Atherosclerosis
Risk Factors, Prevention and Wellness Tips

WHAT ARE YOUR RISK FACTORS?

Since atherosclerosis precedes or accompanies a number of cardiovascular and circulatory conditions (stroke, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, angina, heart attack, etc.) the risk factors for all these diseases tend to parallel those for atherosclerosis. They include:

Factors you can influence

• elevated cholesterol levels, particularly LDL (bad) cholesterol.
• elevated blood triglyceride levels.
• being a smoker or being exposed to tobacco smoke.
• having high blood pressure.
• diet. Eating fatty foods (particularly those rich in saturated fats) and foods that are overly processed is believed to contribute towards heart disease.
• having diabetes.
• living a sedentary lifestyle.
• being overweight.
• dealing poorly with ongoing stress.

Factors you can’t influence
• your age: over 45 for men and over 55 for women.
• family medical history of heart attack or stroke before age 65, angina, or the tendency to develop high blood cholesterol or blood pressure.
• ethnicity: African, South Asian and First Nation populations are at greater risk.

WELLNESS TIPS

While some risk factors for heart disease cannot be addressed (your age, family history and ethnicity), many of the contributing factors are linked to the lifestyle you choose to lead. Here are the primary ways in which you can reduce your risk of atherosclerosis and other forms of heart disease.

• If you are a smoker, quit! Many excellent products to help you stop smoking may be found at your local pharmacy. The Internet is also a valuable source of information on smoking cessation.
• If you are overweight, see your doctor about starting a weight-reduction program. Consuming a prudent diet, combined with regular exercise, will help those pounds melt away.
• Get exercising. Studies show that even moderate exercise (a half-hour walk once a day, six days a week), will help balance cholesterol levels in the long run, reduce triglyceride levels and help you lose weight. Regular exercise can also help you to manage stress and improve the efficiency of your heart, lungs and muscles.
• Revise your diet. Add more fatty fish like salmon or sardines to your food intake, which contain health promoting omega 3 fatty acids, to reduce your LDL levels; increase your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables; eat more legumes (beans, peas); cut down on foods rich in animal fats, particularly fatty meats (beef, pork) and high-fat dairy products. Try to eliminate your intake of hydrogenated oils (trans-fatty acids).
• Eat smaller meals and incorporate high-quality protein snacks throughout the day to aid in increasing insulin sensitivity. This is especially important for people who have been diagnosed with diabetes. When blood sugar is not kept in control the excess blood sugar (glucose) actually causes damage to the artery lining (glycosylation) so it is essential to keep your blood sugar as level as possible.
• Take a coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplement. CoQ10 is an important antioxidant that the heart uses to protect itself from the damaging compounds by the cells during the process of metabolism. As we age, the amount of CoQ10 produced by the heart diminishes. Taking certain drugs (e.g. cholesterol lowering drugs such as HMG CoA reductase inhibitors) also lower heart-protective CoQ10 levels.
• Make sure you get enough calcium. Cutting down on fat-rich dairy products can impact your intake of calcium. This mineral is essential for the cardiovascular system to function normally. Recent studies show that people who have enough calcium in their diet are less likely to develop high blood pressure, a key risk factor for heart disease and stroke. If you are not getting enough calcium, consider taking a supplement. (Better calcium supplements also contain magnesium and vitamin D to aid absorption and maintain calcium/magnesium balance.) The recommended daily intake of elemental calcium is 1,200 mg a day for adult women, between 1,500 and 1,800 mg a day if you are pregnant or lactating, and 1,500 mg a day if you have passed menopause. Men over 19 should take 1,000 mg calcium a day.
• Make sure you get enough magnesium. Not eating many grains and green vegetables can impact your intake of magnesium. This is another mineral that is essential for the cardiovascular system to function normally. Magnesium is necessary for relaxation of the smooth muscles that surround your blood vessels. Recent studies show that people who have enough magnesium in their diet are less likely to develop high blood pressure, a key risk factor for heart disease and stroke. If you are not getting enough magnesium, consider taking a supplement.
• Make sure you get enough B vitamins. The B vitamins folic acid, B6 and B12 in particular reduce homocysteine levels in the blood. Elevated homocysteine levels may increase the risk of developing arteriosclerosis. B vitamins are found in fruits and green, leafy vegetables and other wholesome foods. You may wish to take a multi-vitamin to make sure adequate levels of these B vitamins are being consumed daily. Rich sources of folic acid (folate) include citrus fruits, tomatoes, leafy green vegetables, and pinto, navy and kidney beans.
• Learn to cope with stress. Mismanaged stress contributes significantly towards high blood pressure and heart disease. Take a stress management course or read up on how to manage the stress in your life. For basic pointers on stress reduction, see Developing a Positive Attitude under General Wellness Tips.
• Consult your healthcare provider about new food-based non-drug supplements formulated to help improve quality of life* such as Recovery® and with Nutricol®.

How to Survive a Heart Attack Alone
From F. Daniel Rochman MD

Let's say it's 6:15 p.m.and you're driving home (alone of course), after an unusually hard day on the job. You're really tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw.

You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home; unfortunately you don't know if you'll be able to make it that far.

What can you do?
You've been trained in CPR but the guy that taught the course neglected to tell you how to perform it on yourself. Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, this article seemed to be in order.

Without help, the person whose heart stops beating properly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds! left before losing consciousness. However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously.

A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest, and a cough must be repeated about every 2 seconds without let up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.

Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm.

In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.
Tell as many other people as possible about this, it could save their lives!
You may also wish pass this on to a friend...

From Health Cares, Rochester General Hospital via Chapter 240s newsletter AND THE BEAT GOES ON .... (reprint from The Mended Hearts, Inc. publication, Heart response)

*Under current legislation, Biomedica is not permitted to make claims to consumers in support of health benefits derived from natural formulations. This means we cannot make specific statements as to how Recovery® itself may help you overcome the pain and inflammation associated with degenerative diseases. Taking Recovery® should be a decision based on personal research and understanding of the role food-derived antioxidants and enzymes play in health and wellbeing.