The Cholesterol Lie - What Causes Coronary Heart Disease

Charles J Henry
The heart is one of the most important organs in our body, when it stop beating, you are done. The importance of the heart should be emphasized as well as the need to take good care of it. It is one of the vital organs in the body together with the liver, lungs, kidneys and the brain. Take it away and I am sure that your days are numbered. One of the common heart conditions that affects many of us is coronary heart disease, but what cause coronary heart disease?

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Some may not be familiar with it but may know Coronary Artery disease, they are one and the same. When there is build up or development of fats, calcium and plaque in the heart's arteries, the disease usually occurs. When these 3 mentioned things block the hearts arteries, blood would not be pumped anymore therefore causing chest pain, if this continues it can cause heart attack which can eventually lead to death if not treated accordingly.

What causes coronary heart disease? It can be caused by a number of factors. Top on the list is a high fat and high cholesterol diet. As we age our heart becomes thicker and rough which sometimes make it hard for the blood to flow. If you are fond of eating fatty foods, please stop it, a high fat and cholesterol diet would contribute in the build up of fatty tissues. Lack of exercise can also be a factor, that is why a healthy and active lifestyle is advised.

Smoking is also on the list of things to avoid since it increases the risk of having the coronary heart disease. If you have a family history of heart disease, be more cautious and careful in your diet and lifestyle. Men are more prone to this disease than women, so they should be more careful. Stress can also contribute to heart disease.

Now that you know what causes coronary heart disease, you should be more careful in what you eat, your lifestyle and habits. If you know that you are most likely to have it, have yourself checked if abnormal symptoms are felt. Some are lucky to be able to survive and live on a medication maintenance, others did not have the opportunity to have themselves treated. It was too late for them to be treated since they already had a heart attack which caused them death. So, do not wait for it to happen to you, undergo a check up now.

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Why Your Cholesterol Level May Be Meaningless

B Suzanne W. Dixon, MPH, MS, RD

Cholesterol Conundrum

At first glance, the connection between high cholesterol and increased heart disease risk seems solid. Below the surface, the details look murkier. For starters, many people who have heart attacks don´t have high cholesterol. This is one of the most puzzling aspects of the cholesterol story.

Not All Cholesterol Created Equal

Cholesterol comes in several varieties. One is low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. This type is referred to as LDL cholesterol (LDL-C). LDL-C is so-called "bad" cholesterol. It is believed that LDL-C is most likely to stick to the inside of arteries, causing heart disease.

The other type of cholesterol is high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). HDL-C is so-called "good" cholesterol. HDL-C shuttles cholesterol from the body back to the liver. Less cholesterol in circulation is believed to help keep heart disease at bay.

Heart health experts now focus most on lowering LDL-C. The theory is that lowering bad cholesterol is the most important goal.

Considering Cholesterol

Last year researchers reviewed the cholesterol levels of 136,000 people hospitalized for heart attacks between 2000 and 2006. In about 75 percent of heart attack patients, LDL-C levels were within the recommended range for reducing heart disease risk. Based on cholesterol levels, three-quarters of people who have heart attacks would not be flagged as being at risk for heart disease!

Equally puzzling is another recent study. Researchers found no significant connection between cholesterol levels and plaque in the arteries of 1,653 men and women. In fact, 26% of those in the study who were taking cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) had no evidence of arterial plaque.

The study authors concluded some people who are taking statins do not need them. Statins have side effects and risks, some of which are very serious. People who do not need them should not take statins. Also troubling: some people who need medication – those at high risk of heart disease – may not get it.

If this leaves you scratching your head, you´re not alone.

Filling in the Missing Pieces

If total and LDL cholesterol levels don´t have much to do with heart disease, why focus on them? It turns out that lowering cholesterol with statin drugs does lower heart disease risk. But is it less cholesterol or something else that accounts for reduced risk of heart disease?

Statins lower cholesterol, but they do many other things too. Statins have potent anti-inflammatory actions. Inflammation increases heart disease risk even in people with lower cholesterol levels, so less inflammation is better.

Statins decrease the "stickiness" of blood cells. This helps prevent the clots that can cause a heart attack. Statins may encourage the body to form "collateral vessels". These new blood vessels can help route blood around a narrow space in another vessel.

Even this isn´t the whole picture. Another blood fat is the triglyceride. Triglycerides make LDL-C denser and stickier. When you have a lot of LDL-C and a lot of triglycerides, LDL-C is more damaging to arteries.

There are other types of cholesterol too. Very-low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol or VLDL-C may play a role in heart disease risk. Within the HDL-C and LDL-C groups are different versions (sub-types) of each type of cholesterol. Some sub-types may increase heart disease risk a lot. Others may not.

The Full Picture

In the end, other factors that cause heart disease may increase LDL-C too. This would make it appear that LDL-C causes heart disease. In reality, those other factors are causing both the heart disease and the high cholesterol. These factors might include lack of physical activity, obesity, smoking, stress, pollution, and a poor diet.

Beyond Statins

It´s important to keep in mind that some people have genetic cholesterol syndromes, called hyperlipidemias. "Hyper" means a lot. "lipid" refers to fat, including cholesterol and triglycerides. "Emia" means in the blood.

For people with genetic hyperlipidemias, statins are a lifesaver. If you have one of these conditions, you simply cannot eat or exercise your way out of increased heart disease risk. Typically, people with hyperlipidemias have cholesterol in the 300-400 range. Triglycerides can be as high as 1000-2000. If this describes you, do not stop taking statins.

Taking Control of Your Heart Health

For the vast majority of people with high cholesterol, a more nuanced assessment makes sense. A new University of Michigan study validates this approach.

Lead study author Dr. Rodney Hayward states, "We´ve been worrying too much about people´s cholesterol level and not enough about their overall risk of heart disease." Statins are helpful for some people, but patients and doctors should consider all of the factors that affect a person´s risk of heart attack and strokes.

This includes age, family history, diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking status, and C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is a way to measure how much inflammation is occurring in a person´s body. More inflammation means higher risk of heart disease and other chronic diseases.
Cholesterol Down: Ten Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol in Four Weeks--Without Prescription Drugs
Dr. Hayward concludes that knowing your overall heart attack risk is more important than knowing your cholesterol level. If your overall risk is high, you should probably take a statin, regardless of your cholesterol level. On the other hand, if your LDL-C is high, but your total heart disease risk is low, skip the statin. Make a healthy diet and regular exercise a prior
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How to Lower Cholesterol to Prevent Heart Strokes

Nick Mutt

Unhealthy lifestyle, obesity, improper diet and food intake are the major factors responsible for high cholesterol levels. There are mainly two types of cholesterol – LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol). When there is excess of LDL in a person's blood, it will build up in the inner walls of his arteries which can end up causing the blocking of the arteries and thus causes atherosclerosis. Whereas, when there is a high amount of HDL present, it will actually aid in preventing heart attacks, though when the level of HDL is low, it can put the person at risk of experiencing a heart attack.

One of the major risks of having high total cholesterol is triglyceride, which is a type of fat that is obtained from the food that you eat and which is also produced in the body. When there is a high level of triglycerides, you are at a risk of having high total cholesterol in which you can get high LDL as well as low HDL.

According to health experts, diet plays an important role in lowering cholesterol level. When combined with a right medication, diet has a significant role in reducing cholesterol level.

Replace regular and full-fat dairy products to low fat or skimmed ones because these are not only good in lowering cholesterol level but also effective in managing your weight. Include plenty of vegetables and fruits because these are low in calories, cholesterol, and fat no matter how much you consume. Restrict saturated and trans fatty elements contained by hydrogenated vegetable oils because they increase blood cholesterol levels. Do not eat processed and junk foods. Take lean meats such as turkey and chicken meats in place of red meat because they are effective in decreasing cholesterol levels.
Hidden Causes of Heart Attack and Stroke: Inflammation, Cardiology's New Frontier

How to Loss Weight Quick using Cinnamon

Cinnamon...
•can have favorable effects on brain function and memory
•soothes the stomach, and may help prevent ulcers
•suppresses the bacteria that causes urinary tract infections and the fungus associated with yeast infections
•reduces cholesterol levels – in particular, lowering bad cholesterol while leaving good cholesterol the same
Of particular interest is cinnamon’s ability to reduce blood sugar, and increase insulin levels, results which were documented in a respected diabetes journal.

It is cinnamon’s effect on blood sugar that makes it a potential help in the war against obesity, insulin resistance, sometimes known as "prediabetes," and the "Metabolic Syndrome."

Cinnamon can be used in its powdered or stick form, adding it to drinks and foods, or as a supplement.

To your weight loss success

It's Important to Control Your Blood Pressure, Too

Diabetes Disease
(LifeWire) - The need for people with diabetes to closely monitor and control their blood glucose levels is common knowledge and constantly stressed. But with all the attention paid to blood sugar, it's possible to overlook a serious related medical issue -- high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.

Blood pressure control is important for people with diabetes for many reasons. Diabetes increases a person's risk for various conditions, including heart disease, stroke, kidney damage and eye problems. High blood pressure itself increases these risks, too. Unfortunately, the two diseases often go hand-in-hand. As many as two-thirds of people with diabetes also have high blood pressure, meaning they have a compounded risk of these various other conditions.

A Lower Blood Pressure Goal for People with Diabetes
Experts usually recommend that people with diabetes keep their blood pressure under 130/80 mm/Hg. This is a lower goal than the one set for most adults. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that people with diabetes get their blood pressure checked by a medical professional at least two to four times per year.

Lifestyle Changes for High Blood Pressure Control
The good news is that the lifestyle changes recommended for people with diabetes are pretty much the same as those recommended for people with high blood pressure. (Added bonus: They'll help control blood cholesterol levels, too.
•Diet
A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lower-fat proteins (dairy, fish and nuts), and monounsaturated fats (in place of saturated and trans fats) is usually recommended for people with diabetes. Of course, attention must also be paid to carbohydrate consumption, but this basic diet is effective for diabetes management.
A very similar eating plan is recommended for controlling high blood pressure. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet puts the same emphasis on fresh produce and low fat choices, but also limits sodium to 2,400 milligrams per day. Essentially, the DASH diet helps control both diabetes and high blood pressure.


•Exercise
Again, the lifestyle modifications recommended for diabetes are very similar to those for hypertension. Taking a brisk walk or engaging in some other form of cardiovascular exercise for 30 minutes, five days per week will help manage or reduce risk for both conditions.

•Weight Control
Being overweight or obese raises risks for both diabetes and high blood pressure. Achieve calorie balance -- work to take in the same number of calories each day that you burn to maintain a healthy weight. If you need to lose a few pounds to get to your healthy weight, work to take in fewer calories than you burn. This will help control both conditions.

•No Smoking
Because smoking is a powerful risk factor for heart disease -- and both hypertension and diabetes raise heart disease risk -- it's essential that anyone with diabetes stop smoking as soon as possible.

Medications May Be Required
While these changes can help many people control high blood pressure and/or diabetes, sometimes even the most sincere efforts at lifestyle modification won't be enough to keep blood pressure in a healthy range. In these cases, a doctor may recommend medication. Experts have found that for most people with diabetes, more than one medication is required to control high blood pressure.

Sources:

Bakris, George. "Lower Blood Pressure Goals for Patients with Diabetes." Journal of Clinical Hypertension, 2:6(2000): 369-371.