Your heart is generally no bigger than your own clenched fist, yet it is able to pump blood (5 times as thick & viscous as water) through arteries, capillary beds and veins that if laid end to end would circle the earth 2-3 times. On a given day, the heart will beat about 100,000 times, moving over 2,000 gallons of blood. It never stops its rhythm day or night.

Surprisingly, most of the problems we encounter with the cardiovascular system have less to do with the heart than they do with the vessels associated with the heart. One in three Americans has hypertension, or a blood pressure over 140/90 – a problem of constricted vessels. Myocardial infarction (heart attack), and stroke - are both problems of obstructed vessels to the heart and brain respectively, irreversibly killing tissue that lacked blood flow for even a short amount of time.

High blood pressure causes problems by putting a constant strain on the arteries leading away from the heart, causing micro-damage to artery walls, which need repair. The body repairs itself with scabs and scar tissue, which are perfect places for blood-borne materials like cholesterol (which the body also uses to repair damaged cells) to stick and create atherosclerotic plaques. Worse yet, this strain can cause bulges in the artery walls, called aneurysms. These bulges can “blow out”, or fill with clotted blood, giving rise to thrombi (plugs) which can obstruct smaller vessels.

It’s important to keep track of what’s happening to your cardiovascular system on a regular basis. A general health panel of blood work will usually include a “lipid profile” which counts up how much HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol), total cholesterol, and triglycerides (circulating fat) you have in your bloodstream. A good analogy is to think of cars headed to a football game: too many LDL particles and triglycerides will cause traffic jams. HDL particles are like public transport trains that take people home from the stadium: in this case, removing cholesterol from artery walls. We like to see LDL between 50-110, triglycerides between 80-115, and HDL between 55-120. The higher HDL goes, the lower your heart disease risk! In one study, a 22% increase in HDL cause a 27% decrease in cardiovascular events.

We have teamed up with BERKELEY HEART LAB, which does advanced testing to measure early cardiac risk factors. Markers that correlate with increased heart disease, include small LDL particles, triglycerides, homocysteine, fibrinogen, insulin, and Lp-a (an inherited, corkscrew shaped protein attached to some LDL particle which can cause blood to clot easily and increase your risk for heart attack or stroke). By now, most people have heard about hs-CRP (high sensitivity C-reactive protein), because of a widely publicized study in 2000, which showed that hs-CRP correlated better with risk of future heart problems than cholesterol levels. Berkeley labs offers even better tests, which are no cost to you if you are on medicare. (We will charge a small phlebotomy fee)

KIF6 genotype (Genetic testing) shows you if you are at higher risk for cardiac events and heart disease, and guides us as doctors on whether certain medications (examples: Niacin, Red Yeast Rice, Statin drugs) will be effective or if we should use other treatments.

Lp-PLA2 (the “plac” test) shows you if artery walls are inflamed, leaking this enzyme as they stretch to their max. Arteries will expand outward first, as plaques form inside the layers of artery walls. This is seen as early as childhood with the American diet & lifestyle. As a plaque progresses and the outward stretch of an artery reaches its limit, the inner lining of the artery will narrow and Lp-PLA2 will be released into the bloodstream. Some researchers call this the “widow-maker” test, trusting its accuracy more than imaging scans of coronary vessels. Combined with blood pressure measurements, Lp-PLA2 is a great indicator of stroke & heart attack risk. This test can also guide us as doctors with specific medications, diet and lifestyle changes that are known to be effective at lowering Lp-PLA2 levels.

No doctor is better at guiding you to optimal wellness than naturopathic doctors: the nation’s leading experts on natural health care and natural medicines. At the Mountain-River Naturopathic Clinic, Drs Justin Pollack and Kim Nearpass will ensure you receive the best care: personalized treatment plans with diet and exercise, targeted medical therapy and monitoring of test changes through your life.

Some general tips to keep the heart healthy over a long time, include:

• Get regular exercise. Aerobic and strength workouts lower heart rate & blood pressure when you are at rest, and lower blood sugar & insulin.
• Eat low on the glycemic index, which lowers insulin levels, and blood sugar levels – both major risk factors for heart disease.
• Take in more omega-3 oils. These essential fats have a positive effect on HDL (good cholesterol), and lower inflammation.
• Eat fibrous foods, which help to eliminate cholesterol from your body. The liver makes billions of cholesterol molecules each second, but the digestive tract recycles most of it back to the liver - unless you eat fiber.
• Attend to associated risk factors. If you smoke, quit. If you’re overweight, set a target weight that’s healthy for you, and make steady progress to attain your goal. If you have diabetes or metabolic syndrome, control blood sugar levels within normal levels all the time.
• Manage stress. The hormones and neurotransmitters of stress are powerful at increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and creating inflammation.
• Find wonder & joy in life. The heart thrives on this.