members due to a catastrophic heart attack. The heart attack that afflicted Jack easily could have been avoided if he had taken one important diagnostic test and had chosen some easy natural health alternatives. That’s right. If Jack had been given one simple test even 6 months before his heart attack, his doctor would have been able to predict with 96% accuracy that he was at risk of a sudden heart attack. In the coming chapters I will explain why some people who walk (or run) around every day with great cholesterol levels and few risk factors still become victims of heart disease. I will also tell you about one amazing heart treatment that’s as easy as opening a bottle and consuming a simple pill. With this natural miracle you won’t even need a prescription. The natural solutions you are about to discover in my book “The 30-Day Heart Cure” will hopefully keep you away from the doctor’s office and with any luck far away from a nearby emergency room. In good health, Ron Blankstein, M.D. FACC. The 30-Day Heart Cure 3 Chapter ONE Are You Living With A Hidden Killer? As a busy cardiologist, I see many patients every week with heart disease. Yet, this represents just a small percentage of Americans who are seen by doctors every day for their heart health. The 2012 Centers for Disease Control reported that 27.1 million Americans suffer with heart disease and that 2,200 deaths from cardiovascular disease occur every day! I find these statistics overwhelming. What’s even more mind-boggling is that people can walk around with potentially life-threatening heart disease and not even know it! It can lay hidden until, like Jack, it strikes unexpectedly. People with heart disease usually have plaque buildup in their arteries just like Jack. These plaques can narrow arteries and constrict blood flow to the heart or brain, causing high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke. However, this type of arterial plaque only accounts for about 3 out of 10 heart attacks. There’s a second form of arterial plaque that heart researchers have recently learned more about called vulnerable plaques. This type of plaque doesn’t necessarily bulge out from the artery and may not narrow arteries to be dangerous. In fact, vulnerable plaques may not always show up on special cardiac tests – called angiograms – designed to look for plaque. In short, they’re hidden and that’s what makes them so volatile. Vulnerable plaques bury themselves within the artery wall and become high risk for rupturing. When these plaques rupture, large chunks can break off suddenly, completely or partially, and block blood flow to the heart. This can result in a fatal heart attack or stroke. If Jack had been given a special test, called a myeloperoxidase study, or MPO, his doctor would have been able to determine Jack’s risk for a sudden, perhaps fatal heart attack. 4 The 30-Day Heart Cure Although the MPO is not used everywhere, it is fast becoming more commonly used by cardiologists around the country. Developed out of the Cleveland Heart Clinic in Ohio, it is especially sensitive to measuring one, critical factor for life-threatening cardiac disease and that is hidden, vulnerable plaques. There are a few more common tests like C-reactive protein (CRP) and homocysteine levels that could also have alerted Jack and his doctor to a serious heart problem. However, ironically, these tests can be within normal range and still not show seriously elevated MPO levels. The MPO test could have sounded the alarm that Jack needed to do something fast to turn his heart health around. After reading this book, you’ll have the advantage of knowing about this test so you can ask your doctor if it might help identify this critical factor for you. How Did I Get Arterial Plaque? You might wonder whether everyone gets plaque. The answer is simply yes, the majority of people have some degree of arterial plaque. Especially as they age and may have at least 1, and sometimes 2 or 3 risk factors that exist for developing plaque. Some of us have high levels of the critical factor that determines if you’ll get dangerous, vulnerable plaque. First of all, plaque forms mostly from fatty acids in your blood. This is what we commonly call cholesterol. LDL – low density lipoproteins, or “bad” cholesterol – in your blood is what turns into plaque. Your blood also contains calcium and other minerals that flow normally through it as well as traces of heavy metals and toxins from your environment and diet. Microorganisms can also be present in your blood. All these substances can be part of your arterial plaque. The 30-Day Heart Cure 5 Secondly, in their natural, healthy state, your arterial walls are a lot like Teflon pans – nothing is supposed to stick to them. Yet, under the right circumstances, a critical factor (which I’ll tell you more about in a moment) changes the pH of your blood and arterial walls start to become damaged. Think of it as acid etching away at metal leaving little pock marks in it as it breeches its normally smooth surface. At this point, the mixture of cholesterol fatty acids, calcium, and toxins in your blood will start sticking to these damaged arterial walls in a kind of “Band-Aid” attempt to try and heal the damaged blood vessel. How damaged, or porous, your arteries become is determined by what level of that critical factor I mentioned is present in your blood. That factor determines whether these “Band-Aids” of plaque will continue to build and calcify, or harden, into stony brittleness. When your blood becomes too acidic (see more in Risk Factors below) it can damage arterial walls and cause plaque to build up. One way it can become too acidic is from chronically elevated high blood sugar levels. In his book The Biomagnetic Handbook, William Philpott, M.D., explains how high levels of acid blood helps create deadly arterial plaque. The cholesterol fatty acids normally have a negative bioelectric charge as do your heart’s vascular walls. Normally, the two repel each other like two negative poles of magnets put together. A too-high acid imbalance in your blood, however, turns the normal negative charge of the cholesterol fatty acids into a positive charge. The positively charged fatty acids then develop a magnetic attraction to the negatively charged vascular wall. The fatty acids, in the form of fat droplets, now stick to the arterial wall where they can build up into soft, vulnerable plaques that can get absorbed deep into the arterial wall. At that point, the arterial wall releases cytokines, which are proteins. These proteins, in turn, help create more of the critical factor I referred to earlier. However, before I delve further into the make-up of the critical factor, let me tell you a few more things about developing plaque. 6 The 30-Day Heart Cure There is a small minority of people who have little to no plaque in their arteries. It is very rare, especially in America, with our typical, high animal fat, high-refined sugar, low fiber diet for anyone to escape plaque buildup. The trick is to have less plaque than what’s considered normal for your age. The degree of plaque you will get depends largely on your LDL “bad” cholesterol levels, how sticky that cholesterol is, and how healthy (smooth) your vascular walls are. The healthier (smoother) your vascular walls are, the less LDL cholesterol can stick to it and cause plaque accumulation. Currently, it is advised to have LDL levels under 200. Blood pH, as I said before, also plays a role in whether bad LDL cholesterol will stick to your arterial walls, or just keep circulating through your blood, eventually being cleared from your body through your liver. However, if you make an effort to change your risk factors, as well as the one critical factor that can worsen them, your body will work to clear these arterial plaques and prevent them from becoming dangerous. It’s important to know, though, that not everyone will develop dangerous plaques. In fact, some people with high LDL cholesterol levels may not even develop that much plaque or ever develop dangerous plaques. On the other hand, some people with low LDL levels, higher “good” HDL cholesterol levels, and less than 20% plaque, can form dangerous, lifethreatening plaque. How can that be so? This is where that critical risk factor comes in. The Critical Risk Factor You’ve probably heard or read about the many things that can contribute to developing heart disease like smoking, high animal fat diet, obesity, lack of exercise, etc. - see Risk Factors below. All of these do contribute to developing the arterial plaque that causes heart disease. The 30-Day Heart Cure 7 Yet, they really are only what I like to call, “sub risks”. Let me explain why. Dangerous, calcified plaque that ruptured and broke off suddenly was only one part of Jack’s surprise heart attack. Even though he had higher good cholesterol levels, didn’t smoke, wasn’t considered obese, and exercised frequently, he had high levels of the critical risk factor that he didn’t know about. The critical risk factor I’m talking about is called inflammation. It was the other hidden factor in Jack’s seemingly healthy picture that took him, and his doctor, by surprise that day on the jogging trail. The presence of inflammation is what turns soft, vulnerable plaques into dangerous, hardened, calcified plaques. These plaques can break off suddenly and completely, or partially, block blood flow to the heart or brain, resulting in a sudden heart attack or stroke. When Jack entered the hospital, emergent life-saving measures of a coronary artery bypass and placement of several stents were done. An MPO test was also run which revealed that Jack had elevated levels of myeloperoxidase – over twice what’s considered normal. This means that Jack had very high levels of vascular inflammation going on within his coronary arteries. In his article, “Heart Surgeon Speaks out on What Really Causes Heart Disease”, Dr. Dwight Lundell states, “Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes… It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.” Normally, inflammation is a natural reaction of your immune system’s response to injuries, wounds, or infectious microbes like bacteria and viruses in your blood and tissues. Inflammation occurs when your immune system increases its production of white blood cells to go after unwanted organisms to fight infection and heal wounds. When the infection has been killed, wounds and tissues healed, the white blood cells go back to normal and inflammation subsides. 8 The 30-Day Heart Cure Your immune system also reacts to other substances like environmental or dietary toxins (see below), high acidic blood pH from too much refined sugar or insulin resistance, the same way as it does to invading microbes, wounds, and fractures. Again, the production of white blood cells increases and inflammation occurs in an attempt to get rid of invading substances to restore homeostasis – healthy balance – in your body. If you’re constantly exposed to toxic substances or tissue damage, your immune system never really shuts off. It behaves as if it’s under constant attack and white blood cell production and inflammation then becomes chronic. When inflammation becomes chronic though, it creates the opposite effect of what it’s supposed to do. It depresses the immune system and its healing capacity. Rather than helping heal tissue, chronic inflammation then starts to degrade, or break down, your body tissues. It’s like having a fire smoldering constantly throughout your body, “charring” all of your tissues. That’s when a number of diseases from chronic inflammation can start developing. To name a few: • Arthritis, from inflammation around your joints • Nephritis, or inflammation of the kidneys • Alzheimer’s • Inflammatory bowel disease Other people who have suffered sudden heart attacks may also have had one or more other unknown risk factors that kept fueling their inflammation. Thus, causing arterial plaques to keep growing. Let me tell you about another similar case that happened to a 56-yearold woman who suffered a sudden heart attack that was caused by the loss of blood flow to her heart. It was also found that she had high MPO levels, but something else was found too. In this case, an undiagnosed prediabetes/metabolic syndrome was discovered smoldering beneath the surface. Yet she and her doctor were in the dark about this condition. Here’s why. The 30-Day Heart Cure 9 The patient’s hemoglobin A1c level – a blood test that averages blood glucoses for the past 2-3 months – had been running slightly high for the last few years. Yet, they were still thought to be well below what the American Diabetes Association researchers considered to be diabetes. The condition had slipped under the medical “radar” of testing as, for years, the American Diabetic Association researchers advised testing labs and doctors that A1c levels over 6.0 should raise suspicion for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. This patient’s levels had ranged from 5.7 to 5.9 for the last few years so she was thought to be within safe range. In 2011 the American Diabetic Association lowered the recommended hemoglobin A1c levels to 5.6. Why? Many people in the United States, especially those over 45, were found to be prediabetic/metabolic syndrome at 6.0. People with metabolic syndrome/prediabetes become insulin resistant. This means their body can’t use the hormone insulin efficiently and their blood sugar level stays chronically elevated. Chronically elevated blood sugars – even if only slightly – was just enough to create chronic inflammation that damaged this patient’s arterial walls and helped create dangerous, arterial plaques. Another factor was this lady’s weight. Although she wasn’t really characterized as obese, she probably had an extra 20 lbs she really didn’t need. Like most women her age – postmenopausal and insulin resistant – she carried a little stubborn reserve of belly fat that, no matter how much she exercised, just didn’t budge. The insulin resistance contributed to this condition demonstrating that her diet contained too many “fast carbs” like juices and sweets, all of which went straight to her belly. This belly fat was just enough to manufacture those inflammatory producing cytokine proteins that I told you about earlier. With these two sub-risk factors in action, the patient’s immune system was chronically reacting with high levels of inflammation in her cardiovascular system. As a result, she developed dangerous, calcified, unstable plaques. Then one day, out of the blue, one of these plaques broke off suddenly and partially blocked the blood supply to her heart. 10 The 30-Day Heart Cure Fortunately, this woman recovered from her sudden plaque rupture. However, you or someone you love may not be so lucky. No one wants to wind up having bypass surgery with several stents, out of commission for several months, if it could be avoided. That’s where the amazing, natural 2-step product process comes in. In Chapter Two you’ll learn how you can clear away hidden life-threatening plaque and how powerful natural products may help reduce critical inflammation levels and lessen your risk of a fatal heart attack. Before moving on it’s important to know more about those sub-risks I mentioned earlier. Lifestyle-Risks That Create Dangerous Plaques As I stated earlier, there are several sub-risk factors (like smoking) that create the critical risk factor of chronic inflammation. You might be thinking, I don’t smoke, not obese, exercise pretty regularly, how could I develop a sudden heart attack? Well, you could. Here’s why. The surprising answer is that, like many people who have sudden heart attacks, you can still have sub-risk factors that you may not be aware of. Only 6% of Americans are free of all sub-risk factors. That’s a pretty small percentage when you consider how many people are in the United States alone. In contrast, 36% of Americans have at least 3 of those sub-risk factors! The majority of people have at least 1 lifestyle-risk factor for heart disease that’s capable of fueling chronic inflammation. Make a note of which ones may apply to you. Then in Chapter Three, I’ll give you some practical ways you can decrease your risks. 1. Smoking According to the American Heart and Lung Association, smoking is most associated with sudden cardiac death than any other sub-risk. The 30-Day Heart Cure 11 There are over 4,000 toxins in cigarette smoke that create high levels of inflammation (see also Environmental toxins below) that damages your arterial walls. 2. Obesity Fat cells produce inflammatory proteins called cytokines. The more fat cells you have, the more cytokines and inflammation you have. This equals more risk for dangerous arterial plaques at risk for rupture and sudden heart attack. 3. Lack of exercise If you’re mostly sedentary, you may have high “bad” LDL cholesterol and low “good” HDL cholesterol. Exercise tends to raise good cholesterol levels and decrease bad cholesterol. It also decreases inflammation throughout your body. If you don’t exercise, your heart muscle may be weakened and unable to endure a sudden physical or emotional stressor. 4. Diet High-saturated animal fat diets lead to high “bad” LDL cholesterol levels that can form into plaque. High-heat, fried, or barbecued animal meats create free radical carcinogenic chemicals called PCH’s (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) to form in your blood. Your immune system creates inflammation as a way to fight off these carcinogenic toxins. High refined sugar diets create highly acidic tissues and blood that causes fatty deposits to stick to arterial walls as explained earlier. 5. Environment You may be exposed to a long list of environmental toxins that pose health hazards. For example you may: • Unwittingly breathe in auto exhaust, manufacturing pollutants, spray paints, or fumes • Drink water containing metals in old plumbing, arsenic in well water, bacteria, viruses, molds, fungi, yeasts, microbes, prescription drug residue in drinking water 12 The 30-Day Heart Cure • Eat food containing pesticides or food preservatives, or other harmful substances • Absorb fertilizers, or chemical-cleaning solvents through your skin • Have traces of heavy metals in your body from old mercury dental fillings, aluminum bits from canned foods, lead from structures/ paint or asbestos from building materials in older homes These environmental toxins, like those in cigarette smoking, with constant exposure, can all create chronic inflammation in your body and arteries. In Chapter Two, I’ll share with you how you can clean out traces of heavy metal in your arteries just by following the natural 2-Step product process. 6. Alcohol Although a minimum amount of wine or beer, has been shown in research to benefit heart health, too much alcohol has the same effect on your body as too much refined sugar. It creates a high acid/pH imbalance and fuels the chronic inflammation that traps and hardens cholesterol into arterial plaques. 7. Stress Stress creates biochemical responses in your body that create the perfect environment for chronic, damaging inflammation to flourish. Research has shown that psychological stress is associated most often with the top 3 diseases – heart disease, diabetes and cancer. 8. Genetics The National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute (NHLBI) recommends that if a family has a pattern of early heart attacks, or heart disease, (before age 55 for men and age 65 for women), a child in that family should have his or her cholesterol checked between the ages of 2 and 8. In addition, the new NHLBI/AAP guidelines recommend that all children be screened for high cholesterol between ages 9 and 11. The 30-Day Heart Cure 13 9. Medications/Supplements Here are a few medications and supplements shown in research to possibly contribute to dangerous arterial plaques. Calcium: This has become a somewhat controversial issue. In research findings out of Germany [EPIC study 2011], it was reported that calcium supplements might possibly cause sudden heart attacks in postmenopausal women. The study pointed to the likelihood that additional calcium circulating in the blood might further harden fatty deposits into dangerously calcified plaques. On the other hand, a separate group of researchers refuted the EPIC study’s claims in October 2012. This group said that calcium supplements were not the cause of heavy plaque buildup and did not contribute to sudden heart attack syndrome. However, too much calcium in the body is not desirable either in your vascular system or your kidneys. The natural product I’m going to tell you about in Chapter 2 also helps dissolve calcium buildups – from whatever the source. High blood pressure medications: These can cause deficiencies in vitamins and minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, B vitamins, and vitamin K2. These deficiencies, in turn, can contribute to buildup of heavy fat deposits in arteries. Statin medications: Used to reduce cholesterol, can cause deficiencies in Co-Q10 which can adversely affect heart health. However, they may be somewhat useful in decreasing inflammation. Summary Throughout Chapter One, you read about the types of life-threatening plaques – those that create narrowing of arteries and constrict blood flow, and those that are hidden within arterial walls. Both can be a serious threat in their own way. 14 The 30-Day Heart Cure You’ve also learned how inflammation is the critical factor that can cause cholesterol to “go bad” and develop into hardened, stone-like plaques at high risk for rupture and sudden heart attack. In addition, I explained how all the sub-risks work to create critical, chronic inflammation that causes arterial plaques to harden and become at high risk for breaking off and blocking blood flow. Depending on how big the break-off piece is, and how much blood flow is blocked, determines your survivability of such an event. If an artery becomes completely blocked it can result in a fatal heart attack. If the artery is only partially blocked, and emergency intervention occurs immediately, the heart attack can be survivable. If you have a few of the listed sub-risk factors, or maybe several of them, don’t despair. Although I do recommend that you immediately start to work on remedying your sub-risk factors, there is one significant thing you can do right now to improve your heart and vascular health. That one thing is using the 2-step natural product process that I’m about to tell you about in Chapter Two. If Jack had known about this process, he may not have been surprised by a sudden heart attack. He was very lucky to have survived, as the odds were not in his favor. Don’t let it happen to you. Read on to learn about the safe, all-natural 2-step process that will help ensure your heart stays healthy for years to come. The 30-Day Heart Cure 15 CHAPTER Two The 30-Day Heart Cure In the next few pages, I’m going to tell you about a miraculous and completely natural process that could save your life. You’ll wonder why everyone doesn’t know about it for turning off killer inflammation and dissolving dangerous arterial plaque. As a cardiologist, I’ve made use of prescription drugs, like statins, to reduce my patient’s cholesterol levels. I’ve also used them to help reduce inflammation. Although these drugs can be helpful, they can also have a significant risk of side effects. I can’t argue with the successes of alternative medicine practitioners who’ve used all-natural substances to turn around inflammation and arterial plaque buildup. It’s true that many of these natural remedies work equally as well, maybe better, than prescription drugs without the side effects! Why not take advantage of the heart-saving properties that natural substances offer before resorting to prescription drugs or dangerous bypass surgery? I’d like to share an incredible breakthrough when it comes to the health of your heart. I like to call it The 30-Day Heart Cure. Here are some of the warning signs and symptoms that are an indication that you may have heart disease or plaque-causing inflammation: • Elevated LDL “bad” cholesterol levels • High blood pressure • Insulin resistance or diabetes • Joint pain or arthritis • Headaches • GI distress, bloating, constipation/diarrhea 16 The 30-Day Heart Cure • Ulcer/heartburn • Food and other allergies/sensitivities • Chronic respiratory difficulties, asthma, or bronchitis • Dry, itchy skin, rash, psoriasis or eczema • Weight gain/obesity • Fever or chronic infection Many of these conditions can mean that you have damaged veins and arteries or life-threatening plaque buildup. When a patient comes to me with symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath, fluid retention in legs, leg pain, etc., I order an entire series of tests to determine if they have heart disease. These tests give me an accurate picture of the patient’s heart health. These tests can also tell me what level of risk they may have for developing a sudden heart attack. If you’re interested in these specific lab tests, and what their results indicate, you can learn more about them in detail in the Appendix listed in the back of this book. Now, let’s get to the real reason you’re reading this book…The 30-Day Heart Cure! The All-Natural 30 Day Heart Cure What I’m going to share with you here is a simple, easy-to-do and effective method that can help reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol, cool off dangerous inflammation, and reduce any arterial plaque buildup you may have. It’s a method that can also prevent you from developing further heart disease using completely natural substances. It’s called oral chelation. The 30-Day Heart Cure 17 Oral chelation is a process that allows your blood to flow more freely, removes unhealthy toxins and impurities from your blood, and improves troublesome blocked blood flow symptoms. People who have used EDTA chelation products report significant improvement in most of their symptoms of plaque-blocked arterial blood flow – leg pain, chest pain, shortness of breath, etc. Best of all, many of them have avoided needing risky cardiac bypass surgery and stenting procedures! As a busy cardiologist dealing with heart disease on a daily basis, I’m very impressed with what oral chelation can achieve. Before I get into the many benefits of oral chelation, I’d first like to give you a little background on oral chelation and its connection to heart disease. What Is Oral Chelation? The use of chelation in medicine has been around since 1948 when IV EDTA (intravenous) chelation was first used to detox battery factory workers who had been exposed to lead. Later, the U.S. Navy used IV EDTA chelation to detox sailors who had been exposed to lead in the paint they used to paint battle ships and Navy facilities. IV chelation is done by hooking up a person to an intravenous medicine delivery system – a medicine bag on a pole. Through this device, a person would receive infusions of EDTA and whatever other ingredients each individual practitioner deemed helpful. Practitioners who used IV EDTA chelation found that, in addition to detoxification from lead and other heavy metals, people who underwent EDTA chelation found improvement in other conditions as well. These included: • Cardiovascular disease • Diabetes 18 The 30-Day Heart Cure • Hypertension, stroke • Alzheimer disease • Cataracts However, with all its benefits, IV chelation was found to be impractical, and potentially dangerous, for the following reasons: • Expensive – each treatment could cost hundreds of dollars, depending on the location. • Shortage of trained practitioners – typically IV chelation practitioners were found in/near big cities. Rural people had to travel great distances for their treatments. • Time consuming – must either do as an outpatient procedure in a hospital, or sit in a chair in a doctor’s office/clinic attached to an IV pole dripping solution for hours at a time. • Infection risk – any time you open veins for IV access, the risk for developing life-threatening systemic infections like MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staph aureus) increases. • Death risk – there have been cases of deaths following IV chelation. This was due, in 2 cases, to adding a drug intended for lead removal. In a few other cases, cardiac arrest occurred from the too strong/rapid depletion of calcium which lead to fatal irregular heart rhythms. Even though IV EDTA chelation had many benefits to offer, many practitioners felt that IV chelation had too many drawbacks and risks for general use. Anyone who’s ever walked into an IV chelation clinic can tell you that it can be a frightening sight even for a doctor. Imagine this scene: Rows of reclining chairs full of people hooked up to an IV bag hanging on a stand next to them, dripping its ingredients into their veins. Sound inviting? Not hardly. The 30-Day Heart Cure 19 It was clear that a simpler, more practical way of getting the benefits of IV chelation, without the drawbacks or risks, was needed. That’s how and why pill form-oral chelation was created. Benefits of Oral Chelation Oral chelation products contain the same substance – EDTA – as the IV chelation process. Oral chelation, though, is done in a much less intense, safer method than IV chelation and does not carry the same side effects or risks. With IV chelation the ingredients are delivered through an intravenous access. This means that the EDTA, and additional ingredients, are absorbed immediately, 100%, into the bloodstream. This high degree of absorption of ingredients all at once can cause spikes in crucial heart minerals called electrolytes. This can result in dangerous, or fatal, heart rhythm problems. In contrast, as oral chelation agents are taken via a pill, their ingredients are absorbed into the bloodstream much more slowly – 4%-18% absorption at a time. For that reason, oral chelation gets released into the bloodstream much more gradually. There are several oral chelation products out on the market. In general they contain the main chelating ingredient, EDTA (see more below). In addition, they can contain other vitamins, minerals and/or herbs. These added ingredients boost the actions of EDTA. That is, they help reduce dangerous arterial plaques, remove toxic metals, heavy fats, and other clot and plaque-creating impurities from your blood. The best oral chelation products include the following ingredients: 20 The 30-Day Heart Cure 1. EDTA Short for ethylenediaminetetracetic acid, EDTA is an amino acid (protein). In chelation, EDTA binds itself to metals like iron, lead, arsenic, and mercury. EDTA can also bind to small amounts of excess minerals, like calcium, magnesium, zinc and manganese. Yet, it does not strip, or leach, these minerals from bones or teeth, or the rest of the body. EDTA also binds to toxins, fibrin, and other clot forming, or arterial blocking impurities. These bound substances and EDTA are then processed through the colon and kidneys and exit the body through feces and urine. 2. Trimethylglycine (TMG) This is natural betaine/hydrochloric acid that is found most abundantly in beets and other root vegetables. TMG helps break down and digest heavy, saturated, “bad” LDL cholesterol blood fats in the liver. TMG also decreases iron and dangerous homocysteine buildup in the blood. After age 30, your natural hydrochloric acid supply decreases. You are unable to break down heavy fats and iron and your risk of them building up into dangerous inflammatory arterial plaques increases. 3. Malic acid This beneficial acid is found naturally in apples, mostly green apples. It also helps break down blood fats, particularly triglycerides, before they can harden into plaques. It helps remove toxic metal and aluminum, which causes dangerous inflammation in heart and brain vessels. You’re constantly exposed to more aluminum daily than you may be aware of in the use of products like antiperspirants, antacids, tap water, canned goods, coffee creamers, etc. 4. Garlic Garlic has been used for centuries in the ancient medicines of the world – Greek, Egyptian, Ayurvedic, and Chinese. The active chemical ingredient in garlic – allicin – is a potent antioxidant made up of the amino acids L-methionine and L-cysteine. The 30-Day Heart Cure 21 These proteins attract to, mobilize and extract the metals cadmium, arsenic, lead, and mercury from the body. The L-methionine of garlic also has a lipolytic, or fat destroying, function that helps lower LDL cholesterol. It gets rid of heavy blood fats before they can solidify into hardened arterial plaques. Garlic is also a potent anti-inflammatory agent that helps cool inflammation in blood vessels. Decreasing inflammation lowers the potential for cholesterol to become attached to arterial vessels and harden into atherosclerotic plaques. 5. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) A sulfur-containing amino acid that acts as a master antioxidant. NAC also is a heavy metal scavenger particularly of mercury, lead and cadmium in house paint and cigarette smoke. NAC binds to them and safely removes them from the body via natural elimination processes. NAC also scavenges free radicals and repairs oxidative stress damage – thereby reducing arterydamaging inflammation. NAC helps prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidizing and hardening into dangerous plaques and aids in lowering homocysteine levels. NAC allows the body to conserve reserves of another master antioxidant – glutathione. Glutathione boosts the immune system’s T-cells and helps suppress the production of pro-inflammatory agents – those cytokines mentioned earlier. 6. Bromelain A naturally occurring substance derived from pineapples, bromelain has 2 important actions. One, it acts as a digestive enzyme, helping to break up food so that it can be absorbed better; another is that it decreases inflammation throughout your entire body. 7. B-Vitamins Notably, folic acid and Vitamin B12. These two B vitamins are significant in heart health as they help normalize too much iron in the blood that can lead to elevated homocysteine levels. Too high homocysteine can cause blood to become thick and clot easily. 22 The 30-Day Heart Cure 8. Selenium A vital mineral and antioxidant. It acts as an amino acid chelate that helps bind unwanted metals and other impurities to it. 9. Potassium Potassium is a vital mineral necessary to regulate heart rhythm and keep energy levels up. When you are on the 30-day chelation program, and your body is cleansing itself of unwanted, blood vessel clogging impurities, potassium will help keep your energy levels stable. Now, I’m sure you must have a few questions about oral chelation, how it’s done and how it works. Let’s take a closer look at how oral chelation performs its important function of clearing plaque and inflammation from your arteries. How Is Oral Chelation Done? Good oral chelation products work to bind heavy fats, metals, toxins, and other impurities in your blood using EDTA and its supporting ingredients. Each ingredient has a specific role in the chelation process. They all form a chemical bond to heavy fats, metals, toxins, fibrin, and other impurities that get removed through the body’s natural elimination processes. Several chelation ingredients are double-duty substances that also act as an anti-inflammatory that puts out the damaging fire running in all the blood vessels and tissues throughout your body. In fact, many people who undergo oral chelation report that the symptoms of their other inflammatory-type conditions, like arthritis and bursitis, as well as their energy levels, greatly improve with the chelation process. The 30-Day Heart Cure 23 In the words of Nathan B. states, a man who used oral chelation: “Since taking my new heart supplement, I definitely feel more energized. I notice that I am not sluggish first thing in the morning and I feel alert throughout the entire day and evening hours. My blood pressure improved significantly. I can’t wait until my next doctor’s appointment so that he can see the difference. The benefit of having more energy is that I was able to accomplish more throughout the day. In fact, on a few occasions, I cut the front and back grass and had enough energy to wash both of the family cars on the same day. At the end of the evening, I slept soundly. One thing that I was not expecting was that the product cleared up a sebaceous cyst on my left wrist. A few years ago, I had one on my forehead, which had to be surgically removed. A sebaceous cyst is not as bad as it sounds. It is basically a small, non-painful lump beneath the skin (glands clogged with oil). This time, I did not have to see a surgeon. The cyst cleared up after a week or so of using your oral chelation product. I’m usually skeptical about claims that are made about supplements. However, this product really worked for me.” An added benefit of oral chelation therapy is that it improves blood flow to the entire body. In doing so, many symptoms associated with decreased blood circulation (cramps, cold extremities, swelling) also improve. You must also follow a few simple rules to allow the program to achieve its most optimal results. These include: • Drink lots of pure, filtered, or spring water – no tap water. • Take a good multivitamin supplement to ensure against any mineral deficiencies while the chelation process corrects mineral imbalances in your body. • If you have impaired kidney function, you should consult a physician before using oral chelation products. 24 The 30-Day Heart Cure How Successful Is Oral Chelation? Oral chelation has been used successfully for a few decades now. Since oral chelation products were created, they have continued to be in demand. Why? Oral chelation products are successful in improving symptoms and are much safer, and easier to use, than the IV chelation process. In my research as a cardiologist, I’ve found that oral chelation has the following benefits: • Reduces heavy metal toxicity • Reduces calcification • Lowers blood cholesterol • Antioxidants (like those mentioned above) in chelation products lessen lipid peroxidation (free-radical damage/transformation of metabolized fats). • Helps thin the blood thus preventing the formation of blood clots (one of the causes of heart attacks). • Binds to free radicals that surround arterial plaques. Free radicals can cause plaques to destabilize by breaking off and sending chunks into the blood stream that may obstruct and cause heart attack. • Removes a particular type of iron (homocysteine) that promotes the formation of free radicals. • Cleanses all the miles of blood vessels in your entire body, thereby improving circulation throughout your body, which helps lower blood pressure. Here’s one example of how oral chelation has helped one individual. “When I first started taking my new heart supplement, my blood pressure was 144/85. Now it is 128/81. It was easy to digest and did not upset my stomach. I would definitely recommend oral chelation.” The 30-Day Heart Cure 25 My research has found that oral chelation also has these benefits… • Helps reduce calcium and mineral buildups that aids vision, hearing and muscle tone • Clears and beautifies the skin • Re-oxygenates tissues throughout the body What Has Research Shown About Oral Chelation? As a cardiologist, I stay up on all the latest news regarding drug and product research aimed at treating heart disease and associated conditions. I’m happy to share the following impressive research on oral chelation with you: 1. Removes lead Oral EDTA chelation has been shown to remove a significant amount of lead (2-3 times more) from the human body via excreted feces and urine. In fact, one study documented the removal of between 1,200-2,600 mg of lead during the first 5 days of oral chelation. In contrast, IV chelation removes about 5 times the amount of lead, so results between oral and IV chelation in removing lead are fairly comparable. You should know that even though lead toxicity does not directly cause cardiovascular disease, it does create inflammation which leads to the breakdown of arterial blood vessels. Remember, it’s the breakdown of vessels that cause plaques to form, like a Band-Aid, in the first place. Lead also binds to free, unbound iron that creates even more free radical damage in blood vessels. Both lead and unbound iron bind to oral chelation with EDTA and significantly helps this situation. The Human Ecology Action League has published research concerning the effects of lead on humans. Their studies cite that many Americans – age 45 and older – grew up with lead in house paint, leaded gasoline, leadsoldered plumbing and food cans, etc. 26 The 30-Day Heart Cure As such, many people of these age groups could have significant deposits of lead stored in their bones. Lead and calcium compete for the same receptor sites in the body. If lead takes up many of these receptor sites in the bones, calcium cannot be absorbed properly making bones at high risk for osteoporosis later in life. Similarly, a Harvard study done back a few decades ago [Study Shows Danger of Bone Lead, The Harvard Crimson, January 1995], revealed that toxic lead is stored mostly in bones. The study showed that people with osteoporosis are constantly regenerating bone tissue and as such may release some of this stored lead into their blood stream. I, as well as other physicians who support oral chelation, feel that it can be helpful in releasing a great deal of this stored lead and removing it from the body before it can do further damage. It can also help spur healthier bone growth. Chronic low lead levels are also thought to contribute to the development of brain dysfunction/dementia, cancer, bone marrow disease, renal disease, and much more. Oral chelation is believed to slow the progression of, or reverse, kidney function impairment. 2. Fights free radicals Many chelation practitioners believe that one of the reasons that oral chelation works so well is that it fights free radicals in the blood stream and neutralizes them. 3. “Resuscitates” mitochondria Mitochondria are the microscopic “power plants” inside every cell in the body. Decline of mitochondrial function has long been thought to be one of the primary causes of the aging process. 4. Improves neurologic and multi-organ symptoms Dr. Robert J. Rowen reports in his Second Opinion newsletter that research published in a psychiatric journal revealed that oral chelation patients showed improvement in a variety of neuro and multi-organ symptoms. These patients were noted to have had a marked improvement in their quality of life after oral chelation. The 30-Day Heart Cure 27 Many physicians who support oral chelation report significant improvement in the mental well-being of their oral chelation patients. In the book [Toxic Metal Syndrome: How Metal Poisonings Can Affect Your Brain], co-authors Dr. Morton Walker and Dr. Richard Casdorph detail that when they gave oral chelation to patients to clear up cardiovascular arterial plaques, their mental processes (memory, cognitive ability, etc) also cleared and began to function appropriately. Another oral chelation patient, Elma, noted: “I was very restless at night and would always wake up tired. After taking my new heart supplement, I sleep restful, wake up with energy that last through the day and night. I feel healthier too. I would recommend oral chelation to others.” 6. Assists absorption of Vitamin B12 Clinical research has shown better absorption of Vitamin B12 after oral chelation. B12 can be very difficult for people over 40 to absorb and deficiencies may start to occur. 7. Assists absorption of medications Certain drugs, like heparin, which helps treat chronic blood clotting disorders are absorbed better after oral chelation. In fact, you may need less of some of your medications after doing oral chelation. In summary, clinical literature review, from sources documenting over 50 years of oral chelation use, continually cite its safety and efficacy. To my knowledge and research as a cardiologist, unlike IV chelation, no deaths have been attributed to the use of oral chelation products. Now, here are some additional, all natural herbal substances and vitamins that help oral chelation products do their job better and improve heart disease. 28 The 30-Day Heart Cure Natural Heart Helpers Lower Cholesterol, Put Out Fires of Inflammation Cholesterol and inflammation work hand in hand to create dangerous, unstable arterial plaques building up in your arteries. In addition to chelating out toxins, heavy fats and metals, these natural heart helpers boost the effects of oral chelation as well. Let’s look at them individually. 1. Red Rice Yeast This substance has been used by American alternative medicine practitioners to lower “bad” LDL cholesterol for many years. However, it has been used in TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) since the Tang Dynasty of 800 A.D. for heart disease, digestive health, circulation, spleen, and stomach health. It is, literally, the red yeast (Monascus purpureus) that grows on rice. In many Asian countries, it is a dietary staple and likely account for why Asians have lower heart disease rates than Americans. Red rice yeast contains several compounds known as monacolins. These are substances which are research-proven to inhibit your body’s ability to absorb cholesterol. This results in a cholesterol lowering effect – especially of the LDL type. You may be surprised to learn that one of the monacolins of red rice yeast – monacolin K – is used to produce the prescription cholesterollowering drugs Mevacor and the generic drugs, mevinolin and lovastatin. It’s important to note, though, the significant difference between natural red rice yeast and the synthetic prescription version found in drugs like lovastatin. Natural red rice yeast may have some mild side effects like diarrhea, headache or heartburn, if taken on an empty stomach. Yet, prescription lovastatin can have much more severe side effects, regardless of how you take it. The 30-Day Heart Cure 29 For example, lovastatin can have the dangerous side effect of rhabdomyolysis (causes severe all-over muscle pain and damage). In addition, liver and kidney damage can result from taking prescription lovastatin. Yet the health benefits of red rice yeast are well-noted in research. Red rice yeast also contains plant sterols, isoflavones, and monounsaturated fatty acids, all naturally occurring substances, which have been found to be beneficial in lowering cholesterol. One research study showed that participants who took 2.4 grams of red rice yeast daily had a 22% decrease in their LDL cholesterol and a 16% reduction in total cholesterol over 12 weeks. A second study showed that participants who took 1.2 grams red rice yeast per day decreased LDL cholesterol by 26% in just 8 weeks. Dosage: 1000 mg a day, is a common dosage found in most red rice yeast supplements. 2. Beta sitosterol This is another cholesterol-lowering substance found naturally in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. It is, chemically, a “plant sterol ester”. It is used to make some medicines and is frequently added to margarine as a cholesterol-fighting agent. Like red rice yeast, it decreases your body’s ability to absorb cholesterol. It also helps decrease inflammation throughout the body. Significantly, in 2000, according to WB Anon and Associates website, the FDA authorized the labeling of heart-health claims of plant sterols (including beta sitosterol) and plant stanol esters on margarines and certain other foods. Beta sitosterol also has other health benefits that include boosting immune function, fighting colon cancer, gallstones, viral infections, prostate problems as well as menopausal symptoms. In addition, its antiinflammatory properties are relied on by marathon runners who use it in a cream formula to reduce inflammation and swelling in their legs after races. It also is noted to help wounds and burns heal faster. Dosage: 200-400 mg a day is recommended by alternative health practitioners. 30 The 30-Day Heart Cure 3. Gugulipid This has been used in Ayurvedic (India) medicine for many years to help decrease cholesterol. Gugulipid consists of oleoresins (Commiphora mukul) which, in clinical research trials 46 years ago [G.V. Satyavati, 1966], had been shown to have significant cholesterol improving properties. It accomplished this by increasing the liver’s metabolism of LDL cholesterol. As a result, gugulipid reduced LDL cholesterol, raised HDL cholesterol, reduced serum triglycerides, protected against hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), decreased stickiness of platelets, increased fibrinolysis (destruction of clot forming fibrin in blood), and decreased obesity in people with elevated cholesterol levels. It also has demonstrated antiinflammatory properties, which has been especially effective in reducing arthritis complaints. In other studies, gugulipid was shown to be more effective than the synthetic prescription drug clofibrate in double-blind studies. They both lowered LDL cholesterol, but only the gugulipid increased HDL cholesterol by a whopping 60%! The 2 key cholesterol-lowering compounds in gugul are z-guggulsterone and E-guggulsterone. In the original, natural version gugulipid, some people had a few mild side effects like diarrhea, and stomach upset. Today, gugulipid is isolated into a standardized extract which has none of the side effects of its original, natural version. Dosage: Alternative health practitioners recommend 300 mg per day. 4. Co-Q10: This vitamin is a heart-healthy powerhouse. It helps convert food into energy. It also improves the heart’s use of energy on the cellular level through its mitochondria – the energy center of cells. In addition, it breaks down fibrin in the blood thereby preventing blood clot formation. A powerful antioxidant, it neutralizes free radicals before they can cause dangerous inflammation that damages arterial walls. The 30-Day Heart Cure 31 Several research studies have found Co-Q10 to be helpful to the heart in the following ways: • Helps lower cholesterol. Studies have shown that people with high cholesterol often have low levels of Co-Q10. Recent research [Caso G, Kelly P, McNurlan MA, Lawson WE. Effect of coenzyme q10 on myopathyic symptoms in patients treated with statins. Am J Cardiol. 2007; 99(10): 1409-12.] has shown that statins can decrease Co-Q10 levels significantly. Supplementing with Co-Q10 can bring levels back to normal and also alleviate the muscle pain that often accompanies statin use. • Increases chance of survival after a heart attack. Research has shown that people who took Co-Q10 within 3 days of having a heart attack greatly decreased their risk of subsequent heart attack or chest pain. They were also less likely to die of a heart attack than those not taking the supplement. • Helps blood pump through heart. Co-Q10 has been shown in research studies [Khatta M, Alexander BS, Krichten CM, Fisher ML, Freudenberger R, Robinson SW et al. The effect of coenzyme Q10 in patients with congestive heart failure. Ann Int Med. 2000; 132(8): 636-640] to help blood pump through the heart better. Some studies have shown it to improve congestive heart failure conditions like swelling in the legs and feet, reduce fluid in the lungs. • Lower blood pressure. Several clinical studies cited by the University of Maryland Medical Center’s website report that CoQ10 may help lower blood pressure. • Helps with diabetes. Studies [Hodgson JM, Watts GF, Playford DA, et al. Coenzyme Q (10) improves blood pressure and glycaemic control: a controlled trial in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2002; 56:1137-1142.] have shown that Co-Q10 can help normalize blood sugar levels. Normal blood sugar levels help prevent inflammation and heart disease from developing. 32 The 30-Day Heart Cure Dosage: 30 to 200 mg in adults 19 years and older. Higher doses are sometimes recommended by alternative medicine practitioners to help treat specific conditions. The softgel form is better absorbed. Since CoQ10 is fat soluble, it should be taken with a meal containing fat to help absorb it. 5. Omega-3’s Essential Fatty Acids One of your heart’s best friends, they are called “essential fatty acids” because your body needs them to survive and be healthy. Yet, unlike many other nutrients, they are not made by your body. They must be obtained through either foods or supplements. Omega-3’s help your heart, and your general health, by fighting inflammation and neutralizing free radicals. They also dissolve heavy triglyceride fats in your blood and help treat/prevent atherosclerosis – hardening of the arteries from calcified plaques. Several research studies [Galli C, Risé P. Fish consumption, omega 3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. The science and the clinical trials. Nutr Health. 2009; 20(1):11-20. Review.] show how Omega-3’s benefit heart-health conditions: • High cholesterol. People who eat high Omega-3 fat diets (Mediterranean peoples, Inuit Eskimos, etc) have increased HDL cholesterol and decreased LDL. • High blood pressure. Studies showed that 3 or more grams of fish oil a day may reduce hypertension. • Cardiovascular disease. Omega-3’s decrease several risk factors for CVD – high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, prevent formation of dangerous arterial plaque buildups. It can reduce the risk of stroke by 50% by taking 2 grams of fish oil a day. Omega-3’s are found in flaxseed oil, walnut oil, fish or krill oil from either fresh fish/krill or supplements. They are also found in algae and some plants (Chapter Three for more complete sources). The 30-Day Heart Cure 33 I’ll explain the best balance of Omega-3 to Omega-6 oils in Chapter Three so that you can get the best heart health benefits of both. Too much Omega-6 in your body can increase inflammation. Dosage: 500-1,500 mg a day. Higher doses should be monitored by a physician as Omega-3’s also thin the blood and may increase risk for either internal/external hemorrhage. 6. Vitamin E A powerhouse antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals and helps prevent inflammation throughout your body. Clinical nutritionist, Byron Richards, CCN, cites the results of a double-blind, placebo controlled cardiovascular study evaluating a natural form of Vitamin E. In his article, Natural Vitamin E Dramatically Reduces Heart Disease, Newswithviews.com, August 2007, Richards states that natural, d-alpha tocopheral acetate Vitamin E, 600 IU, was used to evaluate its efficiency in reducing heart disease. The d-alpha tocopheral acetate form is a very high quality form of natural Vitamin E. The results showed that it reduced heart disease by 13%. It also showed a 22% reduction in heart attacks – 31% when combined with another antioxidant, Vitamin C, and 9% reduction in cardiovascular-related death. Dosage: At least 100 IU of d-alpha tocopheral acetate form of Vitamin E should be taken daily as part of The 30-Day Heart Cure. However, alternative health practitioners, to augment treatment of heart disease, also prescribe up to 400 IU a day. Also be sure your brand says di alpha tocopherol and not “dl” (small “L”) alpha which is synthetic Vitamin E. I hope you now have a better understanding of what oral chelation is and the advantages of using it to improve your heart, and general health. Oral chelation is, what I like to term, a preventative cure. It can erase your symptoms now by decreasing plaque-creating LDL cholesterol, dangerous inflammation, and clot-forming metals, toxins and other impurities. It can also prevent you from further progressing to heart disease and the possibility of a sudden heart attack later. 34 The 30-Day Heart Cure You should be aware though – an oral chelation product will not help in an emergency situation. If you begin to experience sudden chest pain, shortness of breath, any of the symptoms of possible sudden heart attack, you should call 9-1-1 immediately and/or get taken to the nearest emergency room fast. Now, let’s move on to Chapter Three where I’ll give you some helpful diet, lifestyle, and exercise changes that will help The 30-Day Heart Cure yield even better results. The 30-Day Heart Cure 35 CHAPTER Three Don’t Get Heart Disease In The First Place! There are 5 factors that I consider critical in determining whether you develop heart disease and whether you’ll suffer a sudden heart attack. The good news is, as I tell my patients, these are all things you can definitely become proactive about. By making changes in these factors, you can significantly decrease your chance of getting heart disease and preventing a sudden heart attack. Let’s start with the single most important factor… Smoking – Don’t Send Your Heart Up In Smoke You already know that smoking is bad for your health and you should quit. But did you also know that, according to the American Heart and Lung Association, smoking is the #1 cause of coronary artery disease, responsible for over 440,000 deaths each year? And, that it is also the major cause of death from stroke in the United States with over 600,000 cases occurring per year. Here’s why. Smoking creates a few dangerous situations that up your risk for a sudden heart attack or stroke: 1. Raises dangerous levels of fibrin Fibrin is a blood protein that can stick together and form deadly clots. Now, The 30-Day Heart Cure can help breakdown clot-forming fibrin, and other toxins, and help you avoid a dangerous heart attack. The choice is yours, however, whether you want to continue smoking and reintroducing these problematic substances into your bloodstream over and over. 36 The 30-Day Heart Cure 2. Decreases oxygen intake into your lungs Your body needs adequate oxygen to help it detoxify. Without enough oxygen, these toxins build up, inflammation increases, and it becomes a chronic, never-ending cycle of tissue damage. 3. Narrows arteries by 25% for up to 30 minutes Each puff you take from a cigarette causes your blood pressure to spike. This puts you at greater risk of heart attack and stroke, says a McGill University Montreal study from 2009. 4. Causes weakening and outpouching of arterial walls Technically, this outpouching is called an aneurysm. Aneurysms most often occur in the abdominal aorta – the major blood vessel of your body. They can also occur in the brain. Aneurysms are kind of like an overinflated balloon that becomes too thin. We’ve all seen what happens when a balloon gets blown up too much – they usually burst suddenly. With the blood pressure spikes that occur with smoking a single cigarette, the risk of a burst aneurysm increases greatly. Sadly, aneurysms often go undetected until they burst. They have a high (between 50%-70%) death rate as they are very difficult to repair. Burst aneurysms can cause a life-threatening amount of internal bleeding before the person even gets to an emergency room. With all the heart-damaging risks from smoking, it should be a no-brainer that quitting smoking is one of the most important ways to lengthen your life. Although it’s a difficult thing to do, you may be inspired to know that once you quit smoking, the good benefits start immediately. You instantly start to decrease those dangerous inflammatory blood protein markers. And, these markers continue to improve more and more with each passing day after quitting. According to a recent article published by the National Heart and Lung Institute [What Are The Benefits of Quitting Smoking? December 2011], it was the opinion of those researchers that your risk of sudden cardiac death, first or second heart attack, starts to decline as soon as you quit smoking. The 30-Day Heart Cure 37 And, your risk of developing atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries) decreases as well as your risk of developing sudden heart attack or strokecausing blood clots. The take-away message of the “after quitting smoking studies” is that heart attack risk factors have been proven to start to decrease very quickly after quitting. Periodic testing for these markers are also a good indication of how much your cardiac risk continues to decrease. My recommendation regarding smoking is simply – Quit! Right now! Your life depends on it. There are many quit-smoking prescription drugs, products and processes, but many have significant drawbacks like side effects or price. Below I’ve listed what I feel are some of the best, most effective, quit-smoking products and processes that can help you get the job done without side effect or exorbitant cost. Helpful Hints to Quit Smoking The following methods can help you quit smoking. You decide which one may be the best fit for you. 1. Cold turkey This is stopping smoking on your own without the use of any products. You pick a day you want to quit and you just do it. You throw your cigarettes away and don’t go back. The upside of this method is that it’s completely cost-free. The downside is that only about 3% of very-determined people succeed. The reason is due to nicotine withdrawal symptoms and the level of discomfort they can cause. Symptoms include anxiety, hyperirritability, insomnia, inability to concentrate and depression, which can last 3 months or more. This method does work, but for most it can be a hard road. 38 The 30-Day Heart Cure 2. Hypnosis In theory hypnosis works by placing suggestions in the hypnotized person’s subconscious mind while they are in a state of light sleep. Hypnosis has been proven to work well as a relaxation device. Since many people smoke due to stress, becoming relaxed may be what many smokers need to be able to quit. Some people are hypnosis resistant, meaning they are unable to succumb to “going under” and are not candidates for this type of treatment. For people who are open to the idea, hypnosis may be helpful. It can also be used in conjunction with other therapies to reinforce the benefits of quitting smoking. 3. Laser This process works more like acupuncture, or acupressure, in helping to quit smoking. Laser energy is applied to specific points on hands, wrists, ears, or face that correspond to addiction in the human brain. This pressure results in stimulating endorphin producing nerve pathways. Endorphins are “feel good” hormones that decrease stress and help you relax, therefore, decreasing the need for “stress smoking”. Laser therapy promoters claim 85% to 90% success rate. A downside though is that they can also be a little costly with no guarantees. On the other hand, cardiac stent bypass is much more costly to more than just your pocket book. 4. Lobelia Lobelia contains “lobeline”, a natural, herbal, nicotine-like substance that is non-addicting and non-toxic. It reduces nicotine cravings and has a tranquilizing effect. It can help soothe jangled nerves and irritability which almost always accompanies quitting smoking. It does this by “tricking” your nervous system into thinking that it’s getting nicotine but without the toxic side effects. As Lobelia is a natural, herbal product that can help you get over the first few weeks of antismoking efforts, it gets a high mark from me. However, use lobelia exactly as directed as too much can cause nausea/vomiting and/ or respiratory depression. The 30-Day Heart Cure 39 5. Smoke Deter This is a natural, anti-smoking product that uses several homeopathic remedies together for a combined effect against withdrawal symptoms: Abies nigra (black spruce), Aconitum Napellus (wolfbane), Avena (oates), Nux Vomica (Poison nut). This product is used in a spray beneath the tongue whenever cravings/symptoms arise. You may be happy to know that independent reviews of Stop Smoking products rate this product very high at 98%. As a natural homeopathic remedy, I believe it can be safely used to quit smoking. 6. Anxiolytics – “anti-anxiety” medication These generally are prescribed by your doctor to help you get through the first week of no-smoking. There are also natural anxiolytics, such as valerian which you can buy at a health food store, which are taken via drops into a glass of water daily. The big plus of anxiolytics is that they help reduce stress, which is usually the major trigger for smoking in most people. 7. Exercise Frequent, aerobic exercise can significantly decrease stress levels which prompt you to smoke. It also helps intake more oxygen into your heart and lungs causing both to work efficiently. Oxygen helps clear toxins out of your tissues. 40 minutes a day, in divided workouts, 20 minutes in the morning, 20 minutes in the late afternoon/early evening can help you quit smoking naturally. Now, let’s look at the next biggest risk factor… Obesity – That Toxic Chemical Plant on Your Belly After smoking, obesity is the next biggest contributing factor to a sudden heart attack. Researchers now say that adult obesity starts all the way back in infancy. 40 The 30-Day Heart Cure Here’s why… In just about every culture I know, a chubby baby equals good health. This is especially true in American culture. When people see a baby that is less than chubby, they may think the child is poorly fed or unhealthy. This couldn’t be further from the truth. So should we put babies on diets? Of course not! However, the statistics of children with high LDL (bad) cholesterol and obesity, as well as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure is a growing concern in the United States today. The Hope Heart Organization reports [Obesity and Heart Disease, 2010] that approximately 17% of children ages 2 through 19 are overweight. This percentage has more than doubled in the last 30 years! Diabetes – an obesity-induced condition – which used to be rare in children, comprises up to 45% of childhood illnesses. What these childhood obesity statistics indicate is that an obese child will likely become an obese adult. Once you become an obese adult, age 20 and older, you’ve already become a statistic in today’s American obesity epidemic. According to the American Heart Association’s 2012 statistics, 151.1 million American adults - 78 million men and 73.1 million women – are overweight or obese! Changing the image of what a healthy baby looks like might help all of us become heart-healthier adults. For men, obesity can have deadly consequences. You may know the stories of comedians John Candy, or Chris Farley, who literally dropped dead of sudden heart attacks. This is an all too common scenario for very overweight men – even those who do not have any other risk factors for heart disease like type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, or arteriosclerosis. The truth is, obese men have a 60% greater risk of dropping dead from a fatal heart attack than non-obese middle-aged men who may have other risk factors. This killer is not exclusive to men. Heart disease is also the #1 killer in women! And it’s not just postmenopausal women either. Sudden heart attack is now increasing in women in their 30s and 40s – much faster than men of the same age! The 30-Day Heart Cure 41 Comedienne Rosie O’Donnell just recently suffered one of those “out-ofthe-blue” heart attacks. Fortunately, unlike John Candy and Chris Farley, Rosie lived to tell about her heart attack, warn other women about their risk, and get a second chance at improving her heart health. What do John Candy, Chris Farley and Rosie O’Donnell have in common other than being comedians? Speaking strictly as a doctor and health researcher, these three very different people had one bad thing in common: too many fat cells. Obesity can ramp up significant inflammation levels in your cardiovascular system. The more fat cells you have, the more cytokines you have. These cytokines circulate throughout your blood creating dangerous inflammation and life-choking plaque in your cardiovascular system. I explain to my patients that body fat is not just rolls of unwanted pudge that sit on your belly, hips, thighs, and rear, making your clothes uncomfortable. Fat cells, and their cytokines, actually make you insulin resistant, further decreasing your body’s chance of burning fat normally. Cytokines also produce certain other heart-critical cells called macrophages which play a key role in the development of arterial plaque throughout your heart’s blood vessels. Macrophages are “pacman” type cells that are controlled by the immune system. They get sent out to clean up debris in arterial walls. Researchers have learned [New Culprit in Atherosclerosis, Science Daily, January 2012] that these macrophages can become clogged with a substance called Netrin-1, which builds up into dangerous plaques. When this happens, you become at high risk for one of the hardened plaques to break free and cause a major blockage in blood flow. At that point your chances for a sudden heart attack are at an all-time high. A U.S. News and World Report [Too Fat? No More Excuses, 2007] published data by researchers that showed fat cells to actually be metabolically active, living tissue with just as strong hormone functions as your thyroid and your pancreas. Your fat cells control the amount of energy you burn by releasing certain hormones. 42 The 30-Day Heart Cure When fat cells become excessive, these hormones also become excessive and their sheer number can throw off the brain’s normal response to them. As a result, too much fat gets stored. Obesity may outwardly look like just a harmless padding of fat around your body but you really need to start thinking of it as a “toxic chemical plant” whose sole purpose is destroying your health. Decreasing fat cells by losing weight helps decrease the amount of cytokines, and inflammation, as well as your heart disease risk. The following are some helpful tips in how to prevent and/or get rid of obesity. How To Prevent, Eliminate Obesity 1. Eat healthier Notice I didn’t say eat less? That’s because research studies have shown that people who eat less frequently actually have slower metabolisms that can lead to weight gain. Eating healthier foods 5-6 times a day, in sensible portions, can stoke your metabolic fires and keep you using/burning your food for energy rather than storing it on your hips or around your belly. 2. Limit sugar Eating too much refined sugar is a serious reason that obesity is rampant in America today. Cut out refined sugar and limit natural sugars by sticking to low-sugar fruits and vegetables. Limit alcohol as it is also metabolized as sugar. 3. Optimal protein Protein deficiency can contribute to obesity because the majority of calories are coming from carbohydrates. In addition, protein fuels muscle growth, size and strength. When muscles have optimal strength, they keep your metabolism burning at a higher rate. When muscles shrink and become weak, your metabolism plummets and you can start packing on fat easily. The 30-Day Heart Cure 43 Aim for a few servings of high quality protein a day – fish, grass-fed beef, pork, or poultry. You can also get good levels of proteins in legumes like lentils, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, etc. 4. Eat good fats Reduicng the amount of Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats (corn oil, sunflower seed oil, other vegetable oils) and increasing Omega-3 fats, in a better balance between the two, can go a long way to help fight obesity. Too much Omega-6 fats has been shown in research to fuel inflammation, the very thing you want to avoid. Other natural oils, like coconut, also help fight obesity as they add lauric acid to your body. Lauric acid ups your metabolism and helps burn more body fat. It is also an all-around immune system booster as it is antibacterial and antiviral. Red palm oil also contains valuable astazanthin and vitamin E, both powerful antioxidants that help fight free radicals. Like coconut oil, red palm oil is also used by the liver faster thereby keeping it from being stored as body fat and contributing to plaques in your heart vessels. It is also believed to thin out the blood thereby preventing buildup of fibrin and blood clots. 5. Drink more water Dehydration frequently manifests itself as hunger and fatigue. It’s your body telling you it needs more water. Adequate water intake not only keeps your skin and internal organs well-hydrated and working properly, but keeps your blood from becoming too thick and at risk for blood clots. Water also boosts your metabolism and helps you burn more calories. Next time you’re feeling fatigued, try drinking 16 ounces of cold water and see if it doesn’t perk you up. 6. Boost adiponectin Adiponectin is a fat-burning, anti-inflammatory hormone that your body manufacturers if given the correct building blocks. Higher levels of adiponectin means lower body fat and lower insulin levels which helps prevent type 2 diabetes. Natural ways to boost adiponectin is through: 44 The 30-Day Heart Cure • Exercise • Controlling calories • Eating more fiber • Adequate Omega-6’s • Decreasing stress levels which turn on cortisol, a fat-storing/stress hormone • Drink a little coffee. Research shows moderate coffee drinkers have higher adiponectin levels. Too much caffeine can raise cortisol, though. 7. Add more fiber Recent research shows that a type of fiber, IP-6, found in fibrous vegetables can help keep weight lower and your heart healthier as it latches onto heavier fats and “bad” LDL cholesterol. It then moves these fats out of your body before they get absorbed and stored. Research shows that Asian diets, that are full of IP-6 fiber, may be why obesity levels in Asia are lower than Americans. 8. Exercise regularly If you work 8 hours at a desk job, you’re metabolism has likely slowed down. Boost metabolism by getting up every 2 hours to walk around, or even run up stairs. After work, engage in at least 30 minutes of mixed aerobic exercise and 10 minutes of interval training on one day, adding weight training 3 times a week. Now let’s move on to the third biggest risk factors for developing heart disease… The 30-Day Heart Cure 45 Lack of Exercise – Move It or Lose Your Heart! If you’ve been mostly inactive, perhaps even overweight, you may have high bad cholesterol and low good cholesterol. As a result, you probably have inflammation and arterial plaque buildup in your blood vessels. Those plaque buildups may be in danger of breaking off and causing sudden blockage of blood flow to your heart or brain. By the time you reach 45-50 years old your risk for developing heart disease is fairly high. Lack of exercise is one of the reasons. As you get older, your metabolism slows down. If your food intake remains the same, you’re going to start gaining undesirable fat. This fat will most commonly be belly fat – the worst kind for your heart and other internal organs. Unless you are involved in physical activity in your job, or get sufficient exercise every day, the likelihood of you becoming obese is high. Yet, you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that recent research has shown that just 12 minutes of aerobic exercise done in intense intervals, 3-4 times a week, can prevent/remedy obesity and dangerous belly fat. The key, researchers say, is not how long you exercise but the intensity of your exercise. Researchers out of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario [Low-volume interval training improves muscle oxidative capacity in sedentary adults, Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Oct; 43(10): 1849-56], have found that doing short bursts of interval exercise has these benefits: • Helps you burn more fat as it raises your heart rate faster. • Challenges your heart and teaches it how to respond to sudden stressors. • Improves blood sugar regulation throughout the day. 46 The 30-Day Heart Cure Here’s how: 1. Interval training exercise Interval-aerobic strengthens your heart and burns fat. Interval training can be done using many different types of exercise – stair climber, elliptical, treadmill, bicycle, running, jumping rope, rebounding, sprints etc. Do 2 minute, fast, or high resistant level (set your machine at 8-10), sets, for a total of 6-10 minutes. You also can use the fat-torching benefits of regular lower-intensity aerobic exercise. This can be done first as a warm up for the more intense interval exercise. Here’s how... 2. Regular aerobic exercise Research has recently shown moderate level aerobic exercise to burn fat at a higher rate than weight training. However, it must be done at the level that keeps your heart rate in the “fat burning” zone which is slower/longer, less intense aerobic exercise. Figure your fat burning zone rate by subtracting your age from 220 (226 for women). Then, from either the warm up or fat burning training zone tables below, take your heart rate number and multiply it by the zone number. For example: If you are a 50-year-old male, you would subtract 50 from 220 which gives you 170. Now, you want to know your zone number for fat burning. From the fat burning zone table below, you find that 60%-70% of your maximum heart rate is your aim. So, 170 x 60% is 102; 170 x 70% is 119. You can aim for either the 60% number, 102, or the 70% number, 119, or do an average of the two which would be 110.5 rounded to next highest number of 111. The 30-Day Heart Cure 47 HIGH FAT BURNING TRAINING ZONES Warm up: 50%-60% of maximum heart rate: Best zone for people just beginning to exercise seriously. It can also be used as a warm up for more advanced exercisers. This zone helps decrease body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol. It also decreases the risk of degenerative diseases and has a low risk of injury. 85% of calories burned are fats! Do for 20-30 minutes at a time before doing intervals. Fat Burning: 60%-70% of maximum heart rate: This zone provides the same benefits as the Warm Up zone, but is more intense and burns more total calories. The percent of fat calories is still 85%. Do for 20-30 minutes before doing intervals. Source: Your Target Heart Rate, http://www.thewalkingsite.com/thr.html 3. Weight training Even though aerobic exercise burns more fat than weight training, it is still necessary to keep muscles from weakening with age. Denser, stronger muscle keeps your metabolism burning more calories. Weight training can be done with resistance bands or by lifting free weights in the gym (or your home), or using weight machines at a gym. These should be done in 10-12 repetitions, 3 sets, for each muscle group worked, 3 times a week. If you attend a gym, there are trainers available to show you how to do the free weights and/or the weight machines. Resistance bands programs on DVD can be bought at many department stores that carry sporting goods. Now, let’s look at another major factor in developing heart disease – your diet! 48 The 30-Day Heart Cure Diet – Are You Feeding A Killer? Researchers published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology [The effects of diet: emphasis on metabolic syndrome, Giugliano, Ceriello, Esposito, August 2005], concluded that the typical Western diet (what most Americans eat daily) has a bad effect on your health. It seems to actually activate your immune system in a sort of defense response against the inflammation that this diet creates. For that reason, when I address a heart healthy diet with my patients, I combine 3 heart risk factors into one category – cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes – as they all stem from a poor diet. In addition, they can all contribute to creating inflammation and dangerous blood vessel plaque buildup. Let me explain how… If your diet is high in animal fats, salt, and refined sugars, and you’re just eating more calories than your body uses every day, you’re going to gain unwanted fat (cytokines). You’re going to develop dangerous inflammation and, ultimately, your cardiovascular system is going to suffer. The worst offenders are: Sugar/Type 2 Diabetes High refined sugar diets can lead to obesity which fuels type 2 diabetes and its corresponding complication, heart disease. The American Heart Association reports that 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes, or metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance), and another 20 million have fullblown diabetes. Why? When you eat too much refined sugar, your insulin levels go up causing you to store fat around your belly and internal organs. Not exercising enough makes matters worse. Diets high in refined sugars create a highly acidic environment that results in a pH imbalance throughout the body. Too high acid ignites inflammation. Inflammation then begins to degrade vascular, as well as other tissues and feeds disease. The 30-Day Heart Cure 49 A USDA report, cited on Organic Wellness’s website, states Americans eat between 100-180 lbs of sugar a year. Some comes from the sugar that you add to foods, but most comes from the processed foods and soft drinks that have become so prevalent in the American diet. When you eat too much refined sugar, your pancreas sends out a flood of insulin to process it. In turn your body begins to secrete a stress hormone – cortisol. Your immune system responds to all that sugar as if it’s being attacked by a virus, bacteria, or toxin, and mounts a counterattack, creating inflammation. Saturated Fat/Cholesterol High saturated fat foods, too much polyunsaturated Omega-6 “salad dressing” oils and trans-fats all contribute to inflammation. If you’ve been eating too much polyunsaturated Omega-6 oils, you’re really not to blame. Beginning around the early 1980’s, television and magazine ads were full of the wrong information about these, and other, fats. Back then, low-saturated fat diets were touted as the correct way to eat. Except that these low saturated fat diets also omitted the “good” Omega-3 fats found in fatty fish, nuts, avocados, olive oil, flax seeds. In addition, people were told to switch to Omega-6 polyunsaturated vegetable oils (soybean, corn, sunflower) to cook with and use in salads. These oils are also used in processed, packaged foods to help preserve long shelf life. Later research, however, showed that too much Omega-6 type oils actually did more harm to your heart and arteries than good. They began to outbalance beneficial Omega-3 oils and were found to fuel inflammation. Omega-3 fats, on the other hand, not only prevented inflammation from developing but decreased what was already present. At that time, hydrogenated vegetable oils, or “trans-fats”, were used almost exclusively in margarine that people ate every day on toast, vegetables, popcorn, you name it. Today, thankfully, most of these transfats have been removed from foods, but you must read labels to be certain. 50 The 30-Day Heart Cure Salt/High Blood Pressure/Hypertension High blood pressure can be caused by a number of things. Simply put though, the American “Western Diet” contains too much salt. You may be adding table salt to foods as well, but there can also be some hidden sources of salt in your diet you may not be aware of: • Processed, packaged, canned (especially soups), all can contain a lot of salt. • Soft drinks containing sodium bicarbonate, along with caffeine, can cause blood pressure to skyrocket. In addition, high blood pressure also gets created along with high cholesterol levels. Arteries narrowed from cholesterol plaques have to work harder to squeeze blood through them, thereby driving up blood pressures. What Does a Heart Healthy Diet Look Like Anyway? I’m glad you asked that question. It’s really not as complicated as you might think, and basically just hinges on common sense. As I noted in the OBESITY section, there are several things you can do to prevent/remedy obesity. Basically, these same rules hold for preventing/improving heart disease as well. Here I’ll go into a little more detail about what exactly you should be eating. Optimal, healthy nutrition Heart healthy nutrition comes from a variety of the basic food groups, but more so from the fruits and vegetable groups. These have the most vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients that your entire body needs to stay healthy. They are very low in fat and, most, are low in sugar as well. Next, proteins, and good fats are necessary to maintain muscle health (remember, your heart is a muscle – don’t starve it!) and decrease inflammation. Good, low glycemic carbohydrates help sustain stable blood sugar levels and provide energy. The 30-Day Heart Cure 51 Fruit If you need to lose body fat, limit your fruit to 2 servings of low sugar varieties (like raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries). Remember, one serving is about 4 ounces. After normalizing your weight, you can include any fruit you would like, up to 4 servings a day. Vegetables Again, if you need to lose fat, eat more low sugar vegetables (read labels) from 5-6 servings a day. Limit, or omit until your weight is within range, high starchy vegetables like white potatoes and corn. After your weight is normal, you can include potatoes and corn but do so in limited amounts as they are metabolized faster than sugar in your body and can wreak havoc with spiking insulin levels and packing fat back on. Proteins Foods like fish, poultry, lean grass-fed beef (even bison!), are good protein sources. Legumes, which generally have 0 sugar grams in them, also do double-duty as both a protein and a carbohydrate food. Hard cheeses can count as a protein, as they have no sugar in them. Aim for 2-3 servings of 6-8 ounces per day of fish, beef, or poultry and 1-2, ¼ cup serving of hard cheeses. Good Omega-3 Fats 2-3 servings of extra virgin olive oil, fish oil, walnut oil, or flax seed oil. Researchers say a good ratio of Omega-6 fats (corn oil, safflower, sunflower oil, cottonseed, peanut) to Omega-3’s are anywhere from 4:1 to 1:1. Yet, I feel the best ratio is an even balance between the two at 1:1 ratio – for every tablespoon of Omega-6 oil you use, use 1 tablespoon of Omega-3. You may also get these fats from eating salmon, tuna and mackerel or supplement with fish or krill oil supplements at 1-2,000 mg a day. 52 The 30-Day Heart Cure Mixed nuts also fall into the “good fats” category. Aim for ¼ cup per day of unsalted mixed nuts (no/low peanuts) containing almonds, walnuts, macadamias, Brazil nuts, and pecans, which are also high in Vitamin E. Carbohydrates These should be in the form of low-glycemic index foods like wheat, quinoa, amaranth, barley, brown rice, and rolled oats. Aim for 2-3 servings per day. Pair with a protein to prevent insulin spikes and keep blood sugar levels stable. Dairy (cow’s milk) can also be considered a carbohydrate because it contains lactose – a sugar. 8 ounces of cow’s milk contains about 11 grams of sugar which is pretty high for one food item. Try to switch to unsweetened almond or soymilk and add your own natural sweetener, Stevia. 8 ounces of almond milk contains more calcium than cow’s milk, 40 calories, 2 carbs, 0 sugar, and more than 50% of natural, very heart healthy Vitamin E. Now, let’s look at another critical factor in whether you will develop heart disease or not – how you live your life! Lifestyle – Is How You Live Your Life Killing Your Heart? I have several patients who have normal weight, are nonsmokers, exercise frequently, and yet are still at risk for heart disease because of their lifestyle. What they do in their lives, on a daily basis, the people they interact with, drugs and/or medications they take, can literally be setting them up for a sudden heart attack and they don’t realize it. Let’s look at the lifestyle factors for developing heart disease, which can include stress, alcohol, genetics, and medications/drugs. Let’s start with stress – one of the most common factors in creating heart disease. The 30-Day Heart Cure 53 Stress Stress can come from many places – finances, jobs, personal relationships, etc. Stress creates biochemical responses in your body that help maintain a perfect living environment for the hidden killer, inflammation, to flourish in. Research has shown that psychological stress is associated most often with the top 3 diseases – heart disease, diabetes and cancer – because of the ability of stress to promote inflammation by dampening your immune system. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University report [Chronic stress and disease, Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, et al, PNAS, April 2, 2012 DOI:] that chronic stress weakens the body’s natural ability to fight inflammation. Eventually, if stress is not alleviated, inflammation can take over and create serious health problems throughout the entire body. Stress, in general, helps create and worsen all the other risk factors for developing heart disease, as well as other serious diseases. Here’s how: • Stress creates a chronic onslaught of hormones like adrenalin, the “fight or flight” hormone. Your adrenal glands eventually become fatigued and worn out from the chronic pump of adrenaline. • Chronic stress makes your body think it is under chronic attack. As I explained earlier, your immune system goes into a defense mode. It begins to chronically release another stress hormone, cortisol, as a defense mechanism. • Chronically elevated cortisol levels cause you to become insulin resistant and store too much fat, especially around your belly, and have chronically elevated blood sugar levels. This sets you up for developing type 2 diabetes. • Stress shortens and degrades your telomeres. Telomeres are a little protective cap at each end of your chromosomal DNA. Each time telomeres shorten, your DNA becomes less able to reproduce a healthy copy. Your body starts to age and disease of aging – heart disease and cancer can set in. 54 The 30-Day Heart Cure Alcohol This lifestyle factor may confuse some people as recent research has shown that 1-2 glasses of red wine, or dark beer, a day may actually be beneficial to your heart. In addition, research has shown that it may lower your risk for type 2 diabetes, and protect you from breast and prostate cancer. The key with alcohol intake is moderation. The reasoning “if a little is good, more is better” does not work with alcohol. After a few glasses of wine, or bottles of beer, or a couple of shots of liquor, too much alcohol consumption has the same effect on your body as too much refined sugar. It elevates the acid/pH imbalance and, again, fuels inflammation. Why? Alcohol is metabolized as sugar in your body. Like refined sugar, a cookie or piece of cake here and there is okay, but a steady daily diet of cookies and cake (and alcohol) can wreak serious health hazards. Genetics The simple truth of genetics is that if your parents and/or family members had heart disease, high cholesterol, history of heart attack/stroke, you are at high risk for it as well. As such, this is information you need to share with your doctor as it gives your doctor a clue as to what to look for in your heart health. In fact, you should also share yours, and your relatives, health information with all family members as risk factors usually crop up in many people in a family. The National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute (NHLBI) recommends that if a family has a pattern of early heart attacks, or heart disease, (before age 55 for men and age 65 for women), a child in that family should have his or her cholesterol checked between the ages of 2 and 8. In addition, the new NHLBI/AAP guidelines recommend that all children be screened for high cholesterol between ages 9 and 11. Medications/Substances Recent research has shown that many common medications can put you at higher risk for a sudden heart attack. In fact, up to 15,000 deaths in the United States have been attributed to medications and/or drug-like substances. The 30-Day Heart Cure 55 They can contain ingredients that interfere with the normal electrical activity in the heart that controls heartbeat. This can cause life threatening heartbeat disruptions. The risks are higher in women and elderly people. Here are some medications and substances shown in research to possibly cause sudden heart attack and/or contribute to coronary artery disease. Foxglove herb: The drug digitalis, which is used to regulate heart rhythms, is made from this herb. Yet, sudden cardiac deaths have been attributed to ingesting this herb in tea form. Nitrates: These are drugs prescribed to treat angina pain. Long-term regular use may double your risk of a heart attack. Cocaine and Amphetamines: Causes elevated heart rates that can send the heart vessels into spasm. Antibiotics: Taken for infections for a limited period of time, antibiotics can be helpful. Prolonged use of antibiotics, however, can put you at risk for heart problems. Two antibiotics most often associated with this problem are erythromycin and clarithromycin. Gastrointestinal drugs: Domperidone-containing drugs like Motillium, et al, had been cited as a “small risk” of causing ventricular arrhythmia (erratic heartbeat) problems in people older than age 60 and/or taking more than 30 mg a day. Anti-psychotic drugs: Chlorpromazine, haloperidol, and pimozide have been cited as causing possible heart problems. Now you have the several most important risk factors that I feel contribute to the development of coronary artery disease and/or a sudden heart attack. My hope is that The 30-Day Heart Cure, along with the steps I’ve outlined above will help you improve your existing heart disease and/ or prevent you or someone you love from ever experiencing a sudden heart attack. 56 The 30-Day Heart Cure Appendix Lab Tests For Heart Disease In Chapter Two, I mentioned that I do a series of tests to determine your level of heart disease and risk for having a sudden heart attack. For those of you who may be interested in the details of what these tests reveal and how they are done, I’ve compiled the following comprehensive information just for you. You’ll also learn what are considered normal levels and the kind of treatment that’s typically offered based on the results. Heart Disease Risk Factor Tests --------------------------------------Current research reveals that it’s really inflammation that opens the door for life-threatening cardiac events like sudden heart attack. It’s inflammation that damages your arterial walls and creates conditions that causes cholesterol to become trapped and start sticking to your arterial walls in dangerous plaques. In fact, inflammation wreaks havoc throughout your entire body – not just your cardiovascular system. As unbelievable as it sounds, it’s possible to not even know that you have inflammation lurking around silently causing all that damage. However, I briefly mentioned a groundbreaking test – the MPO – that is coming into use more and more nationally. The MPO (see more about it at #3 below) is a marker for dangerous inflammation specific to your heart and its blood vessels. It’s becoming one of the more popular tools to alert you, and your doctor, to what your inflammation levels are. It can help your doctor assess your risk for developing a sudden, perhaps fatal heart attack, from the rupture of arterial plaque. The 30-Day Heart Cure 57 The MPO, as well as the other cardiac marker tests listed below, can give you a beneficial heads-up alert that allows you some time to work on cooling down inflammation, and decreasing “bad” LDL cholesterol, through a combination of diet, exercise, supplements, and using The 30-Day Heart Cure. Shutting off inflammation, as well as getting rid of toxins and metal buildups, can help prevent arterial plaques from rupturing, perhaps catastrophically so. Cardiac Blood Labs -------------------------------------When you see your internal medicine doctor, or a cardiologist, for assessment of possible heart disease-related symptoms, or just an annual check-up, they will likely order certain simple blood tests to be done. They may include: 1. CRP-HS – C-reactive protein high sensitivity. This is the original, standard test to measure inflammation. It is still commonly in use yet it is not completely specific to the cardiovascular system. It is only a general marker for inflammation somewhere in your body. Yet, having inflammation from any other condition in your body, like arthritis, or psoriasis even, can mean that you may develop inflammation in your cardiovascular system as well. 2. Homocysteine – This is a test that measures a specific protein – homocysteine – in your blood. High homocysteine results from too high iron levels in blood and can damage the lining of arterial walls. It can mean that you’re prone to developing dangerous blood clots and arterial plaques that could cause a heart attack. Diets low in folic acid – a B vitamin – and too high in iron, can cause elevated homocysteine levels. Folic acid normalizes homocysteine levels. 58 The 30-Day Heart Cure 3. MPO – myeloperoxidase. Measures the level of a chemical in your blood called myeloperoxidase. This is a caustic, free radical substance that creates high inflammation in the cardiovascular system. It damages arterial walls and causes fatty cholesterol to attach itself that go on to calcify, or harden, into stony plaques. 4. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) – Measures the level of another inflammatory substance in your blood – those cytokines I told you about in Chapter One. IL-6 is secreted by your immune system in response to trauma or chronic tissue damage like that which occurs to arterial walls. According to a PubMed study [The interleukin-6 receptor as a target for prevention of coronary heart disease: a mendelian randomisation analysis, Lancet 2012 Mar 31; 379(9822): 1214-24. doi: 10.1016/S01406736 (12) 60110-X. Epub 2012 Mar 14], high IL-6 levels are associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease. There are a number of conditions that can cause highly inflammatory cytokines to form including obesity, high blood sugar levels, and autoimmune conditions like arthritis, psoriasis, etc. 5. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) – Mayo Clinic researchers [Circulation, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN] characterize TNF as yet another “pro-inflammatory cytokine that is a significant mortality (death) predictor” in patients with cardiomyopathy and cardiovascular disease. 6. Cholesterol studies – These are a series of blood labs which assess many facets of your cholesterol levels and your risk for arterial plaque. The most comprehensive is the VAP (vertical auto profile) developed in 2007 by a company called Atherotech in Birmingham, Alabama. The VAP is a series of very sensitive, cardiac specific tests. The cholesterol portion of the VAP includes the following tests: The 30-Day Heart Cure 59 a. LDL (bad cholesterol) levels which should be less than 130 mg/ dL b. Lp (a), which is more atherogenic (capable of causing hard, plaque formations) than LDL and should be under 10 mg/dL. c. IDL, which is also more atherogenic than LDL, and should be less than 20. d. HDL (good cholesterol) should be greater than 40 mg/dL. e. VLDL1+2 (very low density lipoprotein) should be less than 20. f. VLDL3 should be less than 10. g. Triglycerides, which should be less than 150. If LDL cholesterol is too high, HDL cholesterol too low, and Lp (a), IDL, or triglycerides are too high, you would likely be at higher risk for developing dangerous, unstable plaques. This is especially true if your inflammation markers (CRP, homocysteine, MPO) are also elevated. 7. Other plaque-revealing tests – Another portion of the VAP includes additional plaque/risk assessments. These are Lplac2, the apolipoproteins B, A1, as well as the apolipprotein B/A1 ratio. These tests indicate the sum of artery hardening particles in your blood. The lower your apolipoprotein B/A1 ratio is (should be lower than 0.75), the lower your risk for developing dangerous, unstable arterial plaques. 8. D-dimer – This test is also commonly done to rule out the possibility of a blood clot when patients come in with symptoms of recurrent chest and leg pain and shortness of breath. It reveals your blood’s clotting potential. High fibrin D-dimer levels result in thick blood, which is more prone to clot. Chronic inflammation in the vascular system leads to more fibrin/ blood thickening. Blood doesn’t flow freely, blood fats harden, and clots can form into blockages. 60 The 30-Day Heart Cure 9. Vitamin B12 – Often, a B12 test will be run to rule out deficiency. After the age of 30, most people lose the capacity to absorb Vitamin B12 properly through their large intestine and become deficient in it. Some researchers believe that low B12 levels may be one of the contributing factors to developing too high cholesterol. Vitamin B12 is believed to decrease cholesterol levels and triglycerides especially when taken with fish oils [Vitamin B12 – Evidence, High Cholesterol, MayoClinic.com]. Cardiac Imaging Studies If your visit to your doctor includes complaints of chest pain, and/or shortness of breath, or other possible cardiac-origin symptoms, your doctor may also want to do specific imaging studies to look for arterial plaque blockages. These include: 1. Cardiac CT (computer tomography) scan – A painless test that involves using an x-ray machine to take detailed pictures of your heart. You lie on a table and the scanner moves around your body in a circle. You may also be injected with a contrast dye to highlight veins and arteries. The scan can identify plaque buildup/blockages which may be causing your symptoms. 2. Coronary calcium scan – This is a variation of the cardiac CT scan and primarily looks at the buildup of calcium in coronary arteries. Calcium buildup is often an early marker for coronary artery disease. 3. Arteriogram/angiogram – Both these tests highlight the arteries (arteriogram) and veins (angiogram) of the coronary system to look for plaque buildup and possible blockages. A small tube is inserted into the main artery of the thigh, the femoral artery, around the groin region. This tube is threaded up the femoral artery into the heart using an x-ray to guide the doctor. A radiopaque contrast media dye is then injected through this tube. This dye is absorbed in the porous plaque areas. When doctors read your scan, areas with plaque buildup, or blockage, show up on the scan as brightly lit up areas. The 30-Day Heart Cure 61 4. Cardiac MRI – Magnetic resonance imaging of the heart is sometimes done, like the CT scan, to look for plaque buildups and blockages. The cardiac MRI can give a higher resolution, more detailed 3-D picture than a chest x-ray or CT scan. Treatment Options Based on Your Test Results After testing results are in, you and your doctor now know what your risks may be for developing unstable plaque that can break off and block blood flow to your heart. In traditional medicine, here’s what your treatment options are likely to be: 1. Conservative measures. This is a “watch” and “wait” approach when heart attack risk levels are low, but still needing intervention to prevent worsening. If your cholesterol and triglyceride levels are not within range, yet your CRP-HS and MPO, and other plaque indicators are normal, or only slightly out of range, conservative measures are generally the preferred treatment. These conservative measures may prevent you from further developing dangerous heart disease: • Diet and lifestyle changes to lower cholesterol and inflammation levels • Reduce risk factors like smoking, high blood sugar levels, alcohol intake, exposure to toxins, etc. • Instituting a heart-healthy diet and adding Omega-3 fish oils. Ensuring adequate folic acid intake (see more about these measures in Chapter Three) • Regular exercise (see more in Chapter Three) • Avoiding psychological stressors 62 The 30-Day Heart Cure 2. Pharmacotherapy. This includes prescription drugs commonly called “statins” which are aimed at lowering cholesterol. Many of them also have an added anti-inflammatory effect as well. Yet they can have undesirable side-effects, including: • Low Co-Q10 levels. Statins can dangerously lower Co-Q10 levels which can affect heart muscle strength. • Muscle damage. A condition called rhabdomyolysis can occur which causes severe all-over muscle pain and damage. • Kidney or liver damage. Statins increase the liver’s enzymes to digest foods, drugs, alcohol, etc. Chronically elevated enzyme levels can lead to liver and kidney damage. • Digestive problems. Nausea, diarrhea, constipation can occur. • Skin rashes or flushing effect. This is usually due to the inclusion of niacin, a B vitamin, either combined with the statin drug itself, or taken separately. • Neurological disorders. Memory loss, or possibly AML (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease) have recently been associated with statin usage. • Elevated blood sugar levels. Chronic statin use may lead to diabetes. The FDA has issued warnings on statin labels about this side effect. 3. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). If you have arterial blockages severe enough to be causing blocked blood flow, pain, shortness of breath, etc., your doctor may recommend this procedure. It often is done urgently, as a life-saving technique. CABG involves removing the bad, plaque-blocked segment of artery and placing a patch to graft the two sides back together. A stent is often placed within the CABG segment to make sure the graft heals without obstruction to blood flow. CABG procedures today are mostly successful but they can have important risks and side effects including: The 30-Day Heart Cure 63 The graft and stents can fail/collapse, necessitating urgent re-do of the bypass graft. • Infection in the graft or donor site can occur. • Illnesses like pneumonia and life-threatening, antibiotic resistant bacterial infections can develop while in the hospital recovering from the surgery. • Your life and activity level is on hold for several months. You must take it very easy for several months following surgery in order for the graft to heal properly. 4. Balloon angioplasty. If significant blockage, or narrowing of the artery, is found a balloon angioplasty is often done immediately. The balloon opens up the artery and a stent is placed to keep the artery open. This allows blood to flow again without obstruction. Like CABG, this procedure can prevent a full blown, fatal, heart attack from happening. 64 The 30-Day Heart Cure Glossary of terms Acupuncture/acupressure – ancient Chinese system of applying pressure or stimulation to certain energy meridians in the body. Aneurysms – weakened, outpouchings of arterial walls that can burst suddenly. Angiogram – a test where dye is injected to show blockages in cardiac vessels. Arterial plaque – hardened pieces of fatty LDL cholesterol, calcium and other minerals, and/or blood toxins that can adhere to arterial walls. Astazanthin – a powerful antioxidant from the carotenied (Vitamin A) family of vitamins. Helps fight free radicals, boost healthy vision and the immune system. Bioelectric charge – the natural electric impulse that human cells share. Blood protein markers – in cardiovascular disease, these are C-reactive protein and homocysteine. They can affect the degree of heart disease that you have and what risk you are for a sudden heart attack. Calcified plaque – plaque that has hardened into a stony-like substance. Cardiovascular – pertaining to the blood vessel system of the heart, including arteries and veins. Chelation – a process of one substance attracting another (metals, toxins, minerals, debris) and holding onto them to move them out of the body through natural elimination. Cholesterol – fatty acids that float through the blood stream. Cortisol – a hormone that gets released during stress. Causes blood pressures, and blood sugars, to rise. C-reactive protein (CRP) – a test that measures the amount of The 30-Day Heart Cure 65 homocysteine in the blood. Cytokines – proteins formed from fat cells. Detoxify – to cleanse the body of toxins. Electrolytes – a combination of minerals that control the natural “firing” of the heart’s electrical system that keeps the heart beating correctly. Endorphins – hormones that are produced through certain stimuli (exercise, food, alcohol, drugs) that create feelings of happiness and contentment. Environmental toxins – poisons arising from substances in the general environment (air pollution, unclean water) or your own personal living environment (chemicals, smoking, weed killer, dental fillings etc). These can contribute to inflammatory cardiovascular disease. Fluid retention – the holding of fluids within tissues. Commonly, fluid retention is seen in calves and ankles when cardiovascular disease is present. Hemoglobin A1c – blood test for averaging glucose levels over 90 days. Can identify if someone is predisposed to prediabetes and/or is insulin resistant. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) – type of cholesterol that is a more protective, buoyant fatty acid, it floats through the blood in larger molecules that protect the arterial walls from LDL sticking to them. Homeostasis – the natural state of balance in living organisms. Homocysteine – a type of protein derived from iron that can cause serious inflammation in vascular walls if levels get too high. Insulin resistant – the inability to use the hormone, insulin, efficiently – resulting in too high blood sugar levels. Part of metabolic syndrome. Interval training exercise – short bursts of intense intervals of exercise thought to strengthen the heart better. IP-6 fiber – short for inositol hexaphosphate, a dense fiber found in rice bran and legumes (beans, peas). The 30-Day Heart Cure 66 L-methionine, L-cysteine – necessary proteins that also chelate (attract to) metals (like cadmium, arsenic, lead and mercury). L-methionine also gets rid of heavy blood fats before they solidify into early arterial plaques. These proteins are also highly noninflammatory. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) – a nonprotective type of cholesterol that is of smaller molecular size and can stick to arterial walls. Low glycemic index – foods that do not cause the blood sugar to rise too quickly or cause the pancreas to release too much insulin at one time. Macrophages – large “eating” cells produced by the immune system. Their job is to go out into the body and eat up cellular debris. Metabolic syndrome – a cluster of conditions – insulin resistance, overweight, high cholesterol – that can lead to heart disease. Methicillin-resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA) – a classification of bacteria that can develop from skin wounds. Often acquired in hospitals or clinics where intravenous access is required. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) study – measures the amount of myeloperoxidase – a caustic, high inflammatory substance that can cause arterial plaque to become unstable. Oral chelation – taking chelation products in pill, or liquid form, by mouth versus receiving them through an intravenous method. PAH – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – These are highly inflammatory toxins that come from meat cooked at very high heat, such as barbecue or grilled. Statins – A class of medications used by doctors to reduce LDL cholesterol and/or inflammation in patients. Stents – devices inserted into blood vessels to keep them open and blood flowing freely. Sub-risk factors – a set of criteria that are secondarily causative to a main risk factor. Ex: Smoking is a sub-risk factor to the main risk factor of inflammation. It causes inflammation. The 30-Day Heart Cure 67 Triglycerides – also known as “ugly” cholesterol, these are fat-dense globules that float through the blood stream. They can buildup in plaques that then harden on arterial walls. Trimethylglycine – a beneficial acid found in beets and other root vegetables that decreases dangerous LDL cholesterol fatty acids in the liver. Valerian – a natural, homeopathic tranquilizer from which the prescription drug Valium is also made. Taken in drops or tablets. Vulnerable plaque – type of arterial plaque that is more prone to breaking off and causing heart attack. 68 The 30-Day Heart Cure References AAA, USC Center for Vascular Care, http://www.surgery.usc.edu/divisions/ vas/abdominalaorticaneurysm.html Angiography, Arteriogram, http://www.johnmuirhealth.com/services/ cardiovascular-services/intervention/angiography-angiogram-arteriogram. html Arteries Clean, http://www.askdrhelen.com/bioidentical/medicalarchive/ arteries_clean.html Beta sitosterol, http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ ingredientmono-939-BETA-SITOSTEROL.aspx?activeIngredientId=939&a ctiveIngredientName=BETA-SITOSTEROL Blood acidity, http://members.iimetro.com.au/~hubbca/acidity.htm Cardiovascular system, http://naturopathconnect.com/articles/ cardiovascular-system-support/ CDC Fastats-Heart, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/heart.htm Chelation for Coronary Heart Diease, http://nccam.nih.gov/health/chelation Chelation therapy for Alzheimer Disease http://www.consumerhealth.org/ articles/display.cfm?ID=19990303214451 Common Drugs Cause 1,200 Heart Attack Deaths A Year, http://www. independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/commondrugs-cause-1200-heart-attack-deaths-a-year-490270.html Co-Q10, http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/coenzyme-q10-000295.htm C-Reactive Protein Test, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/c-reactiveprotein/my01018 The 30-Day Heart Cure 69 Domperidone Small Risk of Ventricular Arrhythmmia and Sudden Cardiac Death http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Safetyinformation/DrugSafetyUpdate/ CON152725 EDTA chelation therapy, http://healthpsych.psy.vanderbilt.edu/ EDTAChelation.htm EDTA Chelation Therapy, www.townsendletter.com/Chelation/chelation_ extreme.htm EDTA Chelation: Intravenous vs Oral, http://www.extremehealthusa.com/ oralchelation/edta.aspx FASTSTATS, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/heart.htm FH and Early Heart Disease, http://www.fhjourneys.com/families/ understand-familial-hypercholesterolemia/fh-and-early-heart-disease. aspx?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_term=Heart%2BAtta ck%2BGenetic&utm_content=137&utm_campaign=GooglePPC Future heart-health alarm rises with new statistics on kids, http:// articles.latimes.com/2012/may/21/news/la-heb-heart-disease-obesitychildren-20120521 Gugulipid, http://www.altmedicineshop.com/ProductInfo/Gugulipid.ht Heart Attack Symptoms in Women, http://www.womentowomen.com/ heartdiseaseandstroke/symptoms.aspx Heart Attack: Medline Plus, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/ article/000195.htm Heart Surgeon Speaks Out on What Really Causes Heart Disaese, http:// www.sott.net/article/242516-Heart-Surgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-ReallyCauses-Heart-Disease Heart Surgeon Speaks Out on What Really Causes Heart Disease, http:// www.sott.net/article/242516-Heart-Surgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-ReallyCauses-Heart-Disease 70 The 30-Day Heart Cure High blood pressure medications contribute to heart disease, http:// towncenterwellness.com/announcements/high-blood-pressure/ Homocysteine, www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/ NutritionCenter/Homocysteine-Folic-Acid-and-Cardiovascular-Disease_ UCM_305997_Article.jsp How Tobacco smoke Is Harming You Now, http://www.lifescript.com/ health/centers/smoking_cessation/articles/how_tobacco_smoke_is_ harming_you_now.aspx How Too Much Omega-6 and not Enough Omega-3 is making us sick, http://chriskresser.com/how-too-much-omega-6-and-not-enough-omega-3is-making-us-sic http://www.healingdaily.com/oral-chelation/N-acetyl-cysteine%20 %28NAC%29-for-detoxification-what-it-is.htm http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Inflammation-and-HeartDisease_UCM_432150_Article.jsp Inflammation, Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine, http://www. arizonaadvancedmedicine.com/articles/inflammation.html IP-6, http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-ultra-ip-6-inositolhexaphosphate-240-caps Is Inflammation the Root of All Disease? 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http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ health/health-topics/topics/smo/benefits.html What is a Cardiac CT scan? http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/ topics/ct/ The 30-Day Heart Cure 73 What Is Interleukin-6? http://www.news-medical.net/health/Interleukin-6What-is-Interleukin-6.aspx Why You May Need to Exercise Less, http://chriskresser.com/why-youmay-need-to-exercise-less World Renowned Heart Surgeon Speaks out on What Really Causes Heart Disease, http://preventdisease.com/news/12/030112_World-Renown-HeartSurgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-Really-Causes-Heart-Disease.shtml 74 The 30-Day Heart Cure