Heart Disease...Winning or Losing?

by Glen Depke

Heart disease was such a focus for so long but isn't it funny that we rarely here of this anymore? 

Is this because we are winning or losing?

Let's find out.

Here is the American Heart Association year-end report:

Statistics Highlights:
 
Although death rates from heart disease and stroke continue to fall, risk factors and the financial and societal burdens of the diseases remain high, according to the American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2011 Update.

The estimated total cost (including heath expenditures and lost productivity) from heart disease and stroke in the United States is higher than that for any other diagnostic group.

This year’s report includes tracking of the role genetics play in heart disease risk and notes that if your parent had a heart attack at an early age, your risk of having one is nearly double for men and 70 percent for women. (I would share that the most significant factor is "learned" behavoir)

America is winning a battle against heart disease and stroke mortality, but is still losing the war, according to the American Heart Association.

In Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2011, published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, the association reports that the death rate from heart diseases declined 27.8 percent from 1997 to 2007 (the most recent final data available), and the stroke death rate fell 44.8 percent.

However, during the same period, the total number of inpatient cardiovascular operations and procedures increased 27 percent. The estimated total cost from heart disease and stroke in the United States for 2007 (including health expenditures and lost productivity) was $286 billion. That’s higher than any other diagnostic group.

For more info visit http://networking.americanheart.org/blogs/6/114. 

With this information, we can see that as a whole we are getting better at recognizing heart disease earlier and using medical intervention to lower the death rate, but we are still missing the boat on how to prevent this.

Don't be a statistic and depend on medical intervention. Be proactive and address your health at a core level. Save some money and more importantly, save your health and happiness.

Here are some simple tips to be proactive in warding off cardiovascular disease at a core level. Eliminate or significantly reduce these free radicals or the substances that create free radical activity:

• Smoking
• Heated or rancid vegetable based oils
• Toxic chemicals
• Chemical additives
• Radiation exposure through X-rays, ect...
• Microwaving in plastic
• Use of plastics with food
• Chlorinated water
• Sugar

I also want to mention the importance of staying regular with your bowel movements and also define that regular means two healthy bowel movements per day. This is a factor for heart disease because putrefied bacteria in your gastrointestinal system can combine with bile acids to form a very powerful free radical. The longer it takes to move your colon, the more free radical is formed.

It is important to share that individuals do not suffer from heart disease because they eat too much cholesterol containing foods. Simply put, when you have damage to the arterial walls, cholesterol (plaque) is used to repair this damage. 

What causes the damage? 

Free radical activity.

If your not exercising, why not?

While exercise does not prevent or remove plaque, this does effectively enlarge your arteries so it takes more plaque to create a blockage.

Stress and adrenals?

Mental/emotional stress and the effect this has on your adrenal function plays a huge role in heart disease. Finding healthy ways to reduce your reaction to stress is a significant factor. This may be exercise, yoga, deep breathing practices, prayer, and/or any other practice that allows you to release in a healthy way. 

Notice I do not say, take away your stress. While this would be awesome, it is not real to many of us. I'll share though, that finding a healthy way to release is the key.

It is also a good idea to assess your adrenal function. I have reviewed more than 3,800 of these tests in my career and have only seen 4 come back healthy originally. 

There are also some key nutrients that you can use as a way to ward off heart disease. 

• Antioxidants such as vitamin E or C to address free radical activity
• Niacin as one of the best known blood fat lowering agents
• Vitamin B6, B12 and Folic Acid to lower homocysteine
• Calcium, magnesium and potassium as essential minerals for a healthy heart
• CoQ10 which is the coenzyme that enables the mitochondria which is the driving force behind every cell in your body but especially your heart
• Omega 3 fatty acids

While there are other nutrients and supplements that could be used, I wanted to provide the basics. 

So recognize that we truly are not winning the war on heart disease, but you do not have to be one of the statistics.

If you have any comments or questions about this article, please post this below for me to address personally.

Is High Blood Pressure a Disease?

by Glen Depke

I have seen more and more new clients in my office lately that are challenged with hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. This has at times been shared by my clients as a disease that they have been diagnosed with that needs to be treated by medicine. So the question is, “Is this really a disease?”

If you do not already know this I will share that the answer is, absolutely not. While this is not a disease, it is often a symptom of stress or serious malnutrition.

Let’s understand that when we are talking about blood pressure, we are discussing your body’s ability to move your blood throughout your body to every aspect of your being to nourish the cells of your body and assist in removing cellular waste. When your body determines that it does not have the ability to move your blood in an optimal manner, your heart will pump harder to achieve this goal. Obviously, if this is determined by your body, it is a need.

Also understand that your blood pressure raises based on any fight or flee response that your body/mind can be currently responding to. Often we experience white coat syndrome, that is often the factually reaction to having your blood pressure taken in the doctor’s office. I would estimate that there are many individuals wrongly placed on meds for hypertension due to this white coat syndrome. I can remember in the past, showing up for a doctor’s appointment after being stuck in traffic and running late. When they took my blood pressure, it was off the charts. I explained what happened and they took it again at the end of my appointment and it was back to normal. What if I was put on meds because I did not open my mouth and share my experience that lead to the high readings?

There are other factors that may skew your blood pressure readings, such as consuming coffee or high sugar prior to having your blood pressure measured. Just drinking a simple cup of coffee can raise your blood pressure 10 points or more.

Another factor is smoking. Did you know that by lighting up and “enjoying?” your cigarette can increase your blood pressure by as much as 15-20 points?

We often hear that using salt raises blood pressure but I find this to be the case with the approximate 15% of the population that is salt sensitive or more of the case that conventional table salt is sodium and chloride and simply not the natural product as it is meant to be used. Since typical table salt is limited to only two minerals this often leads to an imbalance in sodium/potassium levels which leads to high blood pressure.

Kidney disease of liver stagnation can also lead to hypertension and need to be addressed if this is the issue. This is obviously best addressed by your doctor or natural health practitioner.

Atherosclerosis or arteriosclerosis should not be overlooked either. This narrowing of the arterial system by deposits such as calcium, cholesterol or other blood constituents is commonly referred to as atherosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is a thickening, stiffening and calcification of the artery walls, which can increase pressure because of a lessened diameter. These conditions are often due to an inflammatory challenge that causes a rupture of the inner lining of the artery wall and creates a perfect circumstance for the formation of plaque.

Let’s not forget that we mentioned nutritional deficiencies also and we will address this.

To address the stress factor, this could be as easy as practicing some deep belly breathing. This has a strong physical and emotionally relaxing effect on the body and should be used on a regular basis. I would also recommend consistent deep belly breathing when you know your blood pressure is going to be assessed. This will give you a higher chance of gaining a true reading for yourself. You could also use techniques such as ERT as used in my clinic.

Obviously the best way to address the smoking tie into hypertension is to stop smoking, but we can recognize that this is easier said than done for many. I recommend that quitting smoking be a part of a whole health program and to address this after you have shifted to positive health practices on the basic levels. I would suggest that you start by looking at your fundamentals of health and work from there.

Next we will discuss salt and nutrition together. From the nutritional perspective, I would suggest you search through our gluten intolerance page as well as nutritional ID. In regard to salt, it is best to use a high quality salt product such as the product we use in our home, Himalayan salt. This is not just a sodium/chloride product, but the full complement of some 80 or so naturally occurring minerals. This will not create the same stealing of other important minerals in the body, especially potassium.

Often when you look at minerals that are typically found to be depleted in hypertension individuals, this would include potassium, calcium and magnesium. Often by supplementing with these minerals there is a natural balance in blood pressure, especially when used in conjunction with the other tips in this article. When I am addressing this with my patients, I use liquid ionized forms of these individual minerals when available for the best possible absorption and assimilation.

If kidney disease is part of your problem, I would suggest eliminating all coffee, tea, alcohol and high sugar beverages. I would also never use tap water for drinking, showering or bathing. Drink approximately one quart of water for every fifty pounds of body weight daily and dry skin brush before your morning shower every day. Start with this and work with a qualified natural health practitioner to address balance within your kidneys.

If liver congestion is involved in your hypertension, I would also recommend working with a qualified natural health practitioner to assist in balancing your liver function.

As far as atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis are concerned you may want to research oral or intravenous chelation as this has been reported to assist on this level. I would also address the underlying causes of these challenges since this is generally caused by free radical activity and oxidative stress created by poor life style choices. A highly absorbable product that can assist with this free radical activity and oxidative stress is the Isotonix OPC-3.

So recognize that high blood pressure is not a disease and address the underlying challenges tied into this challenge. Very often when you take care of these areas the body is able to bring you back to a state of balance. Feel free to post any comments or questions for me to address personally.