HEART DISEASE
The Medical Myths about Heart Disease
Cardiovascular disease kills almost one million Americans each year. This number accounts for some 41 percent of all deaths in
the United States. In fact, cardiovascular disease claims more lives than the next eight leading causes of death combined, including:
- cancer,
- accidents and
- AIDS.
Yet, despite an aggressive campaign launched by the American Heart Association to counter the epidemic
of heart disease, one American still dies from Heart Disease every 33 seconds. In my professional opinion, their campaign has failed miserably. I
find this totally unacceptable!
For nearly four decades, we have relied on a combination of:
- medical myths,
- misinformation, and
- drug company propaganda
to guide us in our attempts to prevent and treat
cardiovascular disease. We have been told to: - reduce our dietary cholesterol,
- reduce our saturated-fat intake, and
- take lipid-lowering medications
(like Statin drugs).
Unfortunately, these standard medical recommendations have been shown to actually increase the risk of:
- PREMATURE DEATH from any cause,
- STROKES,
- HEART ATTACKS,
- ANXIETY and DEPRESSION,
- SUICIDE,
- SENILE DEMENTIA, and
- CONGESTIVE HEART
FAILURE.
Once again, as a Physician, I find this standard medical dogma regarding Heart Disease totally unacceptable
for myself, my family and my patients!
Medical Myth Number One
Most health organizations and the public at-large are sold on the idea that high cholesterol is the main cause of arteriosclerosis
and heart disease. However, a growing body of research is dispelling this medical myth. The prestigious medical journal, The Lancet,
reported in 1994 that most individuals with coronary artery disease have normal cholesterol levels! Forty percent of all heart attacks
occur in individuals with normal cholesterol levels. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that there is no evidence
linking high cholesterol levels in women with heart disease. In fact, low cholesterol levels (below 150), especially after the age
of forty-five, actually increase one's risk of heart attack, stroke, depression, and early death. As reported in The Journal of Cardiology,
“low cholesterol increases the risk of a heart attack.” Yes, you read this correctly. Low cholesterol increases the risk of a heart
attack. To cite the medical experts from the famous Framingham study: For each 1 mg/dl drop of cholesterol, there was an 11 percent
increase in coronary death and total mortality (i.e., death from all sources).
The honest truth is that your body needs cholesterol! Cholesterol makes up eight percent of brain matter. It is essential for
proper brain function. The importance of cholesterol is far reaching. Cholesterol is the precursor to Vitamin D and other hormones
that are needed for sustaining a healthy life. Cholesterol is one of the key substances at nerve synapses needed to transmit information.
Cholesterol helps regulate brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters. Low cholesterol can cause depression, fatigue and neurological disorders
(nerve pain, tingling, and numbness). Individuals with low cholesterol are three times more likely to suffer from depression as normal
adults. The lower the cholesterol, the more severe the depression.
Medical Myth Number Two
The American Heart Association (shame on them) recommends you follow a low-fat diet. Individuals are encouraged to eat polyunsaturated
fats (vegetable oils) and avoid saturated fats (animal fats). They also recommend eating 11 servings of grains per day. This is a
recipe for disaster. Excess grain consumption leads to insulin resistance and increases inflammatory chemicals, THE REAL CAUSE OF
HEART DISEASE. Research shows that there is evidence that saturated fats are bad for your health, but there is ALSO plenty of evidence
that saturated fats actually HELP PREVENT HEART DISEASE and strokes.
Medical Myth Number Three
Cholesterol-lowering drugs (primarily Statin drugs) are a safe and effective way to prevent heart attacks and strokes. If
you believe that one, then I've got some ocean-front property right here in ILLINOIS that I'd like to sell you. Yes, the truth is that over the last twenty years, the
pharmaceutical companies have promoted cholesterol-lowering statin drugs with such fervor that they’ve become household names: Lipitor,
Crestor, Vytorin, Zocor, pravastatin and others. Sixteen million Americans take Lipitor, the most popular statin drug. Statin sales
in the U.S. alone are over $12.5 billion per year.
No doubt, the statins lower cholesterol levels and perhaps do lower the risk of dying from a heart attack – at least in patients
who already have had one –but the size of the effect is far less than impressive. For instance, in one study referred to as the CARE
trial, the odds of escaping death from a heart attack in five years for a patient with manifest heart disease was 94.3 percent, which
improved to 95.4 percent with statin treatment. {Insert Golf Clap Here.} This difference of 1.1 percent is surely not worth all of the
overblown hype that these medications have received, especially since the potential side effects from these drugs far outweigh the
miniscule benefits and may indeed include congestive heart failure.
The acknowledged side effects of statins include muscle pain and weakness, nerve damage, and a potentially fatal muscle-wasting disorder
called rhabdomyolysis. One statin, Baycol, has already been withdrawn by the FDA because it was linked to 31 deaths from rhabdomyolysis.
Interference with production of Co-Q-10 by statin drugs is the most likely explanation. The heart is a muscle and it cannot work when deprived
of the essential nutrient, Co-Q-10. A deficiency of Co-Q-10 can lead to nerve damage and congestive heart failure.
While heart attacks have slightly declined, CHF (congestive heart failure) has more than doubled since Lipitor and other statins hit the market
and were first prescribed in the US in 1987.
Taking statins for a period of just 1 year raises your risk of nerve damage by a whopping 15%. Researchers studying Co-Q-10 have
estimated that as little as a 25% reduction in bodily Co-Q-10 levels will trigger various disease processes, including:
- high
blood pressure,
- coronary artery disease,
- cancer,
- immune dysfunction, and
- fatigue.
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For a more in-depth look at inflammation, arteriosclerosis, and heart disease, the book “Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won’t
Tell You” is now available at Austin Family Chiropractic in Virden, IL.
If you'd like to know more about our clinic's nutritional protocols for treating 'Heart Disease' naturally, please feel free to
give us a call (M/W/F, 8 AM-12PM & 2-6 PM CST & SAT AM by appointment) at (217)965-3100.
157 North Springfield Street / West Side Square
Virden, Illinois 62690
(217) 965-3100
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