When a person has high serum triglyceride, (i.e. triglyceride to HDL ratio over 3), the Lipoprotein is filled with triglyceride instead of cholesterol for transporting. The liver produces more Lipoprotein trying to transport cholesterol. That is why LDL particle number increases, unfortunately HDL is too low to recycle LDL. The LDL remaining in circulation too long becomes oxidized LDL. With the help of inflammation damaging endothelium cells, Oxidized LDL start to deposit under endothelium layer to form arterial plaque. It is not the thick stable plaque (80-90%) that suddenly kills. Thick plaque, heavily restricted artery causes angina. It is the thin plaque (10-15%) that suddenly ruptures that causes a complete blockage of clotting that kills fast, it is called Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). The first symptom is often death. Two hours is the magic time. After 4 hours, the irreversible damage at heart muscle starts to occur. After 8 hours, the person is dead (dead as heart muscle died). How does hospital save people? During PCI, a cardiologist feeds a catheter with X-ray imaging to reach the blockage in the heart in order to clear the blood clots. The procedure itself is pretty fast, 40 minutes or so. National protocol is 90 minutes from the time you arrived at hospital. The most common risk factors include smoking (not just cigarette - fire fighters), family history (Gene), hypertension, obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise, stress (type A personality), and high blood lipids (further identified as high number of dense LDL or high oxidized LDL). You think you are just border-line pre-diabetic with slight metabolic syndrome, no risk right? Think again. Heart attack more often got to pre-diabetic than diabetes. So simple, What causes triglyceride high? - refined carbohydrates (including added sugar and fructose). What causes pattern B LDL? - low fat diet (good fat required). What causes low HDL? - lack of exercise. (lab tests your HDL). Calcium scoring might be a good way for check-up diagnosis (non-conclusive). Exercise stress test without chemical injection can identify angina. Nuclear stress test is invasive, not recommended for the first diagnosis, can actually see the percentage blockage of arteries. Carotid artery ultrasound is another good way to detect plaque. How do we clear plaque? The recent study has shown high nutritional phytochemicals and vitamin K2 can reverse calcium deposit (Vitamin D and A helps). Is it a given? No, not until human beings as a whole completely understands how heart-attack and CVD. I wish nobody's, family and friends alike, should have suffered such a preventable episode.
Here what you should do in your annual Physical Preventive Exams. Waking up from grassroot Health Revolution
If you are vegan, you would think you are inmmune from CVD? In 2003 the renowned Dr. Michael Greger presented 40 year Vegan Dies of Heart Attack. It is a must see. I read it many times on bus a year ago, that got me a kick-start my own research. Acknowledge Dr. Greger is a vegan, he is not in favor of animal products such as salmon, eggs and cheese. I disagree with this part. I agree with eating fresh organic veggie and fruit.
How many of your doctors you visited knows and tests Homocysteine? my experience is none. Zero! I have not seen a doctor who is able to discuss Homocysteine. You wonder how medical school program educates doctors on nutritions, none.
If diet is wrong, medicine is of no use; if diet is right, medicine is of no need. -- Proverb. (We are not talking about medicine that fixes acute syndrome use for short term necessarily to aid body. We are not talking about urbal medicine that is part of food supplement). What about Gene? Check out your Apo E gene. See 4-parts presentation from Pamela McDonald how she took care of her family. Read this book Beat Heart Attack Gene by Bradley Bale, MD. Quote from the book page 194: "Some people with the Apo E 2 genotype, however, have very high levels of triglycerides - and often receive dangerously faulty dietary advice for their genotype, since the healthcare providers typically tell everybody with high triglycerides to cut down on fat." After I read this book back-to-back, I feel this is not aparticular good book except the Gene discussion, A) it did not mention any bichemical mechanisms (chemistry) for evidence. B) it sounds more an advitising book for his clinic that it boasted treatment results without providing evidence of what really different mechanisms used in his clinic. (What humanity knows is already on youtube and on NIH Pubmed) For example, AIM-HIGH study. Today it is angioplasy and clot-busting drug that saved a lot of lifes. We need to move to prevention. Would you prevent a fire or fight fire after it is uncontrollable?
The Dogma today of CVD primary and secondary prevention both still include Statin and anti-coagulation (blood thinner) drugs. Watch the second half of this video on CBS, ABC news on report of The dangers of Statin. However recent study in Japan shows these drugs increase artery calcification (K2 Workshop part 1), so the debate is calcification good or bad??? Is calcification of artery to prevent from future plaque rupture (because hard-sealed) or calcification to stiffen artery further? The strong co-relation shows high cardiovascular calcium score is related to MI (heart-attack) and CVD. What do Cardiologists do? They do best in surgery, bypass and procedures - PCI, which makes a lot of money. The standard CVD treatment guideline have not changed yet. Listen carefully to the details of guideline on PCSK9 news (including the "prove me wrong statement" that sounds like humanity does not know - it is ok to admit we don't know instead BS to mis-guide people), until humanity figures this out. Statin does lower LDL. Diet rich in Phytosterol lowers LDL, see PubMed PMC2833354, but A) is LDL really the culprit? or is fireman to put out fire instead - Listen to Cardiologiest Steven Sinatra MD. B) obviously Statin is not yet final solution because it is not proven lowering fatality rate. Statin has been around for a long time, CVD is not eradicated, still number one killer, that is why researches go on. Some doctors cardiologists still tell you don't eat fat despite K2 (K2 Workshop part 1 - must see) is a fat solvable vitamin and eating fat actually makes dense LDL fluffy to get you from pattern B to pattern A; or still tell you don't eat animal products then where would vitamin B12 come from to clear Homocysteine? Being a consumer (or you think you have no risk? How does your lab report look like?), do you choose prevention or surgery? It is your choice. I made the wrong turn before, now I found the real life guidance. I was on whole grain, low fat, low cholesterol diet, and did not have great doctors. I am not going to let it happen again. Now I eat good fat, good cholesterol food, loads of fresh organic produces, fresh nuts and seeds, and other super foods.
These are my experiences and research. They are not medical advices. Anybody with medical conditions should discuss with their physicians and health providers. I myself had to choose many doctors. Everybody can be different. Please read the books and webinars, references I provided mostly by MD, ND, PhD. I wish everybody a good health and happy living.