In fact, the American Heart Association now agrees that people with heart disease all have one common factor which is not high cholesterol. It's inflammation in their arteries (Heart guidelines urge test for inflammation; USA TODAY, Jan. 28, 2003).
An excellent book to read on the topic is, The Great Cholesterol Con, by Malcom Kendrick.
If cholesterol is not the best indicator for heart disease, then what should you do?
In other articles I talk about the C-reactive protein test - an excellent indicator of heart disease that identifies inflamed arteries. I also really like the Cardiovascular Profile test.
I introduced this test into my practice a few years ago, and I am really impressed with it. It is on the cutting edge of cardiovascular health.
A pressure transducer is placed over the artery in your wrist (the radial artery), and the pressure of each pulse is measured. The computer attached to the pressure transducer analyzes the shape of each pulse. The computer analysis can discern whether the arteries are stiff or elastic.
We want our arteries to be elastic and not stiff.
This test also tells us whether the problems lie mostly with the larger arteries or with the smaller arteries. The larger and smaller arteries respond very differently to exercise and nutrition.
Most women have problems with their smaller arteries (called micro-vascular syndrome), not their larger ones. This is one of the reasons that heart disease is so different in women and men.
Men tend to have blockage in one or more of the main five arteries of the heart. With women, it's the smaller branches of these arteries that become blocked and clogged.
The results of a Cardiovascular Profile will give you two numbers, one for your large arteries and one for your small arteries. If either the large or small arteries appear to be stiff, then you should take steps to improve the condition of your arteries with nutrition and diet.
The great thing about the Cardiovascular Profile is that it can guide you in effectively using the amazing amino acid L-arginine. At the proper dosage, L-arginine will increase nitric oxide and cause your arteries to relax.
Both blood pressure and the elasticity of your arteries can improve significantly by including L-arginine in your supplement program.
Exercise can lead to great improvement in the health and elasticity of the large arteries. The smaller arteries don't respond that well to exercise. Stiffness in the small arteries can be improved with nutrients and/or medication.
If you are going to take the risk of being on a medication, you should monitor your progress with the Cardiovascular Profile so that you can at least tell whether or not your arteries are benefiting from the medication.
Some medications used for high blood pressure do improve the elasticity of the arteries, and others don't.
The cutting edge of cardiovascular health is to effectively combine nutrients and medications if necessary on an individual basis. The feedback from the Cardiovascular Profile is very beneficial in telling if the health of your arteries is really improving, or if you are just decreasing your cholesterol or blood pressure.
The Cardiovascular Profile test is harder to come by. You may contact the company to find a qualified practitioner near you: Hypertension Diagnostics, Inc (1-888-785-7392).
If you are taking any drugs prescribed by your licensed medical practitioner DO NOT change them, or stop taking them, without his or her consent.
Obviously many seriously ill patients have every reason to be grateful for the advances in medical science that have improved or even extended their lives with drugs, but so many people resort too quickly to prescription medicines.
Obviously I exclude from this sweeping generalization people suffering from conditions that knocked them for six completely undeserved. My rant is against those who have brought their illnesses upon themselves, and are then popping pills to "fix" them, when a good dose of self-discipline or common sense would have prevented it in the first place.
There are people popping pill A for the side-effects of pill B, which they are taking to ward off the side-effects of pill C - with a fair chance that they shouldn't be taking pill C in the first place.
Preventable by a healthy diet and a healthy life-style.
So many members of society are eating, drinking, smoking and drugging themselves into bad health that it makes my blood boil. Especially when, as a UK tax-payer, I have to pick up a proportion of the bill via our admirable NHS. I'll happily contribute towards the health of my less-fortunate "neighbors" UNLESS they have caused their own problems.
I'm not all that virtuous about my life-style and what I eat. I enjoy the occasional glass of wine, my friends know me as a bit of a chocoholic and I hate the gym. But I try to stay well within the bounds of good sense.
A healthy diet need not be boring, and it can still include the occasional treat. Just keep the "bad-guys" to a minimum, and develop a taste for the enjoyable "good-guys". I also firmly believe in supplementation with a good quality "multi".
A healthy lifestyle has no need to involve pounding the pavements at 6am or 10pm in the driving rain. The only exercise I actually enjoy is my linedancing. It's a great work-out, we have a good laugh and a really enjoyable night out - fueled usually by one large glass of fizzy water!
If YOU could be kinder to your body, before you make yourself ill and fall onto the downward spiral of a pill-for-a-side-effect, PLEASE take better care of yourself - then those of us funding this through our taxes can fund people who are ill through no fault of their own.
Both Dr. Lisa Hosbein & Joy Healey are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Dr. Lisa Hosbein has sinced written about articles on various topics from Disease & illness, High Cholesterol and High Cholesterol. I would like to offer you free access to my weekly Holistic Medicine Newsletter, Healthy Perspectives, where you can receive additional information on important health topics. You can sign up by going to. Dr. Lisa Hosbein's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
Joy Healey has sinced written about articles on various topics from Skin Care, Disease & illness and Types of Cancer. Joy Healey qualified as a nutritionist in 2000, at the prestigious Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London. For free news and tips on healthy eating subscribe to her Healthy Eating for Health Living Tips at:. Joy Healey's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.