CARDIOVASCULAR diseases are the number one killer in most developed countries in the world today. In the United States, one person dies of heart disease every 34 seconds; in the Philippines, one every nine minutes. Filipinos here and abroad have been so “westernized” in our habits and behavior, in lifestyle, that we have also become target victims of diseases that commonly afflict Americans.
Even the original diet of our ancestors, consisting of rice, fish and vegetables, has now been replaced with a lot of red meat, saturated fats, trans-fats, sugars, and various junk foods and soft drinks, which are mostly unhealthy. Also, today, we are much more sedentary compared to our elders of two or three generations ago, who were more physically active.
Each 24 hours, more than 2500 Americans die from heart disease and every 20 seconds one person in the United States suffers a heart attack. The nations with the highest deaths from heart disease are Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the former Soviet Union. The ones with the lowest are Canada, Japan, France, Spain, Switzerland. And these statistics do not even include stroke and those who succumbed to the complications of these illnesses.
The main culprit pathology is none other than fatty accumulation on the inside walls of the arteries to the heart, brain, kidneys, aorta and legs. Except the aorta, which is connected to the heart as an outflow pipe, whose diameter is about an inch, and the leg arteries which are about 1/3 to 1/4 the size of the aorta, the diameter of the arteries that supply the heart and the brain is only about 2 to 3 millimeters, like spaghetti.
Whenever we eat animal fats (from red meats, eggs, dairy foods), our blood thickens, and as the thick blood runs through the arteries, its coats the inner walls of these arteries, much like “brushing thick paint” on the walls of these arteries, 24/7, all the year round, for decades, all the years of our life. The coats of blood on the wall gets thicker and thicker, and hardens like cement, reducing the caliber of these tiny noodle-size arteries, or even block them completely, cutting the blood oxygen and nutrition supply to the heart muscles. This eventually leads to a heart attack.
A study, called JELIS, was done on 12,000 subjects, 6000 of them on cholesterol-lowering drug called Statin alone, and the other 6000 taking Statin plus Omega 3 in the form of EPA (Eicosapentanoic Acid) fish oil (1000 mg capsule twice a day containing 1800 mg of EPA. While those on Statin only showed significant lowering in stroke and heart attack events, those on the combination therapy fared even better, with an additional 16 percent reduction, a statistically significant added benefit. Reducing the LDL with Statin, and increasing the HDL with Omega 3 is indeed an excellent strategy. (JELIS stands for Japan EPA Lipid Intervention Study at Kobe University, published in the American Heart Journal in 2003 and revisited in 2006).
As far as cholesterol level is concerned, clinical research has found that for every 1 mg decrease in LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein, the bad cholesterol), there is a corresponding 0.7 percent lowering in cardiovascular risk, and for every 1 mg increase in HDL (High Density lipoprotein, the good cholesterol), there is resultant reduction in CV risk by 2 percent. There is no question that cholesterol plays a major role in the development of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and consequent cardiovascular diseases, like hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke and heart attack.
In today’s clinical setting, the combination of Statin and Omega 3 is a very popular option taken by physicians, not only for their patients but for themselves and their family. Many cardiologists prescribe Folic acid, Vitamin D, and a mild blood thinner, like aspirin, on top of Statins and Omega 3, as an overall preventive measure against cardiovascular diseases. Of course, this regimen, in order to be effective, must include low-fat, low-cholesterol diet (of fish, vegetables, fruits, soya, grains, nuts, fiber), daily exercise, abstinence from tobacco, and disciplined moderation in alcohol intake. Any single item in this treatment “recipe,” if used alone, disregarding all of the other essential “ingredients” enumerated above, is doomed to fail.
While our knowledge and abilities as physicians are not perfect, and still limited, the advances in medical science and technology over the past half a century have confirmed the benefit from this multi-faceted prophylactic approach in dealing with the multi-factorial malady, called cardiovascular diseases, the treacherous killer of the modern man.
What we do with the overwhelming state-of-the-art scientific data available to all of us today will spell the difference between our success in aggressively conquering this dreaded assassin, or our abject failure and surrender in allowing it to simply continue killing us. The ball is in our court and the decision is entirely up to us.
*The main objective of this column is to educate and inspire people to live a healthier lifestyle to prevent illnesses and disabilities, and achieve a happier and more productive life. Any diagnosis, recommendation or treatment in our article are general medical information and not intended to be applicable or appropriate for anyone. This column is not a substitute for your physician, who knows your condition well and who is your best ally when it comes to your health.
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