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).