Take Good Care of Your Heart – It Belongs to You

The human heart is a muscle that pumps blood.

Blood containing food and oxygen to meet the heart’s own needs comes from the coronary arteries. Fat-like deposits called plaque made of cholesterol and other substances can build up in the walls of these vessels. This is a condition called atherosclerosis. Over time such deposits narrow the arteries and reduce or stop blood flow to the heart. This may cause chest pain called angina.

When less blood flows to the heart, the heart muscle may be damaged from lack of oxygen. If a blood clot forms in a narrowed artery and completely blocks the blood flow, part of the heart may die. Doctors call this a heart attack or a coronary thrombosis, coronary occlusion or myocardial infarction.

When a heart attack occurs, the dying part of the heart may trigger electrical activity that causes ventricular fibrillation. This is an uncoordinated twitching of the ventricles that replaces the smooth, measured contractions that pump blood to the body’s organs.

Many times if trained medical professionals are immediately available, they can use electrical shock to start the heart beating again. If the heart can be kept beating and the heart muscle isn’t too damaged, small blood vessels may gradually reroute blood around blocked arteries. This is how the heart compensates; it’s called collateral circulation.

The key to surviving a heart attack is to promptly recognize the warning signals and get immediate medical attention. Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes could mean a heart attack, particularly if the pain spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms. Light headedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath also may occur. Not all of these symptoms occur in every heart attack.

Sharp, stabbing twinges usually are not signals of heart attack. Sometimes when people have these symptoms, they mistake them for indigestion or otherwise deny what’s happening and delay getting to a hospital. This can be deadly; time is critical.
Prompt treatment reduces heart muscle damage and increases the odds of survival. What should you do if you think you might be having a heart attack? If you’re uncomfortable for more than a few minutes, immediately call your local emergency medical service (EMS).

If the EMS isn’t available, get to a hospital offering emergency cardiac care as soon as you can. Often people hospitalized because of a heart attack become depressed and anxious. They may worry about being able to resume full physical, social, professional and sexual activities. Unless the heart attack was extremely severe, usually there’s no cause for concern. Most heart attack victims, given time and proper care, can function as well as they did before their heart attack.
Brain cells must have a continuous, ample supply of oxygen-rich blood. If the brain cells don’t get this nourishment, they die. One of the most common causes of stroke (brain attack) is that a clot forms in and blocks an artery in the brain. This is called a cerebral thrombosis.

Clots rarely form in a healthy artery. However, when the inner walls of arteries become lined with plaque, the arteries are narrowed, the blood flow slows and clots are more likely to form. Sometimes a wandering clot is carried by the bloodstream until it lodges in an artery in the brain and stops the blood flow. This is called a cerebral embolism.

When a clot, either a thrombus or an embolus, plugs up an artery in the brain, the result is called a cerebrovascular occlusion, or more commonly a stroke. Stroke also occurs when a diseased artery in the brain bursts, flooding the surrounding tissue with blood. This is called a cerebral hemorrhage.

When a blood vessel on the brain’s surface bursts and blood floods the space between the brain and the skull, a subarachnoid hemorrhage occurs. When an artery ruptures, cells nourished by the artery are deprived of blood and squeezed by pressure that builds up inside the skull.

The cells can’t function. Another problem is that the blood from the ruptured artery soon clots. The clot may displace or destroy brain tissue and interfere with brain function, causing physical disability. Cerebral hemorrhages result from various causes. However, they’re more likely to occur when both atherosclerosis and high blood pressure are present.

A head injury or a burst aneurysm also can cause bleeding from an artery in the brain. Aneurysms are blood-filled pouches that balloon out from weak spots in the artery wall; they’re often aggravated by high blood pressure. Aneurysms don’t always mean trouble, but if one bursts in the brain, a stroke results.

When a stroke occurs, nerve cells in the damaged part of the brain can’t function. That means the part of the body they control can’t work either. The usual result of a stroke is paralysis of one side of the body. A stroke can also result in aphasia, the loss of the ability to speak or understand speech.

Memory loss also can occur. When a stroke damages the brain, the effects may be slight or severe, temporary or permanent. It depends on which brain cells were damaged and how widespread the damage was. Effects also depend on how well the body restores its blood supply. Injured brain cells can’t heal or create new cells, so preventing a stroke by modifying risk factors is very important.

The primary signal of a stroke is a sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body. Other signals include: sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in one eye; loss of speech, or trouble speaking or understanding speech, sudden severe, unexplained headache and unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness or sudden falls, especially along with any of the previous symptoms.

Many strokes can be prevented by diagnosing and controlling high blood pressure since hypertension is a leading cause of stroke. Sometimes major strokes are preceded by transient ischemic attacks or TlA’s. These "little strokes" produce symptoms like those of a major stroke, except that they last for only a very short time. TlA’s can occur days, weeks or months before a severe stroke and so should be considered warning signals. Prompt medical or surgical attention to these symptoms can prevent a major stroke.

A person most likely to have a stroke will probably have high blood pressure, heart disease, a history of TlA’s and smoke cigarettes. A high red blood cell count increases the risk of stroke. People with diabetes also have a higher stroke risk. Excessive alcohol intake, physical inactivity and obesity contribute to the risk of stroke indirectly by increasing the risk of heart disease.

There are several ways to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. Following this advice could save your life. Have your blood pressure checked regularly. High blood pressure is a major risk factor in heart attack and the most important risk factor in stroke.

If your blood pressure is less than 130/85 mmHg, have it checked every two years. If it’s higher, have it checked yearly. Don’t Smoke Cigarettes, smoking increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Eat a well balanced diet that’s low in cholesterol and saturated fats and moderate in salt. Fatty foods contribute to atherosclerosis, which is a major contributor to heart attack and stroke.

Have regular medical checkups. Major risk factors such as cigarette smoking, elevated blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and physical inactivity -and contributing factors such as excess weight call for medical supervision.

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that’s found in everyone’s living tissue. People need some cholesterol and get it in two ways. Most of the cholesterol a person needs is manufactured automatically in the body. However, people can also raise their cholesterol levels by eating foods that contain it or that cause the body to make more.

Having too much cholesterol isn’t healthy, because when it’s carried by the blood it can build up in arterial walls. This can narrow the arterial passageways, reduce blood supply to the heart or brain, and set the stage for a heart attack or stroke. If high blood cholesterol is a problem, your doctor can prescribe dietary changes to keep your blood cholesterol level within a normal range. In some instances drugs may also be needed.

Modern medicine hasn’t identified the cause of most cases of high blood pressure. Even though the cause isn’t known, hypertension can be treated and controlled. If necessary, your doctor can suggest changes in lifestyle and medication to keep your blood pressure in check.

Diabetes, or a hereditary tendency toward it, is linked with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Your doctor can detect diabetes and prescribe a program to control your diet and weight if necessary. Exercise and drugs also may be prescribed to keep diabetes in check.

Some families have a higher incidence of heart attacks and strokes. In cases of heredity, reducing controllable risk factors becomes even more important. Race is also important. Black Americans are more likely to have high blood pressure than whites.

Statistics also show that they’re more likely to suffer strokes at an earlier age and with more severe results. Young women have a much lower death rate from heart attack than men. After menopause, apparently because of hormonal changes, women’s rate of heart attack increases sharply, although it never reaches men’s.
As people age, their risk increases. But heart attack and stroke aren’t exclusive to older people. About one-sixth of all heart attack deaths occur before age 65. One in eight people who die from stroke are under age 65.

How do People Get Atherosclerosis?

There are a variety of things that damage the lining of our blood vessels. These cause the lining of the blood vessel to grow inward and narrow the interior of the vessel. Finally, the blood vessel becomes completely occluded. When this happens to an artery in the heart, the heart muscle fed by that blood vessel dies.

The dead muscle is replaced by scar tissue and this weakens the overall strength of the heart, leading possibly to congestive heart failure, an irregular pulse and death. Risk factors refer to things that are known to damage the lining of our blood vessels or that confer an increased risk of having Atherosclerosis.

The more risk factors a person has, the more likely they are to have Atherosclerosis. There is also an element of chance or fate. Some people with many risk factors live a long, healthy life without heart problems while some people with little or no identifiable risk factors have a heart attack at an early age.

It important to identify whether or not a person has risk factors for Atherosclerosis. Some risk factors can be modified and will result in a lower chance of heart problems, modifying risk factors will slow the progression of the disease, reduce the future need for hospitalization and prolong life.

It is never too late or too early to begin modifying risk factors. Elderly patients with established heart disease will slow the progression of their disease and prolong their lives by doing so. Overweight, sedentary children tend to become overweight sedentary adults with high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.

It is best to ingrain healthy lifestyle habits as early as possible. Not all risk factors can be modified. In some people, there is simply a genetic disposition to heart disease and medical science has no solution for this at the present time. However, this is a very active area of research and scientists are learning more every day. Abnormal levels of certain proteins in the blood that reflect the level of inflammation in the body and the activity of the blood clotting system also seem to confer an increased risk.

A person is generally considered to be at genetic risk for Atherosclerosis if a male family member developed it before the age of 55 years or a female family member before the age of 65 years. Family members developing heart disease in later years does not confer an increased risk. It is not modifiable in the sense that we cannot cure diabetes.

Diabetic patients who do suffer a heart attack seem to fair better if the diabetes was under good control at the time of the attack. High blood pressure is another chronic condition that can be controlled but not cured. Keeping high blood pressure under control lowers the risk of strokes, congestive heart failure, and heart attacks.

A woman’s risk of Atherosclerosis seems to increase after the onset of menopause and prescription of hormones for post-menopausal women seems to mitigate this risk. They also lower the risk of osteoporosis. However, there is some concern that the use of hormones may increase the risk of cancer. The relative benefits and risks should be discussed with a physician before such therapy is begun.

High levels of cholesterol are a strong risk factor for atherosclerosis. This applies to women and elderly members of the population as well as young and middle aged men. Numerous studies have shown that lowering a high cholesterol level by dietary modification or medication significantly decreases the risk of a future heart attack and death. High levels of triglycerides or fat in the blood also place an individual at increased risk and can be similarly treated.

Vitamins and the Heart

Research suggests that vitamin supplementation may be beneficial in normal, healthy people to help prevent heart disease. The main vitamins that may be beneficial include the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E as well as vitamins that lower the homocysteine level in the blood such as folic acid, B6 and B12.

Folic acid also known as folate may also have some beneficial effects independent of a persons homocysteine level. The minimum dose of vitamin E to protect the heart is 400 units a day. The minimum dose of folic acid is 400 micrograms a day and the minimum dose of vitamin B6 is 3 milligrams a day. These can all be bought over the counter.

In Europe people consume more vitamins and have less heart disease. One of the largest studies about the importance of vitamins in the prevention of cardiovascular disease was conducted in Europe. It is a well-known fact that cardiovascular diseases are more frequent in Scandinavia and northern European countries as compared with Mediterranean countries.

Professor Gey, from the University of Basel in Switzerland, compared the rate of cardiovascular disease in these countries to the blood levels of vitamin C and beta carotene, as well as cholesterol. Their findings were remarkable.

People in northern European countries have the highest rate of cardiovascular disease and, on average, the lowest blood levels of vitamins. Conversely southern European populations have the lowest cardiovascular risk and the highest vitamin blood levels. An optimum intake of vitamin C, E and A had a much greater impact on decreasing the risk for cardiovascular disease than lowering of cholesterol levels.

This study finally provides the scientific answer to the "French Phenomenon" and to the low rate of heart attacks in France, Greece, and other Mediterranean countries. The decisive factor for the low cardiovascular risk in these countries is an optimum intake of vitamins in the regular diets of these regions. Certain dietary preferences, such as the consumption of wine and olive oil, rich in bioflavonoids and vitamin E, seem to be of particular importance.

Vitamin C contributes in many different ways to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. It is an important antioxidant and it serves as a cofactor for many biochemical reactions in the body cells. The most important function of Vitamin C in preventing heart attacks and strokes is its ability to increase the production of collagen, elastin, and other reinforcement molecules in the body.

These biological reinforcement rods constitute the connective tissue, about 50% of all proteins in our body. Collagen has the same structural stability function for our body as iron reinforcement rods have for a skyscraper building. More collagen produced means more stability for the 60,000 mile long walls of our arteries, veins and capillaries.

Vitamin C is the key nutrient for the stability of our blood vessels, our heart, and all other organs of our body. Without vitamin C our body would literally collapse and dissolve, as it happens in scurvy. Vitamin C is important for fast wound healing throughout our body, including the healing of millions of tiny wounds and lesions at the inside of our blood vessel walls.

Optimum amounts of vitamin C protect the cardiovascular system and the body effectively against biological rusting. Vitamin C is also a cofactor for a series of enzymes which are important for an improved metabolism of cholesterol, triglycerides and other risk factors, which helps to decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease.

Vitamin E is the most important fat soluble antioxidant vitamin. It protects particularly the membranes of the cells in our cardiovascular system and our body against attacks from free radicals and against oxidative damage. Vitamin E is enriched in low-density lipoproteins LDL and other cholesterol and fat transporting particles.
Taken in optimum amounts, vitamin E can prevent these fat particles from oxidation or biological rusting and from damaging the inside of the blood vessel walls. Vitamin E was shown to render the platelets in our blood circulation less sticky, thereby keeping our blood thin and decreasing the risk from blood clotting.

It is a major anti-oxidant nutrient that retards cellular aging due to oxidation and supplies oxygen to the blood which is then carried to the heart and other organs. It strengthens the capillary walls and prevents the red blood cells from destructive poisons. It prevents and dissolves blood clots as well as calcium deposits in blood walls and heart conditions.

Beta-carotene is also called pro-vitamin A and is another important fat soluble antioxidant vitamin. Like vitamin E, it is transported primarily in lipoprotein particles in our bloodstream to millions of body cells. Like vitamin E, beta-carotene protects these fat particles from oxidizing and from becoming damaging to the cardiovascular system.

Considering these scientific facts, it is not surprising that vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene are documented in a rapidly growing number of clinical studies as powerful protective agents against cardiovascular disease. Similar to vitamin E, beta-carotene has been shown to decrease the risk from blood clotting.

Pantothenate is the cofactor for coenzyme A, the central fuel molecule in the metabolism of our heart cells, our blood vessel cells and all other cells. The metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats inside each cell all lead into one single molecule, acetyl coenzyme A.

This molecule is the key molecule that helps to convert all food into cell energy. This important molecule is actually composed in part of pantothenate, and the importance of supplementing this vitamin is evident. Vitamin B-6 is the cofactor for pyridoxal phosphate, an important co-factor for the metabolism of amino acids and proteins in our cardiovascular cells and our body.

Vitamin B-6 is needed in the production of red blood cells, the carriers of oxygen to the cells of our cardiovascular system and all other cells of our body. Vitamin B-6 is also essential for optimum structure and function of collagen fibers.

Vitamin B-12 is needed for a proper metabolism of fatty acids and certain amino acids in the cells of our body. Vitamin B-12 is also required for the production of red blood cells. A severe deficiency of vitamin B-12 can cause a disease called pernicious anemia, which is characterized by an insufficient production of blood cells.

Folate is also a very important essential nutrient for the production of red blood cells and for oxygen supply. Without proper oxygen transport to all the cells, their function would be impaired no matter how much of the other vitamins you take. It is therefore important to supplement your diet as completely as possible with the right essential nutrients in the right amounts.

Vitamin D is essential for optimum calcium and phosphate metabolism in the body. In connection with cardiovascular disease, Vitamin D is essential for optimum calcium metabolism in the artery walls, including the removal of calcium from atherosclerotic deposits.

Inositol is essential for sugar and fat metabolism in the cells of our body. Inositol is also important for the biological communication process between the cells and organs of our body. Hormones such as insulin, and other molecules, are signals from outside the cell.

If a hormone docks to a cell it wishes to transmit information to this cell. Inositol is part of the proper reading mechanism of this information through the cell membrane. Thus, Inositol is part of the proper biological communication process, which, in turn, is critical for optimum cardiovascular health. Inositol also aids in the breakdown of fats and helps reduce blood cholesterol.

Vitamin B-12 also known as Cobalamin helps in the formation and regeneration of red blood cells, thus helping prevent anemia. It is also needed for Calcium absorption. Niacin or vitamin B-3 improves circulation and reduces the cholesterol level in the blood; reduces high blood pressure.

Folic Acid which is essential for the growth and reproduction of all body cells; essential to the formation of red blood cells by its action on the bone marrow. It is also one of the major antioxidant nutrients.

Cardiologists, in treating specific health problems, sometimes prescribe very high amounts of niacin often several 1,000 mg per day. Folic acid is also needed to keep homocysteine, an amino acid, levels in blood from rising. Excess homocysteine dramatically increases the risk of heart disease and may be linked to osteoporosis and strokes.

Antioxidants and the Heart

There has been intense interest in the role of antioxidants in preventing disease for years. Some of the strongest evidence is in the realm of cardiovascular disease. Many chemical reactions, in our bodies and elsewhere, consist of one substance being "oxidized" while another substance is "reduced."

One can find evidence of oxidation reactions almost wherever you look and the biochemical nature of disease is no exception. With regard to heart disease, oxidation of the bad LDL cholesterol molecule seems to be the initiating step that eventually leads to damage of the blood vessels.

The data is strongest for heart disease, especially with regard to Vitamin E taken in doses of anywhere from 100 to 800 IU daily. Vitamin E is found in such dietary sources as soybeans, corn, safflower, cottonseed, whole grains, wheat germ, green leafy vegetables, seeds and nuts as well as vitamin supplements sold in stores.

There is considerable interest in another class of antioxidant substances known as flavonoids. These are found in red wine, tea, vegetables such as soy, onions and broccoli and fruits such as apples, cranberries, and strawberries. These substances may explain why people who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables well as people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol have a lower risk of heart disease.

Grape seed extract containing proanthocyanidins also called "OPCs" for oligomeric proanthocyanidins are a class of nutrients belonging to the flavonoid family. Two of the main functions of proanthocyanidins are as antioxidants and in the stabilization of collagen and maintenance of elastin two critical proteins in connective tissue, blood vessels, and muscle.

Proanthocyanidins can be found in many plants, most notably pine bark and grape seed and skin. Flavonoids, in general, and proanthocyanidins, specifically, are free of side effects. Since they are water soluble nutrients, excess intake is simply excreted in the urine. Proanthocyanidins as antioxidants may have a sparing effect on the body’s stores of vitamin C.

Co Enzyme Q-10 also known as the Rx for heart failure, is part of the system across which electrons flow in the mitochondria of cells. Studies suggest that CoQ-10 may have a number of potentially valuable therapeutic actions, including enhanced immunity, but most of the interest to date has focused on its possible impact on cardiovascular disease.

Some of these studies have detected CoQ-10 induced improvement of heart muscle metabolism and effectiveness in the treatment of coronary insufficiency and congestive heart failure. Researchers at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and at the Institute for Bio-Medical Research at the University of Texas have treated heart failure patients with CoQ-10 with considerable success.

CoQ-10 is said by these researchers to enhance the pumping capacity of the heart and to eliminate the major side effects associated with conventional heart failure drugs. Heart failure patients have a relative deficiency of CoQ-10 in their hearts and are responsive to daily oral supplements of CoQ-10, which increases the production of energy in heart muscle cells. Some 91 percent of the patients studied showed improvement within thirty days of beginning CoQ-10 supplementation.

Minerals and the Heart

Minerals are important essential nutrients. Calcium, magnesium, and potassium are the most important among them. Minerals are needed for a multitude of catalytic reactions in each cell of our body every second of our life. Calcium is important for the proper contraction of muscle cells including millions of heart muscle cells.

Calcium is needed for the conduction of nerve impulses and therefore for optimum heart beat. Calcium is also needed for the proper biological communication among the cells of the cardiovascular system and most other cells, as well as for many other biological functions.

Calcium regulates heart rhythm and helps regulate the passage of nutrients in and out of the cell walls. It assists in normal blood clotting and helps maintain proper nerve and muscle function as well as lowering blood pressure.

Magnesium plays an important role in regulating the neuromuscular activity of the heart as it maintains normal heart rhythm. It is necessary for proper calcium and vitamin C metabolism and converts blood sugar into energy. Magnesium is nature’s calcium antagonist, and its benefit for the cardiovascular system is similar to the calcium antagonist drugs that are prescribed; except that magnesium is produced by nature itself. Clinical studies have shown that magnesium is particularly important for helping to normalize elevated blood pressure; moreover, it can help normalize irregular heartbeat.

The trace elements zinc, manganese, copper, selenium, chromium, molybdenum are also important essential nutrients. Most of them are metals needed as catalysts for the thousands of reactions in the metabolism of cells. They are needed only in very tiny amounts, less than a tenth of a thousandth of a gram. Manganese is an elemental enigma.

Oxygen was absent from the atmosphere when the earth was newly born about four and a half billion years ago and did not appear until about two and a half billion years later. At that time the blue-green algae came into being and were able to split water into oxygen by using the energy of the sun. It was manganese that made this first photosynthesis possible. Today, one of manganese’s principal roles is that of antioxidant and, as such, may help protect humans from toxic oxygen forms.

Selenium is also a very important antioxidant. Copper is needed to absorb and utilize iron. It is also part of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase SOD. Copper is needed to make adenosine triphosphate ATP, the energy the body runs on.

Chromium is an essential trace mineral that helps the body maintain normal blood sugar levels. Chromium may also play a role in increasing HDL the good cholesterol, yet lowering overall cholesterol levels. Selenium is a major antioxidant nutrient, protects cell membranes and prevents free radical generation thereby decreasing the risk of cancer and disease of the heart and blood vessels. Selenium also preserves tissue elasticity and slows down the aging and hardening of tissues through oxidation.

For protection against high blood pressure and strokes potassium is a major component of our cells. It plays a role in many of the most important functions of our bodies, such as muscle contraction, nerve conduction, the beating of the heart, production of energy and the synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins.

For years, salt, sodium chloride, has been considered a major culprit in causing many of the health problems of modern civilization, such as hypertension, high blood pressure, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases. It is true that, as we have progressed from a hunting gathering existence to our modern industrial society, there has been a large increase in our intake of salt.

But, it is also true that our consumption of potassium has gone way down at the same time. Our liberal use of the salt shaker has caused or aggravated health problems for many. Recent studies indicate, however, that our generally low potassium intake may be an even greater factor in many of these problems. Diets high in potassium appear to be protective against hypertension and stroke related deaths. Increasing potassium intake, either through diet or supplementation, is also helpful in treating hypertension that has already developed.

Potassium is useful in the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure. The most common type of high blood pressure is called essential hypertension. To date, we do not know what causes it. Yet, most hypertension experts advise those with this disorder to restrict salt intake.

Salt has become everyone’s favorite culprit yet it has yet to be proved that salt really is the bad guy. Where did the notion that salt has anything to do with hypertension come from in the first place? The strongest evidence for the role of salt in the development of hypertension comes from studies of some primitive cultures, the members of which consume very little salt and rarely have high blood pressure.

In industrialized societies, by contrast, salt consumption is very high and so is the incidence of high blood pressure. When populations within industrialized societies are compared, however, the link between salt intake and hypertension is not as strong. Sodium certainly appears to have something to do with hypertension, but there are other factors, as well.

The primitive cultures with low-salt intake also have a high intake of potassium. When populations within industrialized societies are compared, the link between potassium intake and hypertension is much stronger than the association between sodium and hypertension. The first important epidemiologic study relating potassium to blood pressure was published in 1959.

Researchers reported on two villages in northern Japan where the inhabitants had similar salt intakes but different blood pressures. Interestingly, those living in the village where the blood pressures were lower consumed more potassium in their diets. Studies have shown that vegetarians generally have lower blood pressures than non-vegetarian diets are richer in potassium than the diets of meat eaters. This relationship was strengthened in a study reported in 1983.

Researchers involved in this work studied 98 adult vegetarians living in Tel Aviv, Israel and compared them with a matched group of non-vegetarians with regard to blood pressure and potassium intake, as well as other factors that could play a role in hypertension. The average blood pressure was lower in the vegetarian group, and only two percent of the vegetarians had hypertension as compared with 26 percent with hypertension in the non-vegetarian group.

Of all the factors that were examined, including family history of hypertension, obesity, coffee drinking, smoking and sodium and potassium intake, only potassium consumption was found to be significant. The potassium intake was significantly higher in the vegetarians, while the sodium intake was the same in both groups.

The following claims originate from the late physician Max Gerson. He postulated that diets low in potassium and high in sodium make sick cells. These sick cells, according to him, are incapable of producing appropriate quantities of energy for the needs of the body and, he believed, this results in almost all illnesses, including cancer.

Gerson thought that the restoration of health in all those suffering from chronic degenerative diseases required the use of, among other things, diets very rich in potassium and supplementation with potassium chloride. The Gerson therapy is most famous as an alternative therapy for the treatment of cancer.

Americans typically consume from l0 to 12 grams of salt daily. Most of this is from salt that has been added to foods either by the manufacturer or from table salt. For many reasons it is desirable to bring our salt intake down to no more than 5 grams daily. Eliminating table salt entirely will knock about 3 grams off the daily intake. At the same time that you decrease your salt intake, you should increase your potassium intake. This is best accomplished by eating more fresh fruit and vegetables.

Amino Acids and the Heart

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Proteins are the building blocks of cellular material. Most of the amino acids in our body are derived from our diet and from the breakdown of its protein content. Many amino acids can be synthesized in our body when needed.

These amino acids are called non-essential amino acids. Those amino acids that the body can not synthesize are called essential amino acids. Interestingly, there is now important scientific evidence that even though the body can produce certain amino acids, the amount produced may not be enough to maintain proper health.

The amino acid proline is a building block for the stabilizing proteins, collagen and elastin. One fourth to one third of a collagen strand is made up of proline. Proline is very important in the process of reversing atherosclerotic deposits. Cholesterol carrying fat globules called lipoproteins get attached to the inside of the blood vessel wall via the sticky hemoglobin secreted from vascular wear lesions.

Proline is a formidable "Teflon" agent, which can neutralize the stickiness of these fat globules. The therapeutic effect is twofold. Proline helps to prevent the further build up of atherosclerotic deposits and proline helps to release already deposited fat globules from the blood vessel wall into the blood stream. When many fat globules are released from the plaques in the artery walls, the deposit size decreases, leading to a reversal of cardiovascular disease.

Proline can be synthesized by the body, but the amounts synthesized are frequently too little, particularly in patients with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Lysine is an essential amino acid needed for growth and to help maintain nitrogen balance in the body. Linus Pauling believed that lysine helps maintain healthy blood vessels. Brewer’s yeast, legumes, dairy, wheat germ, fish, and meat all contain significant amounts of lysine.

The body cannot synthesize lysine at all. A daily supplementation of this amino acid is therefore critical. Lysine, like proline, is an important building block of collagen and of other stability molecules and its intake helps to stabilize the blood vessels and the other organs in the body. Lysine is another "Teflon" agent, which can help release deposited fat globules from the blood vessel deposits.

People with existing cardiovascular disease may increase their daily intake of lysine and proline to several grams. Both lysine and proline benefit from a combined intake of vitamin C. In order for collagen molecules to function properly, many of the amino acids lysine and proline composing the collagen molecules need to be chemically modified into hydroxy-lysine and hydroxy-proline.

This is accomplished by vitamin C, nature’s most effective hydroxylating agent. Lysine is also the precursor for the amino acid carnitine. The conversion from lysine into carnitine requires the presence of vitamin C as a biocatalyst. This is another reason why the combination of lysine with vitamin C is essential.

Arginine has many functions in the human body. In connection with the cardiovascular system, one function is of particular importance. The amino acid arginine can split off a small molecule called nitric oxide. This tiny part of the former arginine molecule has a powerful role in maintaining cardiovascular health. Nitric oxide relaxes the blood vessel walls and thereby helps to normalize high blood pressure. In addition, nitric oxide helps to decrease the stickiness of platelets and thereby has an anti-clogging effect.

Carnitine is an extremely important amino acid and essential nutrient. It is needed for the proper conversion of fat into energy. Carnitine functions like a shuttle between the cell factory and the energy compartment within each cell. It transports energy molecules in and out of these cellular power plants.

This mechanism is particularly important for all muscle cells, including those of the heart. For the constantly pumping heart muscle, carnitine is one of the most critical cell fuels. Thus, it is not surprising that many clinical studies have documented the great value of carnitine supplementation in improving the pumping function and the performance of the heart. Carnitine also benefits the electrical cells of the heart, and its supplementation has been shown to help normalize different forms of irregular heartbeat.

Cysteine is another important amino acid with many important functions in our body. The cardiovascular system benefits particularly from a supplementation with this amino acid because cysteine is a building block of glutathione, one of the most important antioxidants produced in the body. Among others, glutathione protects the inside of the blood vessel walls from free radical and other damage.

The Natural Reversal of Cardiovascular Disease

The main cause of cardiovascular disease is the instability and dysfunction of the blood vessel wall caused by chronic vitamin deficiency. This leads to millions of small lesions and cracks in the artery wall, particularly in the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries are mechanically the most stressed arteries because they are squeezed flat from the pumping action of the heart more than 100,000 times per day, similar to a garden hose which is stepped on.

Repair of the artery walls then becomes necessary. Cholesterol and other repair factors are produced at an increased rate in the liver and are transported in the bloodstream to the artery walls, which they enter in order to mend and repair the damage there. Because the coronary arteries sustain the most damage, they require the most intensive repair.

With continued vitamin deficiency over many years, the repair process in the artery walls overshoots. Atherosclerotic plaques form predominantly at those locations in the cardiovascular system with the most intensive repair: the coronary arteries. This is why infarctions occur primarily at the same location: the coronary arteries, and why the most frequent cardiovascular events are infarctions of the heart, not infarctions of the nose or ears.

The basis for the reversal of atherosclerosis is the initiation of a healing process in the artery wall that has been weakened by chronic vitamin deficiency. Vitamin C stimulates production of collagen molecules, which are essential for this healing process and provide stability of the artery wall through optimum collagen production. The collagen molecules in our body are proteins composed of amino acids.

Collagen molecules differ from all other proteins in the body by the fact that they make particular use of the amino acids lysine and proline. We already know that vitamin C stimulates the production of collagen in the cells of the artery wall. An optimum supply of lysine, proline and vitamin C is a decisive factor for the optimum regeneration of the connective tissue in the artery walls, and therefore for a natural healing of cardiovascular disease.

Decrease of muscle cell tumor in the artery wall. With an optimum supply of essential nutrients the muscle cells of the artery walls produce sufficient amounts of functional collagen, thereby guaranteeing optimum stability of the wall. In contrast, vitamin deficiency leads to the production of faulty and dysfunctional collagen molecules by the arterial muscle cells.

Teflons provide protection of the artery wall and reversal of fatty deposits in the artery walls. Lipoproteins are the transport molecules by which cholesterol and other fat molecules circulate in the blood and are deposited in the artery walls. For many years, it has been thought that the primary transport molecule responsible for the deposition of fat in the artery walls is LDL or bad cholesterol.

Today, we know that the most dangerous fat transport molecules are not LDL molecules, but a variant, called lipoprotein (a). The letter (a) can stand for "adhesive" and characterizes an additional sticky protein which surrounds the LDL molecules. By means of this sticky protein the lipoprotein (a) molecules accumulate inside the artery walls. Thus, it is not the cholesterol or LDL-cholesterol level that determines the risk for cardiovascular disease, it is the amount of lipoprotein (a) molecules.

The primary therapeutic aim to prevent fatty deposits in the artery wall is therefore to neutralize the stickiness of the lipoprotein molecules and to prevent their attachment to the inside of the artery walls. This can be achieved by means of "Teflon" substances for the artery walls.

The first generation of these "Teflon" agents has been identified. They are the natural amino acids lysine and proline. They form a protective layer around the lipoprotein (a) molecule, which has a twofold effect: preventing the deposition of more fat molecules in the artery wall and releasing lipoprotein molecules that had already been deposited inside the artery walls.

Releasing fat molecules from the atherosclerotic deposits leads to a natural reversal of cardiovascular disease. Molecule by molecule it is released from the atherosclerotic plaques into the bloodstream and transported to the liver, where these fat molecules are burnt. It is important to understand that this is a natural process, and complications that frequently accompany angioplasty and other mechanical procedures do not occur.

Antioxidants provide protection in the bloodstream and artery walls. An additional mechanism accelerating the development of atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes, is biological oxidation. Free radicals, aggressive molecules occurring in cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and smog, damage the lipoproteins in the bloodstream and also the tissue of the artery walls.

By doing so, they further extend the size of atherosclerotic plaques. Vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, and others comprise the strongest natural antioxidants, protecting the cardiovascular system from oxidative damage.

In numerous clinical studies, compounds have been shown to greatly help people with shortness of breath, edema, and other heart failure conditions. Among them 50 mg of beta carotene per day could cut the risk for suffering a heart attack or stroke in half. Vitamin C intake lowers cardiovascular risk by 50%, documented in 11,000 study participants over 10 years.

Vitamin E supplementation lowers cardiovascular risk by one-third, documented in 87,000 study participants over 6 years. Beta carotene supplementation lowers cardiovascular risk over 30%, documented in more than 87,000 study participants over 6 years.

No prescription drug has ever been shown to be as effective as vitamins in preventing heart disease. Vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene are all essential components of a good nutritional support system for the heart. Moreover, a regimen should include the natural amino acids, lysine and proline, as well as the other natural substances that have been shown in numerous scientific studies to optimize cardiovascular health.

The medical benefits of ginkgo biloba extract rely primarily on two groups of active components, the gingko flavone glycosides and the terpene lactones. The 24% ginkgo flavone glycoside designation on gingko labels indicates the carefully measured balance of bioflavonoids.

These bioflavonoids are primarily responsible for gingko’s antioxidant activity and ability to inhibit platelet aggregation. These two actions may help gingko prevent circulatory diseases such as atherosclerosis and support the brain and central nervous system. Ginkgo increases circulation to both the brain and extremities of the body. In addition to inhibiting platelet stickiness, gingko regulates the tone and elasticity of blood vessels.

In other words, it makes circulation more efficient. This improvement in circulation efficiency extends to both large vessels such as arteries and smaller vessels like capillaries in the circulatory system. Cayenne has been frequently used to treat diseases of the circulatory system. It is still traditionally used in herbal medicine as a circulatory tonic or a substance believed to improve circulation.

Points To Remember for Optimum Cardiovascular Health

Be aware of the size and function of your cardiovascular system. Your blood vessel pipeline system measures 60,000 miles and is the largest organ in your body. Your heart pumps 100,000 times every day, performing the greatest amount of work of all organs. Optimizing your cardiovascular health benefits your entire body and your overall health. Optimizing your cardiovascular health adds years to your life, because your body is as old as your cardiovascular system.

Stabilize the walls of your blood vessels

Blood vessel instability and lesions in your blood vessel walls are the primary causes for cardiovascular disease. Vitamin C is the cement of the blood vessel walls and stabilizes them. Animals don’t get heart disease because they produce enough endogenous vitamin C in their livers to protect their blood vessels. In contrast, we humans develop deposits leading to heart attacks and strokes because we cannot manufacture endogenous vitamin C and generally get too few vitamins in our diet.
Reverse existing deposits in your arteries with out surgery.

Cholesterol and fat particles are deposited inside the blood vessel walls by means of biological adhesives. "Teflon"-like agents can prevent this stickiness. The amino acids lysine and proline are nature’s "Teflon" agents. Together with vitamin C, they help reverse existing deposits naturally.

Relax your blood vessel walls

Deposits and spasms of the blood vessel walls are the causes of high blood pressure. Dietary supplementation of magnesium and vitamin C relax the blood vessel walls and normalize high blood pressure. The natural amino acid arginine can be of additional value.

Optimize the performance of your heart

The heart is the motor of the cardiovascular system. Like the motor of your car, millions of muscle cells need cell fuel for optimum performance. Nature’s cell fuels include carnitine, coenzyme Q-10, B vitamins, and many other nutrients and trace elements. Dietary supplementation of these essential nutrients will optimize the pumping performance of the heart and contribute to regular heartbeat.

Protect your cardiovascular pipelines from rusting

Biological rusting, or oxidation, damages your cardiovascular system and accelerates the aging process. Vitamin C, Vitamin E, beta-carotene, and selenium are the most important natural antioxidants. Other important antioxidants are bioflavonoids, such as pycnogenol. Dietary supplementation of these antioxidants provides important rust protection for your cardiovascular system. Above all, stop smoking, because cigarette smoke accelerates the biological rusting of your blood vessels.

Exercise regularly

Regular physical activity is another important step for optimum cardiovascular health. Moderate but regular exercise, like walking or bicycling, is ideal, and can be performed by everybody. Eat a prudent diet. The diet of our ancestors over thousands of generations was rich in plant nutrition and high in fiber and vitamins. These dietary preferences shaped the metabolism of our bodies today. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat and sugars enhances your cardiovascular health.

Find time to relax

Physical and emotional stresses are cardiovascular risk factors. Schedule hours and days to relax as you would schedule your appointments. You should also know that the production of the stress hormone adrenaline uses up your body’s vitamin C supply. Long-term physical or emotional stress depletes your body’s vitamin pool and requires dietary vitamin supplementation.

Drink water

Your blood is 83% water. It is the medium in which everything flows. One to two quarts of water daily will keep everything flowing. Don’t let your blood thicken up. Thin it out with adequate water intake.

Start now

Thickening of the blood vessel walls is not only a problem of the elderly - it starts early in life. Studies have shown that first blood vessel deposits can develop in the second decade of life. Start protecting your cardiovascular system now. The earlier you start, the more years you will have.