My feeling is that the state of scientific knowledge is pretty weak on how to prevent a heart attack that's still 20 years away. Doctors should not overstate what is known scientifically, otherwise they are probably telling you things that are not true.
Avoiding Heart Disease
101–110 of 142 posts
Re: Avoiding Heart Disease
#102How to avoid heart disease: (0) Be female. Don't be born with heart defects. Don't be old. Don't have Marfan or Loeys-Dietz syndromes. (All of the unfair/can't modify factors will get lumped into recommendation #0.) (1) Don't use tobacco or cocaine, and don't drink too much alcohol. (2) Don't get exposed to radiation or chemotherapy. (3) Don't have diabetes. (4) Don't have high blood pressure. (5) Have low levels of…
Well, I'm fucked. Grandfather was in decent shape at 40 when pretty much all his arteries clogged. He is now 87 with half a single artery left in his heart. He is not what I would call "living" as much as existing. On the other side, my mother, grandmother, and great grandmother have intense high blood pressure with no understandable reason. Well, I figure I may have till I'm 50. Though I hope doing biking marathons…
Get on a statin even if your LDL levels are within the normal range. They're very safe (safer than aspirin, arguably) and effective.
Re: Avoiding Heart Disease
#103How to avoid heart disease: (0) Be female. Don't be born with heart defects. Don't be old. Don't have Marfan or Loeys-Dietz syndromes. (All of the unfair/can't modify factors will get lumped into recommendation #0.) (1) Don't use tobacco or cocaine, and don't drink too much alcohol. (2) Don't get exposed to radiation or chemotherapy. (3) Don't have diabetes. (4) Don't have high blood pressure. (5) Have low levels of…
And then there is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). I am not fat, I've always been thin and my cholesterol is bang on perfect, my blood pressure 120/80 or better. Although I've slacked off the gym for about four years I'm pretty active at work. Anyway out of the blue I am diagnosed with fatty liver: it hurts, I can feel it. Know how people with fatty liver die? Heart attack or stroke, fatty liver significant…
I have this too but didn't realize it was a risk-factor for anything?
What exactly do you feel and where?
Re: Avoiding Heart Disease
#104How to avoid heart disease: (0) Be female. Don't be born with heart defects. Don't be old. Don't have Marfan or Loeys-Dietz syndromes. (All of the unfair/can't modify factors will get lumped into recommendation #0.) (1) Don't use tobacco or cocaine, and don't drink too much alcohol. (2) Don't get exposed to radiation or chemotherapy. (3) Don't have diabetes. (4) Don't have high blood pressure. (5) Have low levels of…
Well, I'm fucked. Grandfather was in decent shape at 40 when pretty much all his arteries clogged. He is now 87 with half a single artery left in his heart. He is not what I would call "living" as much as existing. On the other side, my mother, grandmother, and great grandmother have intense high blood pressure with no understandable reason. Well, I figure I may have till I'm 50. Though I hope doing biking marathons…
He is 87 though. And your great grandmother is still alive.
You're gonna do just fine.
Re: Avoiding Heart Disease
#105> Generic advice to eat well and exercise is not as effective as having a specific number you're trying to improve on e.g. lowering your ApoB count. I'm not so sure this is a wise approach. I won't say that numbers aren't important, but it's worth noting that in many cases, doctors still don't know what particular measurements actually mean in practical terms because cause versus correlation is so hard to figure out…
I think the OP is referring to the fact it's much easier to focus and improve on specific items than it is to follow some nebulous generic advice. "Lose weight" is much less effective than "Exercise 30 minutes per day and eat 2200 calories per day". What seems to be likely regarding cholesterol in general is that it has been greatly over focused on to the detriment of more likely culprits like sugar and refined foods…
I think the parent comment's argument is that improvement on specific items isn't well correlated with "better health". Even interventions aimed at specific metrics have shown to have no or negative consequences. For example, niacin in the AIM-HIGH trial.
Re: Avoiding Heart Disease
#106I read this treat protocol from a dr. on a heart forum :
"I use EBT calcium imaging to identify who needs treatment and serial EBT calcium measurements to document adequacy of treatment. I use low dose statin or bile salt sequestrate plus ASA, high dose fish oil derived omega-3 plus frequently add nicotinic acid. In addition I screen for sub clinical insulin resistance, sleep apnea and encourage daily flossing and dental hygiene, regular mild exercise, and lots of fruit and veggies. The calcium score helps motivate compliance and the result is the near elimination of heart attacks and ischemic strokes." http://www.theheart.org/article/1269619.do
Re: Avoiding Heart Disease
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, I'm fucked. Grandfather was in decent shape at 40 when pretty much all his arteries clogged. He is now 87 with half a single artery left in his heart. He is not what I would call "living" as much as existing. On the other side, my mother, grandmother, and great grandmother have intense high blood pressure with no understandable reason. Well, I figure I may have till I'm 50. Though I hope doing biking marathons…
Get on a statin even if your LDL levels are within the normal range. They're very safe (safer than aspirin, arguably) and effective.
A sizable contingent disagrees with this statement. For example, Tim Noakes says "never prescribe a statin to a loved one".
Re: Avoiding Heart Disease
#108I worked for WellnessFX (mentioned in the article) in the past and definitely recommend their service. The stuff they test for is not a part of standard (e.g yearly physical) blood work and you'd have to convince your doctor to give you the tests (intimidating, expensive). Granted, this is because the larger medical establishment either doesn't think they're necessary, or has yet to come to a consensus on their interpretation.
Personally, given the recent wave of news debunking low-fat/high-carb diets, I'm inclined to take the health research from the past couple of decades with a grain of salt.
Re: Avoiding Heart Disease
#109I worked for WellnessFX (mentioned in the article) in the past and definitely recommend their service. The stuff they test for is not a part of standard (e.g yearly physical) blood work and you'd have to convince your doctor to give you the tests (intimidating, expensive). Granted, this is because the larger medical establishment either doesn't think they're necessary, or has yet to come to a consensus on their inter…
WellnessFX looks interesting. What are some of the other competitors in this space; do you know offhand?
Re: Avoiding Heart Disease
#110One thing I have recently become aware of, after my doctor ordered a test, is checking for mutations in the MTHFR gene. It's an enzyme which deals with how we process folate into its active form and is important in many pathways Supposedly the C677T mutation increases your risk for heart disease. There is also another one, A1298C that is very common but no consensus on how it may effect health. I also matters whether…
My sister and best friend have both recently researched this. Apparently the MTHFR gene mutation is very common, like 30% of us or something.