understanding heart attack

understanding heart attack

Understanding heart attack

Coronary death rate U.S. 2003

Women

AGE

Men

21

0-19

23

51

20-29

110

300

30-39

889

1,538

40-49

4,767

3,857

50-59

11,240

7,989

60-69

16,117

17,997

70-79

24,082

49,294

80 +

32,282

Annual death rate from coronary heart disease U.S. is 500,000. The 10-ounce heart beats 100,000 per day and pumps blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels.

shows the progression to blockage

There has been in the last 3 years numerous changes and additions to the healthful website as JK realized the extent of corruption worked by pharma on the evidence base. Major revision in causes of heart disease.

Two Changes in content coming up

The cholesterol myth. Numerous critics have pointed out that cardiovascular disease is not caused by higher levels of blood cholesterol or fats. Pharma promotes the cholesterol myth and ignores the major causes.
Major cause of cardiovascular disease is pathogens living within the middle layer of artery walls. It initiates the immune response which involves LDL, HDL, and white blood cells. Reactive chemicals such as simple sugars and carbon monoxide can potentiate the process resulting in the formation of plaque within the artery walls.

For confirmation from journal articles on primary role of infective agent enter into http://scholar.google.com/ terms such as bacteria + atherosclerosis or go to http://healthfully.org/rl/id8.html and id9 for collection of articles

For confirmation of cholesterol myth enter into http://scholar.google.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/ cholesterol myth, or go to http://healthfully.org/rl/id5.html for collection of journal articles.

The article below was done in 2009, before JK discovered the extent of the corruption worked by pharma. Much of what has been stated here was based upon a reliance of pharma’s opinion leaders. The recommended section of this website has a far better analysis—see http://healthfully.org/rc/

Placing a stent (angioplasty) in artery takes about 30 minutes.

Genetic factor MEF2A codes for a protein that makes up part of the cell’s membrane. When mutated the risk factor for coronary is over 95%.

Other genes are being found, such as apoE4, which is involved in arterial inflammation. There is a mechanism whereby to deal with arterial inflammation plaque forms in affected areas. This mechanism is mediated by white blood cells. Vioxx and all the COX-2 inhibitors except aspirin block the part of this mechanism which switches off the plaque formation.

Sudden death from heart attack, without significant prior symptoms, occurs in 59% of men and 64% of women.

Coronary artery walls are about a millimeter thick and flex about 70 times a minute as the heart pumps. It is thus tough to get a clear image of how occluded. An angiography (where a die is injected into the blood vessel, can only show how much blood is flowing through the artery, and not the plaque embedded in the wall. Computed tomography (CT) scanner (a 3-dimensional x-ray machine) can produce striking images, however, it is too risky, and costly for standard screening.

Risk Factors

Factor	Results
Poor ratio of LDL to HDL	4x
Diabetes	4x women	2x men
Hypertension	2x women	3x men
Stress & depression*	3x	3x
Healthy diet	- 30%
Abdominal obesity	2x
Lack of exercise	+ 20%
Smoking long term	2x (1 pack)

Psychological factors do not directly affect the heart, but rather have an impact on lifestyle or for some are associated with increased blood pressure.

THE CHOLESTEROL PROCESS:

1. Cholesterol in the bloodstream infiltrates the arterial wall

2. Immune system dispatches macrophages to consume the cholesterol. The bloated macrophages become foam cells.

3. Foam cells accumulate to become a major component of the plaque.

4. To keep the arterial walls slick and smooth muscle cells form a cap.

5. Foam cells in the plaque secrete chemicals that weaken the cap.

6. When the cap cracks, plaque seeps into the bloodstream, and can form a clot which can block the flow of blood.

7. Inflammation process is believed to soften the plaque.

Ischemic heart disease, also called myocardial ischemia, a diseased characterized by reduced blood supply to the heart muscles through narrowing or blockage in the coronary arteries. The main cause is atherosclerosis. Plaque in the artery wall leaks out and blocks further down stream coronary artery, which results in permanent damage to the heart muscle through reduction in the muscle’s oxygen supply. It is the most common cause of death in developed countries.

Treatment of a mytocardio infraction

1. cardiopulmonary resuscitation (use of a ventilator)

2. Defibrillator to stop cardiac arrhythmias

3. Pacemaker to assure regular beat

4. Stimulants such as adrenaline which both speed up and strengthen contractions.

5. Thrombolytic agents clear away blood clots

6. anticoagulants reduce risk of additional blood clots.

7. Inotropic drugs to raise blood pressure.

8. angioplasty, stents, and bypass surgery to open blocked coronary arteries.

Those who have a financial interest in the outcome manipulate the results, Major study finds that all 37 journal articles positive effects over stated; the average was 32%. Statins cause erectile dysfunction, cognitive imparement, and cancer.

Lipitor (2011) lifetime sales $131 billion, tops all drugs. Plavix at $60 billion is second.

STATINS CANCER Link

52% short term

LA Times, Health section, July 21, 2008 -- excerpts

Vytorin, the combination drug (simvastatin (better known by its commercial name Zocor) and ezetimibe--known as Zetia) prescribed to lower cholesterol, sustained another blow today, when the author of a major clinical trial announced that the medication had failed to drive down hospitalization and death due to heart failure in patients with narrowing of the aortic valve. In the process, researchers in Norway detected a significant blip in cancers in the 1,800 subjects they followed

Today's findings suggested something more ominous: the incidence of cancer -- and of dying of cancer -- was significantly higher in the patients taking Vytorin. Altogether, 67 patients on placebo developed cancer during the trial. Among subjects on Vytorin, 102 developed cancers of various kinds.* This is the second adverse press—the first being in March 08, when the ENHANCE trial found that Vytorin fared no better than a placebo at reducing plaque buildup on the walls of patients' arteries.* *

Comments by jk

Simvastatin (Zocor) is off patent. Thus in a scramble for profits a combination drug (on patent) was introduced. Direct to consumer market cost $155 in 07—mainly TV ads.

* The pressing issue is that since the development of Statins, the very first animal studies in the 60s it has been known that Statins increase the incidents of cancer. However, nearly all studies done thereafter have not included cancer.

* Several studies have failed to find a reduction in the build of plaque, even thought the statins including Zocor, reduce LDL and cholesterol. Few studies include the principle reason for taking a statin, namely a reduction in the death rate. Claims for such reduction probably entail a failure to control the contravening variable, aspirin usage. Given a pile of evidence, including the very mechanism of plaque formation, which involves inflammation process, I must conclude that the use of statins is highly suspect. Given the harm done including cognitive impairment, weakness, and cancer, if my skepticism is born out, the harm done by statins as a course of treatment will far surpass that of VIOXX which killed over 200,000 people world wide by accelerating atherosclerosis.

EXTENDED RELEASE NIACIN IS A SAFER, AND A MORE EFFECTIVE WAY TO LOWER MI RISK!