Category: General

Niacin is very helpful is the control of atherosclerosis when used properly. It lowers bad cholesterol, raises good cholesterol and lowers triglycerides. Its is the most effective agent for increasing cholesterol particle size. Size matters when is comes to what cholesterol  particles do in your bloodstream. With proper guidance there are no side effects ti taking niacin. I very rarely see elevated liver enzymes or increased blood sugar. People who are diabetic generally should not take it but may be able to handle a small dose. Studies prove that it can reduce plaque! So, don't be afraid of niacin.   Here is a recent study that backs me up here:   J Clin Lipidol. 2014 Sep-Oct;8(5):489-93. doi: 10.1016/j.jacl.2014.07.004. Epub 2014 Jul 12. Prolonged combination lipid therapy is associated with reduced carotid intima-media thickness: a case-control study of the 20-year Familial Atherosclerosis Treatment - Observational Study (FATS-OS). Phan BA1, Moore AB2, Davis J2, Pollan LJ2, Neradilek B3, Brown BG2, Zhao XQ2. Author information Abstract BACKGROUND: Studies have documented the short-term vascular benefits of combination lipid therapy. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to evaluate the long-term effects of combination lipid therapy on carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: We performed a case-control study in patients who had finished...

By Steve Parcell, ND I understand masters athletes. It helps to be one myself. I compete in cyclocross and road cycling in the Greater Denver/Boulder area. The masters athlete is not a person generally well understood by conventional insurance based doctors. This is because they are trained in hospitals doing sick care. They don’t typically see athletes.  Though older athletes are generally very healthy they may put themselves at risk for heart problems. This is because the heart does not always adapt in a healthy way to intense exercise as one gets older.  We hear about endurance athletes dying of heart related problems. Why is this? The most common causes are: Atherosclerosis: Plaque breaks off and causes a heart attack. Cardiomyopathy: Heart muscle undergoes changes that can cause irregular heart beat which can lead to a heart attack. Valve problems: Heart valves may start to fail leading to decreased cardiac output and heart failure. The aging athlete (over age 40) should definitely have a sports physical. The physical should include a stress echocardiogram and selected blood work. Nothing is better than a stress echo to assess cardiac function under load. I also like to perform a heart scan to look...

Chelation with EDTA Chelation (pronounced ke-LA’shun) literally means “to chemically bind to.”  I sought additional training and certification in chelation therapy after finding that many patients had heavy metal overload. I was trained through the American Academy for the Advancement of Medicine and have been administering this treatment for many years. EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) is a synthetic amino acid that can be given intravenously. EDTA was first used in the 1940s for the treatment of heavy metal poisoning, especially lead poisoning. Although it is not approved by the FDA to treat heart disease, some physicians and alternative medicine practitioners use EDTA chelation as a way to treat this disorder. At least twenty books have been authored on the subject of chelation, but more large clinical trails need to be conducted before a firm conclusion can be made about the role chelation may play in lowering the risk of a heart attack. Using chelation therapy for the treatment of heart disease is still considered to be an experimental treatment. EDTA chelation therapy is approved by the FDA only for toxic metal poisoning and hypercalcemia (a condition of too much calcium).   Does EDTA Chelation Work? In some cases it may help, but...

Evidence suggests that increased blood viscosity is an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic heart disease and its complications (Becker 1993). Blood behaves more like a solid at low speeds but behaves more like a liquid at fast speeds. Blood behaves much like ketchup coming out of a bottle. Once you get it moving, it really moves fast. When the heart is resting between beats it becomes more viscous (thick or solid), and then when the heart pumps blood through the body it becomes less viscous. Another analogy is the viscosity of summer- versus winter-grade oil. Summer-grade oil is made to be more viscous because heat makes the oil thinner. Winter-grade oil is less viscous because oil becomes thicker in cold temperatures. You want the right grade of blood—not too thick or thin. To find out if you have thick blood, get a blood viscosity test. Atherosclerosis does not develop in random locations. This is because of differences in the turbulence of blood flow and blood viscosity. The frictional forces of blood create something called “shear stress.” Shear stress refers to the arterial damage caused by thick blood or very turbulent blood flow (Becker 1993). I believe, as do some of my...

Plaque is composed of lipids (fats and cholesterol), calcium, white blood cells, muscle cells, and connective tissue. It is metabolically active and can be hotter than surrounding tissues. White blood cells enter and modify the plaque by becoming part of its structure and by secreting enzymes that degrade the fibrous cap that covers the plaque. Plaque formation starts in early adulthood and progresses at varying rates depending on many factors. Generally, as plaque grows, more calcium accumulates within the plaque structure.  Because cholesterol is a significant component of plaque, it became a major focus of drug research—to the detriment, I believe, of investigating other promoters of atherosclerosis. Though elevated cholesterol can accelerate atherosclerosis, it is not the only cause of the problem. Some people with high cholesterol never get heart disease, and others with normal cholesterol develop extensive atherosclerosis. The reason for this is that not all cholesterol is the same, and cholesterol is not the only factor to consider. Plaque goes through many stages. Plaque usually progresses from being soft (and vulnerable to rupture) to a harder, relatively more stable stage. Because soft plaque is more unstable than hard plaque, it is more dangerous. Mixed plaque contains soft and...