Heart Disease Causes
Recipe for Circulatory Disaster.

Heart Disease Causes and Senior HealthDecades of research show that poor lifestyle choices, beginning in childhood, are the main causes of cardiovascular disease. Ongoing factors, such as poor diet, nutritional deficiency, lack of exercise, poor fluid intake and increased toxicity and stresses form a recipe for circulatory disaster.

All of the above are major heart disease causes. More specifically, high bloodpressure - hypertension (itself a result of any/all of the above), tobacco use, increased intake of saturated fats, lack of essential antioxidants (excessive exposure to free radicals via pesticides, chlorinated water, air pollutants and other toxic chemicals, for example, is a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease), elevated blood cholesterol, convenience lifestyle (i.e. reduced exercise) and genetic predisposition.

All these and more lead to increased stress factors, obesity and diabetes... in turn leading to heart attacks, strokes, artherosclerosis, and more

NB: Stress not only raises the blood pressure and constricts the arteries, it also generates large quantities of adrenalin which the body converts to adrenochrome - a potent free radical.

The more heart disease causes you have, the more likely you are to develop heart disease. All of these factors, bar genetic factors, can be changed and treated, even genetic risks can be modified with proper treatment.

Blood pressure can vary with activity and age, but a healthy adult who is resting generally has a systolic pressure reading between 120 and 130 and a diastolic pressure reading between 80 and 90 (or below).

Free radical activity plays a major role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis in particular, through oxidized lipoproteins and through direct attacks on the DNA of the arterial wall cells.

As the body attempts to repair damage to arterial walls, smooth-muscle cells (at the centre of the repair) themselves accumulate cholesterol and oxidized lipoproteins, and may begin to undergo calcification. As these deposits grow the inside opening of the artery begins to narrow, eventually create a blockage. If the blockage is in the coronary arteries angina pectoris may develop, or a heart attack may occur. If it is in the brain a stroke may occur, and if the blockage is in the legs intermittent claudication (pain or fatigue in arms and legs due to poor supply of oxygen to the muscles) may be experienced.

Iron has more recently been implicated in heart disease development. Researchers at Harvard University have concluded that it is not the overall iron intake that increases heart attack risks, but rather the specific intake of iron from red meats – potentially increasing your heart disease causes by up to 38%!

Cholesterol levels, and more specifically high LDL (low density lipoprotein) levels, are strong risk factors for cardiovascular disease, especially for men. Too much LDL cholesterol in the blood causes plaque to form on artery walls (the beginning of atherosclerosis). When this occurs arteries that supply blood to the heart get blocked (see description above) and you become at high risk of a heart attack. (See our Cholesterol section for more info)

Cholesterol is a soft, buttery substance. If the only build-up on the inside of the arteries were cholesterol, it would not get hard and the flow of blood would wash away the stuff. But, when that cholesterol gets mixed up with calcium the combination of the two becomes hard. That is why the honest term, used before the drug companies started fiddling with the facts, was 'hardening of the arteries'.

Homocysteine is an amino acid in the blood, high levels of which can significantly increase the heart disease causes of cardiovascular disease.

Mercury toxicity and Helicobacter pylori bacterium infection are potent initiators of coronary heart disease.

DiabetesIt is not often well understood that heart problems are actually a consequence (and symptom) of diabetes, and are the leading cause of death among diabetes sufferers, especially in adult-onset, or Type II diabetes. The American Heart Association estimates that 65% of patients with diabetes die of some form of cardiovascular disease. (See our Diabetes section for more info…)

Obesity…Being overweight is, alongside diabetes, the leading cause of increased cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. Obesity increases your chances of developing all these risk factors in fact, as well as putting unnecessary strain on many other organs.

NB: Just from these short summaries you may be beginning to notice how all these conditions clearly interlink with one another…

Smoking, as well as increasing your risk of lung cancer, increases risks of heart disease causes and peripheral vascular disease. More than 400,000 deaths in the US alone occur each year because of the straining effects this habit has on the heart and blood vessels.

Research has shown that smoking increases the heart rate, tightens major arteries and can create irregularities in the timing of heartbeats, all of which make your heart work harder.

Although nicotine is the main active agent in cigarette smoke, other chemicals and compounds like tar and carbon monoxide are harmful to your heart too and lead to plaque build-up and injury to the vessel walls.

Inflammation…C-reactive protein (CRP) is a substance found in blood that is a marker for inflammation in the body. High levels of this protein are associated with an increased risk of heart disease and low levels with a low risk.

Studies suggest that CRP levels may even be a more important indicator of heart disease causes than high LDL cholesterol!

In an eight-year study involving 27,939 women led by Paul Ridker, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, more than half of the women who eventually developed heart disease had high CRP levels even though their LDL levels were not considered high.

The New England Journal of MedicineNovember 2002

A Cleveland Clinic study found ultrasound evidence that clogged coronary arteries had not gotten worse among 502 patients who were most successful at lowering their CRP levels.

The New England Journal of MedicineJanuary 2005

A recent study showed that as fitness levels go down, CRP levels go up.Johns Hopkins

To help lower CRP levels it is recommended to concentrate on an anti-inflammatory diet, plus Omega 3 DHA fish oil supplements and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant supplement ingredients.

Finally, other indirect factors include…

Physical Inactivity - People who are inactive have greater heart disease causes leading to a heart attack. Exercise burns calories, helps to control cholesterol and diabetes, and may help to lower blood pressure. Exercise also strengthens the heart muscle itself and makes the arteries more flexible. Even moderate exercise is helpful if done regularly.

Genetics - Heart disease causes (high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity) may be passed from one generation to another…

Stress - We all deal with stress differently. How much and in what way stress affects us can vary from person to person. During times of stress the nervous system releases extra hormones (e.g. adrenaline). These hormones can raise blood pressure and injure the lining of the arteries. When the arteries heal the walls may harden or thicken, making is easier for plaque to build up.

Stress also increases the amount of blood clotting factors that circulate in your blood. Clots may block an artery already narrowed by plaque, resulting in a heart attack.

Nutritional deficiency and toxicityIt is never too late to begin improving heart health. By eliminating heart disease causes and properly managing your health, you can greatly reduce your risk of heart disease, and even begin to heal disease that is already present.

Most people become vulnerable to these diseases because of a weakened immune system and systemic and organ-related weaknesses as a result of inadequate nutrition. This more often than not starts in early life, but continues to reduce health throughout life. Nutritional deficiencies, chemical and environmental toxicities are the major reason for the accentuation heart disease causes, if not all of the above risk factors.

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