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:

• Another Track Your Plaque success story: A conquest over stress!
  Gary was busy building a successful small manufacturing company. The first two years of his Track Your Plaque program was halfhearted, resulting in slowing plaque growth. But once he stopped allowing the stress of his business to interfere with his health efforts, plaque stopped growing altogether.
• What Tim Russert’s doctors didn’t tell him
  It is, indeed, easy to second-guess Mr. Russert’s doctors, fumbling their way through explanations of why their popular talk show host died suddenly despite the appearances of receiving good healthcare. But so much more could have been done to have prevented this tragedy, strategies readily available that could have put a stop, even reversed, the heart disease first diagnosed in 1998.
• Cheerios for heart health?
  Ads claim that Cheerios is a heart-healthy breakfast cereal. It even proudly bears the endorsement of the American Heart Association. But is it true? (Reprinted from The Heart Scan Blog)

Hello, Plaque-Trackers!

Talk show host Tim Russert’s tragic passing from a heart attack serves as a painful reminder of the danger of this disease.

But especially troubling is the fact that Mr. Russert underwent a heart scan that showed a score of 210─in 1998!

In 1998, Mr. Russert was 48 years old. That put a score of 210 squarely in the 90th percentile, or in the worst 10% of men his age. Those of you following the Track Your Plaque conversation are well aware that heart scan scores increase at a rate of 30% per year unless preventive action─real preventive action─is taken.

Note that Mr. Russert was taking a cholesterol drug, blood pressure medication, and aspirin when he died suddenly of a ruptured plaque in his left anterior descending coronary artery.

In other words, the conventional approach to heart disease prevention proved woefully inadequate, a flat out failure in Mr. Russert’s case. Had his doctors been tracking his heart scan score, they would have witnessed plaque growth. Even at a slowed rate of 18% per year, his heart scan score would be 1101 in 2008. Continued growth that leads to a score this high carries an annual heart attack risk as high as 25% per year.

The doctors’ claim that Mr. Russert’s sudden passing was not predictable, something they had no control over, is absolute bunk: his heart attack was easily and readily predictable 10 years ago, and should have become clearer and clearer had his doctors been doing their job and tracking his plaque and working to slow or reverse it.

They clearly were not reading this newsletter nor aware of the Track Your Plaque approach. Had they applied the Track Your Plaque principles to Mr. Russert, he’d be hosting this Sunday’s Meet the Press with his usual hard-hitting questions to political figures.

Don’t fall for the misinformation propagated by those bent on letting you fall on the sword of hospital procedures, nor those who use only prescribed medications to reduce cholesterol in the hopes of “modifying” risk. There’s a world more that can be done. (See, "What Tim Russert’s doctors didn’t tell him" below.)

Track in health!


Dr. Davis

Another Track Your Plaque Success Story: A conquest over stress!

Gary was busy building a successful small manufacturing company.

We got his attention for a brief time after he first learned of his first heart scan score of 73. Although not a high score, he was only 42 years old. This put his score in the 90th percentile, or the highest 10% for men in his age group.

The first two years of Gary’s Track Your Plaque program was halfhearted. He was still putting in long hours, often ate whatever was handy, even resorted to vending machines and fast food. Nights at home with the family, however, were generally healthy, thanks to his wife who was also in the Track Your Plaque program. Time pressures also made exercise sporadic. He even missed about 20% of his supplements and two medications, forgetting under the pressure of his increasingly successful business.

A second heart scan 2 years later: 97, or an annualized rate of growth of 15% (Stage 2 Deceleration), better than it might have been, but not great (see Winning Your Personal War with Heart Disease: The Track Your Plaque 5 Stages of Success for definitions of the 5 stages of success).

Gary’s business continued to flourish. But, one day Gary simply recognized that his business was indeed an enormous success and it was time to pull back his superhuman efforts. He started to apply some of his creative energies to improving his Track Your Plaque program. As Gary had the entire panel of abnormalities behind his coronary plaque, including small LDL and lipoprotein(a), he had fair amount of improving to do.

Eighteen months after the 2nd scan, Gary’s third scan showed a score of 97 no change (Stage 4 Zero Growth).  Note that, had Gary not engaged in the Track Your Plaque program 3 ½ years earlier, his heart scan score would have increased to approximately 180, or 30% per year growth, double his current score.

Gary’s energies, applied to his health program, clearly exerted a meaningful effect. Now, his aim is to proceed to Stage 5 Reversal!
 

What Tim Russert’s doctors didn’t tell him

It is, indeed, easy to second-guess Mr. Russert’s doctors, fumbling their way through explanations of why their popular talk show host died suddenly despite the appearances of receiving good healthcare.

But those of you following the Track Your Plaque conversation know that there are a number of additional and powerful strategies that Mr. Russert could have been advised to follow. But you won’t hear this from doctors whose thinking is too often locked into the “no procedure was indicated” mindset. You won’t hear it from the American Heart Association, nor from drug-obsessed physicians who don’t believe in non-prescription preventive efforts to bolster, lessen the need, or even replace prescription drugs.

In fact, I would go as far as saying that the American Heart Association’s fascination with eat more whole grains, eat “heart-healthy” foods like Cheerios to lower cholesterol, is the kind of advice that allowed Mr. Russert to gain the excess weight in his abdomen, develop high blood pressure and diabetes, and eventually trigger coronary plaque rupture.

Imagine Mr. Russert or his doctor called us today and asked, “What exactly could I do to improve my heart disease prevention program? What can I do to try and stop or reduce my heart scan score?”

Our response:

1) Identify and quantify all sources of cardiovascular risk. This means lipoprotein testing to look for such plaque causes as small LDL, Lp(a), and IDL. Lipoprotein testing makes the causes of heart disease clear, even obvious, where standard cholesterol testing fails. For Mr. Russert, who apparently had an HDL cholesterol in the 30-some mg/dl range, adding niacin would have been very helpful. The HATS Trial, for instance, documented 85-90% reduction of cardiovascular risk when niacin was added to a statin drug.
 
2) Correct all causes of heart disease identified, including aiming for LDL-HDL-triglyceride of 60-60-60, i.e., LDL 60 mg/dl, HDL 60 mg/dl or greater, triglycerides 60 mg/dl or less. Hidden causes like Lp(a) should be corrected, as well.

3) Add fish oil at a therapeutic dose for its omega-3 fatty acid content. This strategy alone reduces the likelihood of sudden cardiac death by 45%, according to the 11,000-participant GISSI Prevenzione Trial.

4) Correct blood vitamin D levels. This raises HDL cholesterol, exerts potent anti-inflammatory effects, and may provide direct plaque benefits, as well.

5) Use dietary strategies that address your specific lipoprotein patterns. For instance, if you have the ubiquitous small LDL pattern, consider a low-carbohydrate approach. (We prefer a wheat- and cornstarch-free diet, which is enormously effective.) Low-carbohydrate, rather than the standard low-fat advice, would have allow Mr. Russert to lose the excess tummy (what we call the “wheat belly”), increase HDL, reduce triglycerides, reduce small LDL, and reduce blood pressure.

It’s really not all that tough. Some people balk at strategies like lipoprotein testing: It’s too hard to get, it’s too difficult to understand, etc. But Mr. Russert’s unfortunate experience reminds us what can happen if a “half-hearted” attempt at prevention is followed, even conforming to standard advice.

You can indeed achieve far better results. For those of you desiring more in-depth conversations, you are invited to join our Members on the Track Your Plaque website.
 

Cheerios for heart health?

Ads for Cheerios litter TV shows and other media every day. “Cheerios is the only leading ready-to-eat cereal that has been clinically proven to lower blood cholesterol levels when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.”

Is there any truth to these claims?

Here, we reprint a Heart Scan Blog post that includes an interesting observation from a reader.  Anna responded to the Heart Scan Blog post, Can you say "sugar"?  with the following wonderfully telling comment:

"A measured bowl of Cheerios and a bit of milk (whole, because it's what I had), equal to 75 grams of carbohydrate, gave me the highest ever blood glucose reading from a food (not counting glucose solution from a Glucose Tolerance Test). I was attempting a "homemade" version of a 3 hr GTT before going to my doctor with my concerns about my BG.

My BG started to rise very fast within 15 minutes after eating the cereal, peaked at about 250 mg/dL at 45 minutes, then slowly dropped. By about 60-75 minutes, I experienced strong hunger and carb cravings as the BG began to slowly drop, and by about 2.5 hours after eating, my BG had suddenly dropped quite low (in the low 70s) and I had developed a nasty hypoglycemic feeling (shaky, irritable, craving sugary foods, headache, etc.).

It's hard for me to see "heart healthy" Cheerios (or any other highly processed breakfast cereal) as anything other than a bowl of pre-digested sugar that contributes to roller coaster blood glucose and insulin levels, which a great way to start anyone's day. Certainly, I don't do well with Cheerios because I clearly have a damaged glucose regulatory system (probably a diminished or absent first phase insulin response, but I can't imagine that it is doing any good for people with healthy glucose regulation, either.

I banned prepared cold cereals from our house. If my 9 yr old son gets cereal at all at home, it's whole groats (not even rolled or steel cut because those aren't truly "whole grain" anymore), soaked overnight in some water and a tsp of plain yogurt (soaking neutralizes phytates and reduces cooking time), then cooked about 8-10 minutes (water added as necessary). Sometimes I add a bit of quinoa or almond meal prior to soaking to boost the protein content a bit. I garnish with a pat of butter, some heavy cream, and a dusting of cinnamon. If I'm feeling *really* indulgent, I drizzle about 1 tsp of Grade B maple syrup on top (Grade B is stronger in flavor and so less can be used). I don't eat this cereal myself, and truthfully, I'd rather my son not, either, but he sometimes wants cereal. It's the least damaging compromise I can come up with that we can both live with.


I have also repeatedly seen diabetic effects from Cheerios: rises in blood sugar, exaggeration of small LDL, drops in HDL, rises in triglycerides. Yes, it may reduce LDL a small quantity from the minor quantity of oat bran added, but so what?

The Cheerios "heart healthy" claim is based on a piece of research apparently performed by Dr. Donald Hunninghake at the University of Minnesota and reported in 1998:

A study conducted at the University of Minnesota Heart Disease Prevention Clinic and published as "Cholesterol-Lowering Benefits of a Whole Grain Oat Ready-to-Eat Cereal" in the May issue of the Nutrition in Clinical Care journal in 1998, showed that people can lower their blood cholesterol by an average of 3.8% over six weeks by enjoying 3 cups of cold cereal made with 100% whole grain oats everyday as part of the meals and snacks in a healthy lower-fat diet.

The purported effects of Cheerios should not be confused with that of actual, intact oat bran, as suggested by studies such as those of Brenda Davy et al, High-fiber oat cereal compared with wheat cereal consumption favorably alters LDL-cholesterol subclass and particle numbers in middle-aged and older men, in which significant reductions in LDL particle number and small LDL (NMR) were obtained. (This study was also supported by Quaker Oats.) Several studies have shown that oat bran does indeed reduce LDL cholesterol, sometimes as much as 30-50 mg/dl. But Cheerios is not the same as oat bran.

If Cheerios were nothing more than finely pulverized oats, then perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. But corn starch, wheat flour, and sugar are the three first listed ingredients, all with potential to distort LDL particle size, increase small LDL, and yield blood sugar-escalating effects like those described by Anna.

The gravity of perpetuating these myths is brought home by a testimonial posted on the website for Cheerios:

“I had unexpected open heart surgery a year ago. As I adopted heart health habits during my recovery, I realized that I should have been eating the Cheerios cereal I carried around in a plastic baggie so many years for my kids!”

Beverly
Scotch Plains, NJ"


It makes me shudder!

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Watch for our new and upcoming Special Reports on:

Track Your Plaque WEBINAR on Small LDL: The number one cause of coronary plaque
Dr. Davis covers the evidence behind and importance of Vitamin D in your plaque control program. Learn how Vitamin D has been implicated in significant reversal of calcium scores.

Thyroid and Heart Disease

Copyright 2008, Track Your Plaque