How to reverse Heart Disease using an integrative approach?

A TO O Program

Why is it difficult to diagnose Heart Disease?

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. The most common cause of heart disease is 'Atherosclerosis'. Atherosclerosis is a condition where the arteries become narrowed and hardened due to a buildup of plaque around the artery wall. If the plaque ruptures, blood cells called platelets stick to the site of the injury. They may clump together to form blood clots.

Fact: 50% of the men and 64% of the women who die suddenly of coronary artery disease had no prior symptoms

Fact: 68% of heart attacks occur in arteries that are less than 50% blocked.

Since exercise stress test can only detect arteries that are blocked more than 70%, most individuals with heart disease may be unaware of their disease and will find out about it after having a heart attack. This is the reason why it is difficult to diagnose heart disease.

Early Detection of Heart Disease

Early detection requires attention be paid to the root causes that lead to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a complex process that is a result of multiple factors that interact with each other at multiple levels. Below is a diagram that depicts all the factors that play a role.

Reversal of Heart Disease-A TO O Program

A functional approach reverses heart disease by addressing the different factors that lead to atherosclerosis by combining the best of both conventional and integrative approaches. A functional approach is a personalized approach that minimizes use of medications and side effects and optimizes lifestyle and nutrients. It identifies the role and extent of each of these factors in each individual and provides a treatment strategy that is effective, efficient and goal directed.

Assessment of inflammation: Identification of specific markers of inflammation specific to heart disease need to assessed and reversed.

Blood pressure control is critically important for decreasing the risk of heart attack and heart disease progression.

Cholesterol: Reduction of bad cholesterol, particle size and improvement of good cholesterol.

Detoxification of metallic and non metallic toxins have been found to have a significant impact on reduction of heart disease related events. Hence identification of toxins is an important factor in reversing heart disease.

Evaluation of visceral fat: Visceral fat is belly fat. It is present underneath the skin and wrapped around major organs, including the liver, pancreas and kidneys. Visceral fat is a key risk factor for heart disease. Measurement and reduction of visceral fat is an important step towards heart disease prevention.

Functional nutrition: Diet is an important factor that can contribute towards increasing the risk of heart disease and can also be a tool to prevent heart disease.

Gut assessment: The bacteria in the digestive system plays a very important role in development of heart disease. Hence assessment of the the digestive system is a key area for addressing heart disease.

Hormonal assessment: Cortisol, estrogen and progesterone play an important role in the health of the arteries. These hormones need to be assessed and balanced.

Insulin balance and blood sugar regulation play a key role in inflammation.

Join the movement: Movement is a key factor in improving the capacity of the heart muscle. Customizing and optimizing movement.

Lack of oxygenation is another key factor. Presence of sleep apnea, lung diseases and other diseases that effect oxygenation impair the ability of the heart to perform its function.

Mind Body Connection: Stress is a very important factor and research shows that excessive stress and mental health disorders such as depression significantly increase the risk of heart disease.

Nutrient, Mineral and antioxidant assessment provides an insight into the personalized needs of an individual. The nutrients play an important role in overcoming inflammation and chronic infections as well as detoxification.

Overcoming chronic infections: Chronic infections such as dental infections, and gut infections play a role in worsening of heart disease. These need to be identified and treated.

References:

1. CDC

2. Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2005 Dec; 1(4): 291–299. Cardiovascular Consequences of Cortisol Excess.

3. Estrogens and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Revisited: the Women’s Health Initiative. Estrogens and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Revisited: the Women’s Health Initiative.

4. EDTA chelation therapy for cardiovascular disease: a systematic review. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2005; 5: 32.

5. Association Study of Gut Flora in Coronary Heart Disease through High-Throughput Sequencing. BioMed Research International Volume 2017 (2017), Article ID 3796359