Alternatives in Coronary Artery Disease

By Dr. Gordon Higgins

“If your approach to heart disease is to let your doctor manage it alone, then you had better ask for a revolving door to the hospital – you’re going to need it. You can avoid this scenario, but you must change from risk pre-occupation to health –oriented interventions.”

This guide is offered to you for the prevention of coronary artery disease.

It’s a well know fact that cardiovascular disease accounts for the death of more Canadians than any other disease. It has been clearly demonstrated by Dean Ornish in his book “Program for Reversing Heart Disease”, that coronary heart disease can be prevented and even reversed! Several other scientists since that time has
confirmed his findings. The interventions needed for prevention and reversal is related to physical activity, healthy eating and stress reduction.Becoming self-aware and developing ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle is the key message here. Remember, blockages start with one sick cell lining a blood vessel many years before you have any symptoms of the disease.

You may be concerned with the role of genetics; there are obstacles related to your community, job and environment that have more impact than your genetics. It is entirely up to you as an individual to identify and develop strategies to overcome these obstacles, thus preventing the triggering of the genetic risk factors that could lead to coronary heart disease.

Here are some things you need to know to begin helping yourself:
Talk to a dietician about dietary approaches to stop hypertension (the DASH diet). Resist invading your body with empty calorie foods and bad fats and consider using nutritional supplements that are good for every cell in your body. Many find vitamin C, added to the higher general antioxidant levels found in the DASH diet, to be helpful.
Quit Smoking: Smoking, or inhaling any burning substances, is pro-oxidative in the body. Tissue repair requires anti-oxidative activities. Omega 3 fish oils are anti-oxidative and essential as are many other antioxidants.
Consider Statin Drugs: If you already have established arterial wall disease, your doctor will probably prescribe a statin drug. Statins work to reduce inflammation in the blood vessel wall. If you decide to use statins, you will need the supplement coenzyme Q10, a naturally occurring anti-oxidant, which is depleted in the body by long-term use of statin drugs. Serrapeptase is also a good anti-inflammatory for the blood vessel wall.
Consider chelation therapy, an alternative approach to removing ionized metals (lead, arsenic, mercury and iron) from the blood vessel wall. It has been used to treat coronary heart disease for fifty years.
Reduce stress by actually making decisions rather than putting them off. Make a schedule of weekly leisure activities, as well as the things you normally think of as “must do’s”. Reducing your stress level often helps with destructive eating patterns which put you at risk for
coronary artery disease.
Think Positive and open your mind to the concept of meditation as a stress management tool. It works!
As part of your exercise program, use a pedometer It’s been shown that using a pedometer will raise your activity level, thus decreasing body mass and blood
pressure.

Your heart health is really up to you, identify problems by assessing which risk factors you have and work towards solutions to reducing or eliminating these as much as possible.

Dr. Gordon Higgins, M.D., CCFP, FCFP, Integrated Medical Doctor. He may be contacted at
The Wellness Centre, 96 Bonaventure Ave, St. John’s , NL
Telephone: 709-753-8883

Websites of interest for heart patients and their families.

http://www.pmri.org

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartdiseases.html

“No matter where you live, how old you are or what you look like, health researchers have recently discovered that 90 % of first heart attacks (myocardial infarction) suffered by people can be attributed to nine risk factors. The risk factors include: cigarette smoking, an abnormal ratio of blood lipids, high blood pressure, diabetes, abdominal obesity, stress, a lack of daily consumption of fruits and vegetables, as well as a lack of daily exercise.”
Conclusions drawn form the landmark
INTERHEART global study led by Canadian
scientist Dr. Salim Yusuf at McMaster University.
For more information on this study go to:
www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/26489.html

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