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Track Your Plaque shows how to use
CT heart scans as the 1st step in a proven program to slow, stop, even
REVERSE heart disease!
In this issue:
Hello, everybody!
  The
Track Your Plaque success stories just keep piling up!
While hospitals jockey for more and more heart procedures, there’s a
growing sentiment that heart disease can be managed, prevented, and even
reversed with more friendly means. Our rapidly expanding list of people
who have dropped their heart scan scores 10, 20, 30, and now 50% are
testimony to the power of a focused program of heart disease reversal
that takes advantage of all available tools.
Whenever I interact with my cardiology colleagues, I still get glazed
looks and indifference. I find that shocking. If a rational person came
to me with a cure for cancer, I would at least sit up and listen to what
they had to say. Unfortunately, practitioners of conventional cardiology
are absolutely convinced that solutions to heart disease have to be
procedural, involve catheters, stents, and incisions. Their aim is to
further grow the six million procedures performed in the U.S. every
year.
You and I know better. We have declared a war on heart disease and the
procedural solutions to heart disease—and we will win.
Track in health!
Dr. Davis
Another Track Your Plaque
success story
Tony entered the program with many regrets.
An ambitious, meticulous tax attorney, Tony had spent the last 30 years
of his life working endless hours, navigating the complex ins and outs
of the tax code for clients, not to mention the occasional battle with
the IRS. The pressure had taken its toll. Though he quit smoking many
years ago, he endured his stress-filled lifestyle by overeating, not
exercising, and drinking too much.
Now, at age 64, he was just one year away from finally calling it quits
and retiring to a life of travel, indulging his long-neglected hobby
collecting World War II relics, and spending time enjoying his 7
grandchildren. A heart scan seemed to be a good idea.
His score: 668. Because of some mild breathlessness, Tony underwent a
stress test, which proved normal.
Fearful that heart disease would booby trap his long-awaited retirement,
Tony enrolled in the Track Your Plaque program. Tony’s enrollment
lipoprotein analysis revealed that 65% of all LDL particles were
abnormally small; a mild pre-diabetic pattern of increased blood sugar,
blood insulin, and high C-reactive protein; and severe deficiency of
vitamin D.
We showed Tony how to correct his pre-diabetic tendencies with the
proper food choices, which resulted in a modest weight loss of 8 lbs.;
fish oil; niacin; and vitamin D supplementation.
One year and two months later, Tony’s 2nd heart scan score: 448—a drop
of 32%!
Until then, I hadn’t fully realized just how anxious Tony had been for
the past 14 months. On hearing of his successful scan result, he looked
his wife in the eye with a big smile and held her in a long embrace. He
looked at me a moment later with tears in his eyes and thanked me.
Dr. Davis Comments: It’s people
like Tony who remind me that the Track Your Plaque program can truly,
deeply, and positively affect peoples’ lives.
With modest changes in his life, a few nutritional supplements, and the
proper prescription medication, Tony achieved what most of my cardiology
colleagues still regard as impossible: he dramatically reversed coronary
heart disease.
Compare this path to what he would have experienced following the
conventional route: Tony could have entered a one-way-door of hospital
procedures, painful incisions, the sense that he had lost control of his
life and handed it over to strangers. His life might even have been cut
short by the toll that heart attack and major hospital procedures exact
on spirit and physical capacity.
For every Tony, there still remain thousands—no, millions—of others who
unknowingly submit to a fate of repeated hospital procedures, costly
care, and loss of control over life. Let’s toss this outdated model out
the window.
When is the time right to get a 2nd heart scan?
Tony (above) waited 14 months before obtaining a 2nd heart scan. Should
you wait that long, too, or should you follow some different interval
between scans?
There are several factors we weigh in deciding when is the right time to
have another scan:
1) How long did it take to correct all the causes of coronary plaque?
For instance, if the causes of your coronary plaque were promptly
identified and corrected, then a repeat scan in around 12 months might
be appropriate. On the other hand, what if your cause included a
difficult to correct pattern such as lipoprotein(a), which can require
months or years to be corrected. We generally suggest a repeat scan when
a target goal has been achieved, e.g., reduction of lipoprotein(a) to 30
mg/dl or 75 nmol/l.
2) How high was the heart scan score to begin with? If the starting
score is 20, then there’s no rush to repeat the scan. We often wait 2 or
3 years, since little or no danger is present and a score increase would
still permit a significant margin of safety. If the score is high, say,
1800, then a repeat scan should be repeated sooner rather than later. In
this latter situation, we might even repeat the scan after only one
year, even if all lipoprotein causes have not yet been fully corrected.
The repeat scan provides feedback on the results obtained thus far. Any
increase in score usually serves to motivate the patient even more so.
What interval is too short between scans? What if you’re just dying to
know? Is it okay to have a 2nd scan just 3 months after the first? We
don’t think so. While CT heart scans are among the most reliable,
quantitative (providing a precise measure), and safe tests for heart
disease around, most scanners do require 4 to 10 chest x-rays worth of
radiation to perform a scan. For this reason, despite the ease of the
test, an interval between scans of less than 12 months is rarely, if
ever, advisable.
If your heart scan score increases, calculate your annual rate of
increase
When you have a 2nd (or any subsequent) heart scan, not all scan centers
will calculate the annual rate of score increase should your score go
up. But this is a crucial value that provides insight into how much risk
you still face. It may help determine the intensity of change necessary
to bring coronary plaque under better control.
For instance, if a starting heart scan score of 100 is followed by a
score of 124 one year later, that’s a 24% annual rate of increase. Any
value of 20% per year or greater means that risk for heart attack is
growing and a re-examination of your program may be necessary.
What if the second scan shows a score of 106? That’s a 6% annual rate of
increase. We know that any increase of 10% per year or less puts you in
a much reduced category of risk, far less than your starting risk. (Of
course, risk is not as low as a person with zero change or a drop in
score.)
Rates of increase of between 10–20% are an intermediate zone, with
moderate continuing risk. A re-examination of your program may still be
in order.
If you reduce your score below that of your starting score, then an
annual rate of increase calculation is not necessary. A celebration is
in order, however!
Calculating your annual rate of increase provides important insight into
your safety and the possible need for major changes in your
plaque-control program.
To calculate the annual rate of change in your heart scan score, use the
following equation:
Annual rate of plaque growth (APG) = ( score 2 / score 1 )
1/t - 1
Then multiply the result by 100 to yield a percent.
“Score 1” is your 1st heart scan score, “score 2” is your 2nd (or any
subsequent heart scan score); “t” is the amount of time between the two
scans expressed in years in decimal form. If you know your time
between scans in months, simply divide that number by 12 (e.g., 18
months / 12 = 1.5 years ; 22 months / 12 = 1.83 years).
It’s not as tricky as it looks. For example, if your first heart scan
score is 300 and your next scan 16 months later (or 16/12 = 1.33 years)
is 372, then:
Annual rate of plaque growth (APG) = ( 372 / 300 )
1/1.33 - 1 = 0.175
Multiply 0.175 x 100 = 17.5% annual rate of plaque growth
(On your calculator, you will need an exponential “yx”
function. For ease, calculate "1/tfirst, then use it as the “x”
on your yx function and
"(score 2 / score 1)" as the "y". For those of you who are
financially-minded, you will recognize this equation as a modified form
of the annual compound interest equation using continuous compounding,
since that’s how coronary atherosclerotic plaque grows, also, just like
money.)
If you find this bit of arithmetic too challenging, in future we will
code the equation into software embedded into the Track Your Plaque
website. Just plug in the numbers and you’ll have your annual rate of
plaque growth.
Interested in becoming a Track Your Plaque Member?
If you’re interested in finding out more about becoming
a Member of Track Your Plaque, go to the
Track Your
Plaque Member Benefits page. See why more and more people are
finding out that there are alternatives to the conventional answers (or
lack of answers!) for heart disease.
Track Your Plaque Members
Watch for our new and upcoming Special Reports on:
Nuts and Bolts: Should nuts be a mainstay of your plaque control
program?
Fiber, healthy monounsaturated oils, and protein are just some of the
healthy ingredients in nuts that make them an important part of a
plaque-control nutrition program. Here’s the
Track Your Plaque Special Report that helps you put them to maximum use.
Erectile dysfunction and coronary plaque--Is there a connection?
Men who experience erectile dysfunction (ED) commonly also have heart
disease, and vice versa. If you have one, you’re likely to have the
other. Here’s a few things you can do about it.
Phospholipase A2--Emerging marker or drug company scam?
Online Chat with Dr. Davis June 28th, 8PM CDT
Calcium: Your enemy or your friend?
If you haven’t already joined us on the Track Your Plaque Member
Forum, we encourage you to do so.
The Member Forum is where you can interact with Track Your Plaque
staff, with most questions about your program answered within 24 hours.
Here are some of the conversations we’ve had recently:
Larry said . . .
“I was wondering if you have a view on the timed release niacin
product made by Carlson vitamins. Most of the posts here have concerned
Slo Niacin or Enduracin, but the online pharmacy I use only has Carlson.
(I don't live in the US so I can't just go down to Walgreen's and get
the usual brand.) Any view?
“Also, I am taking 500mg of timed release and 500mg of immediate release
twice each day (morning and night). Is this too much? Reading William
Parson's book "Cholesterol Control Without Diet - the Niacin Solution,"
he apparently had people on regimes of over 4,000 mg a day, including 3x
a day, with apparently no ill effect. But I don't feel like being the
one who proves him wrong.”
Pete said . . .
“My diet, for many years, has been careful, and I've supplemented
for 10 years. My heart attack was a complete surprise with no warning.
No family history. I'd had ultrasound done 3 years before and they found
nothing (ankle, carotid, stomach). I'd had that done because it seemed
the best way to judge heart attack risk (of course I now know it isn't
much use for that). At any rate, when I found Track Your Plaque, it
seemed like I FINALLY had some way to find out if my considerable
physical therapy, radical diet and supplements are really working.”
Don said . . .
“In recently speaking with my local cardiologist I
asked him when did he think stenting was warranted. He said: 1. Unstable
angina, 2. an ACS or MI event, 3.-Left main occlusion 4. Multiple vessel
stenosis (65% + occlusion). My understanding is the first three are
valid, but in someone with multiple vessel stenosis —I have not heard
this before. It is uncertain whether I have a multiple vessel stenosis
but if I did I would like to know from someone I trust what they think.
I am symptomatic at high levels of exercise 140 heart beats a min.
Otherwise I am fine. Any thoughts on this?”
(Though we are unable to diagnose or prescribe on the Forum, or any
other place on the Track Your Plaque website, we can offer guidance,
education, and powerful information on what you should know when dealing
with the conventional medical system. Of course, our principal goal is
to show you how to avoid using the conventional system!)
Come join the conversation!
Copyright 2007, Track Your Plaque
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