Health Gallery Nutrition Center

29820 Ellensburg Avenue
Box 283, Gold Beach, Or 97444
1-541-247-7077

Misconceptions About Atherosclerosis or Why Arteries Clog as We Age!
By Walt "dr health" Edwards

Due to the great number of spam, we changed the E-mail address. Please contact me using this number: 1-541-247-7077 Past issues available on my web site: getwel-newsletter.
Atherosclerosis is considered to be the cause of most heart attacks and strokes, yet doctors remain confused as to how this artery-blocking process occurs. Most doctors think of an atherosclerotic lesion as a "clog" consisting of fat, cholesterol, and platelets that have accumulated on an inner arterial wall. As a result, they tell their patients to eat less fat, take a statin drug (if cholesterol levels are high), and use a baby aspirin to prevent arterial platelet aggregation. Some more aware progressive physicians may even suggest Vitamin E, Omega 3, Vitamin C NATTOKINASE, and CoQ 10 or even Chelation for their patients, depending what their C-Reactive Protein test reveals.

Dr. Marc Siegel's phone has been ringing with patients who have heard about former President Bill Clinton's surgery and wonder if they might need cardiac bypass themselves. He tells them that careful screening for heart disease is essential, but the bypass operation, which involves sawing open the chest, is a 40-year-old procedure that is usually unnecessary.

Bypass has been shown to save lives only in certain cases, and it has NEVER been proven to directly prevent heart attacks. It has unique risks, such as infection, chest wall inflammation, depression and impaired thinking that may persist long-term. What about the rest of the arteries in your body?

According to Fred Feit, director of interventional cardiology at New York University Medical School, the goal these days is to "come with the treatment that is least invasive."

Even most surgeons recognize that the wave of the future is away from bypass surgery, says Feit. The latest conventional wisdom on heart disease, he says, calls for a "combination of limited intervention and medication, an improved understanding of the disease process, aggressive risk factor modification and intensive medical therapy."

A review of the scientific literature reveals that atherosclerosis is associated with high blood levels of homocysteine, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, glucose cholesterol, insulin, iron, LDL, and triglycerides, along with low levels of HDL, and testosterone. Optimizing blood levels of these substances can dramatically reduce heart attack and stroke risk.

The outer layer of the artery comprises mostly of connective tissue and provides structural containment for the two layers beneath. The middle area comprises elastic smooth muscle that provides the contractile strength to make possible the arteries' expansion and contraction with each heartbeat. The inner layer, known as the endothelium, comprises a thin area of endothelial cells whose integrity is crucial to prevent atherosclerosis.

Poor health habits, lack of antioxidant nutrients and normal aging result in endothelial dysfunction, a process in which the endothelium boundary is broken, arterial flexibility is diminished, abnormal platelet aggregation occurs (inflammation), and atherosclerotic lesions form plaque, in response to arterial wall injuries. The LDL and triglycerides in the blood accumulate in the broken endothelium and oxidization occurs causing the smooth muscle cells to try to "repair" the damaged area. This process produces collagen, which forms a cap over the injury site. Calcium then accumulates to form a material resembling bone. This is why atherosclerosis is sometimes referred to as "hardening of the arteries."

This complex array of foam cells, calcification, and lipid accumulation is called atherosclerotic plaque. The plaque grows, and if it becomes unstable, it is vulnerable to acute rupture that exposes the contents of the plaque to blood. Platelets can then rapidly accumulate around this ruptured plaque, resulting in an acute blockage (blood clot) on the inner surface of the blood vessel wall. This clot can become very large and block the vessel or interfere with blood flow and cause an acute heart attack. Now you have a severe medical problem that could have been prevented.

The Prevention and Reduction of Atherosclerosis... Life style changes in diet and exercise are important. Also critical for healthy arteries are supplements like B complex which contains Folic Acid, antioxidants, Vitamin C, Omega 3, Lipoic Acid, Wobernzym N, a Systemic Oral Enzyme which relieves inflammation in the case of high C-Reactive Protein. NATTOKINASE, a systemic enzyme from Japan supports the fibrinolytic blood clearing system promoting clear blood flow and supporting balanced immune reactions for long-term health. In addition, Chelation Therapy with EDTA using intravenous (in a doctor's office) or Oral Chelation, which is available in many health stores including the Health Gallery.

Thought For The Day: A Chinese proverb - 'A poor doctor cures; a good doctor prevents'. Question: Would you consider your doctor a "poor doctor" or a "good doctor"?