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 an 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 agony, 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
• Inflammation
• 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’s the main cause of this 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 will share that finding a healthy way of perceiving and releasing stress is the key. This is why we have team of emotional release practitioners on staff at Depke Wellness. It is also a good idea to assess your adrenal function. I have reviewed thousands of these tests in my career and have only seen a very small percentage come back in optimal function. 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 Folate 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.