These risk factors include:
Age
Blood pressure
HDL ("good") cholesterol
Total cholesterol
Test your risk
Follow these steps to calculate your risk.
Have the following numbers available: your blood pressure, total cholesterol and HDL.
Click here to access an online risk calculator.
Once on the page, scroll down and click on "Health Risk Assessors – Coronary Heart Disease."
Read the instructions and enter your data. The program will automatically display your risk.
Your risk of developing atherosclerosis is a combination of several factors over time. Please understand what this assessment does not mean: It does not tell you if you are going to have a heart attack. Markers in your bloodstream that signal an imminent heart attack include Total Plasma Homocysteine (tHCY) and C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP).
Heart disease warning signs
Let's review some of the factors that can act as warning signs of heart disease:
High blood pressure
Blood pressure measurements are read as two numbers. The higher number, called the systolic pressure, represents the pressure in the artery when the heart beats. The lower number, called the diastolic pressure, represents the pressure when the heart is at rest.
A normal systolic number is 115. If your arteries are stiff, inflexible, inflamed or too narrow, your heart will have to beat harder and this will create a higher systolic number.
A normal diastolic number is 75 or lower. When the diastolic number is too high it can mean that your lungs, kidneys and liver are not properly detoxifying your body.
Some people find that their blood pressure will not go down no matter what they do. This often happens because of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). With OSA, a person stops breathing during sleep. Sensing the shortage of oxygen, your brain increases blood pressure to compensate.
High total cholesterol
Increased levels of cholesterol in the blood can contribute to atherosclerosis, which is the gradual build-up of cholesterol, fat and fibrous debris along the walls of your arteries. This build-up, called plaque, can accumulate enough to narrow the artery and stiffen the arterial wall. If the plaque is severe enough, it can impair blood flow past the blockage. A normal, healthy cholesterol level is 170 mg/dL or lower.
Low HDL "good" cholesterol
High density lipoproteins (HDL) absorb cholesterol and take it back to the liver for disposal. A normal, healthy HDL level is over 60 mg/dL. HDL cholesterol rises with moderate to intense exercise. We simply must make peace with daily exercise if we are to increase our HDL and reduce our risk of heart disease.
Heart attack warning signs
As mentioned earlier, cholesterol levels and blood pressure alone do not serve us very well as determinants of heart attack risk. Homocysteine levels are much more accurate in predicting who is at risk and C-Reactive protein (CRP) is the best predictor for heart attack (as well as many other really bad conditions!).
Elevated homocysteine levels can be reduced with certain nutrients called "methyl donors." TriVita's HCY Guard® is rich in methyl donors and proven to reduce elevated HCY. C-Reactive protein has been reduced quite consistently with Essential Fatty Acid supplements and Quercetin-like Betalain bioflavonoids such as OmegaPrime® (one to six grams daily) and Nopalea™.
Learning to listen
High blood pressure as well as high cholesterol levels and low HDL levels should be viewed as warning signs from our body. Elevated homocysteine sounds a louder alarm and high C-Reactive protein levels sound the loudest siren of all. We can translate these alarms into valid communication by learning what each lab value means and how to address them in terms of nutrients and nurturing.
TriVita’s Weekly Wellness Report [weeklywellnessreport@trivita/com]
